CANYON, Texas — No. 3 Hutchinson (10-1) and No. 1 Iowa Western (11-1) face off in the national championship for the second time in three years Wednesday night.
The Reivers are the back-to-back defending national champions while the Dragons are making their third appearance in the title game in five seasons.
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"Getting here is not the ultimate goal," head coach Drew Dallas said of his team's third appearance in the national championship game in five years.
In their last appearance two seasons ago, the Dragons were blanked 31-0 by Iowa Western.
"(The goal) is to close this thing out and do it the right way," Dallas said.
"We got a chip on our shoulder," quarterback Samari Collier said. The Dragons fell one game short of the national championship last year in a loss to East Mississippi.
"It's another opportunity to display how good we are as a team," running back Waymond Jordan Junior said. Jordan Junior is currently second in season rushing touchdowns (20) and yards per rush (7.9) in Blue Dragon history.
Playing for a national championship "is really a dream come true," linebacker JaQuel Mack said. Mack took a cleat to the chin in Hutchinson's semifinal win in Georgia. Mack said the cleat slid under his facemask as he fell to the ground.
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Championship coverage begins Dec. 18 at 6:30 p.m. with Countdown To Kickoff from Bain-Schaeffer Stadium in Canyon, Texas. Sean Boston, Daren Dunn and Steve Carpenter will have exclusive interviews with Drew Dallas, Scott Strohmeier and Josh Gooch ahead of the 7:32 p.m. kickoff.
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The game can be heard on Country 102.9 and KWBW Radio 1450 AM/98.5 FM.