HUTCHINSON, Kan. — No. 1 Hutchinson (6-0, 3-0) stayed perfect on the season after a 46-10 victory over No. 11 Dodge City (3-3, 3-1) Saturday afternoon in Gowans Stadium.
The Dragons and Conquistadors were deadlocked at 3 after the teams exchanged field goals in the first quarter.
With five minutes gone in the second quarter, Dragon special teams wreaked havoc on the Conquistador punting unit.
Four-consecutive false starts by the Dodge City line pinned the Conqs back at their own 1. Rather than risk a blocked kick in the end zone, punter Caleb Sedegan stepped out the back of the end zone for a safety.
The safety began a string of 36 unanswered points from Hutchinson Community College.
Backup quarterback Jake Parker got the start Saturday and found ManMan Singleton for a 31-yard score.
Parker finished 11-of-25 for 156 yards with one touchdown and an interception.
"Whoever's out there, I feel like we can win ballgames," head coach Drew Dallas said of starting his backup quarterback. "The more reps he can get, the better off he'll be," Dallas said of Parker.
Defensive back Malik McConico then got his first of two interceptions in the second quarter.
The Dragons scored on the next possession when Tyrell Reed scored his first of four touchdowns on the day.
His first strike came from four yards out. McConico picked off Dodge City quarterback Trey Jefferson on the next possession and Reed scored from five yards away.
Nestus Burger closed out first-half scoring with a school-record 50-yard field goal.
He wasn't the only Dragon kicker to reach a milestone Saturday.
Starting kicker Cole Segraves connected from 46-yards out later in the contest for a personal record and a program's best 20th field goal made in his Dragon career, beating the 19 set by Luke Niemeyer in 2016-17.
"They've been pushing each other to make each other better all season," Dallas said of his kickers.
Segraves finished the game 2-of-3 with a long of 46, only missing from 35 in the second quarter. He was 5-for-5 on extra points.
Burger hit his only field-goal attempt from 50 and kicked off nine times with three touchbacks.
Reed tallied at least three rushing touchdowns for the third time this season and has seven rushing touchdowns in the last two games.
Reed finished with 115 yards on only 10 touches, including a 71-yard electrifying run with 3:23 remaining.
"He makes the most of those carries," Dallas said of Reed's maximum success on minimal touches.
Reed's other touchdown came at the beginning of the third quarter when he broke off a 22-yard score.
The Dragon defense held Dodge City to 59 yards rushing (1.3 yards per attempt). Hutchinson sacked Dodge City quarterbacks six times.
"(I'm) pleased with our execution for the most part," Dallas said, saying there would be a few things to clean up during the bye week. "Only allowing 59 yards of rushing is pretty special." The Conqs entered the game averaging 107.6 yards on the ground per contest.
Dodge City finally reached pay dirt on a Stone Wilson 4-yard run with 4:49 left. The TD came compliments of a defensive pass interference penalty and a personal foul that gave the Conqs first-and-goal from the 7.
Dodge City mustered 218 total yards to the 345 put up by Hutchinson.
FINAL: Hutchinson 46 Dodge City 10
The Dragons are the only undefeated team left in the Jayhawk Conference.
No. 1 Hutchinson has a bye next week before returning to Gowans to face Garden City (3-4, 2-2) on Oct. 21.
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