EL DORADO, Kan. — No. 10 Butler (3-2, 2-2) took an early 6-0 lead on No. 1 Hutchinson (5-0, 3-0) before the Dragons scored 29 unanswered points.
Grizzly quarterback Tanner Murray found Nick Brown for a 48-yard score with 4:52 left in the first quarter. The extra-point attempt failed on a mishandled snap.
The Dragon defense gave up points to an opposing offense for the first time in eight quarters of football.
Down six early, the Dragons responded with three rushing touchdowns, two from Tyrell Reed.
Reed finished the day with 117 yards on 23 touches.
Reed scored on a 5-yard run to answer the Butler score. Darby Roper faked the hold on the extra point and reached the ball across the pylon for a two-point conversion against a Grizzly defense that had five blocked kicks coming into the contest.
Up 8-6, Brandon Epton Jr. scampered 61 yards on the second play of the next Dragon drive to extend the lead to nine.
Reed's second touchdown came early in the second quarter on a 14-yard burst.
After three scores on the ground, Hutchinson turned to the air.
Quarterback Samari Collier hit Tre Richardson on a 23-yard strike to put Hutchinson up 29-6 at the break.
"I thought our guys played with great energy tonight," Hutchinson head coach Drew Dallas said. "We cleaned up a lot of things from last week and it showed," Dallas said in reference to his team's 15 penalties (12 in the first half) against Coffeyville.
The Dragons were penalized just four times Saturday night in El Dorado.
Butler showed some resilience to begin the second half after Murray used his legs to power a 9-play, 75-yard drive.
It was capped by a 6-yard pass from Murray to Justin Stephens.
Murray finished 13-of-31 for 181 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.
Murray led Butler with 37 rushing yards. The Dragons sacked him five times.
Collier answered the Butler drive with an 83-yard touchdown run.
"We had the oxygen down there for him afterward," Dallas joked after the game.
Hutchinson's Daniel Brown registered six tackles with two sacks and four tackles for loss.
"He's electric," Dallas said of Brown. "He dominated that side of the football tonight."
Xavier Stillman led the Dragons with three sacks. He added three tackles for loss.
Butler running back Jaisean McMillian ran for 144 of his team's 242 yards on the ground last week at NEO. Hutchinson held McMillian to 21 yards on seven carries.
The Dragon D surrendered just 91 yards on the ground.
"As you look back on it, it's very frustrating because we had guys in the right spots," Butler head coach Brice Vignery said. "Ultimately that falls back on myself and my coaches."
"You feel bad that we couldn't win, but hats off, they're a good football team," Vignery said of his team's performance in front of alumni present for the 2003 championship team reunion and those on-hand to honor longtime defensive line coach Steve Braet, who was a part of six titles in 42 years with the Grizzlies.
Reed scored a third time on the ground for Hutchinson on a 25-yard burst with 2:04 left in the contest. The score followed a 44-yard field goal from Butler's Aiden Battle.
FINAL: Hutchinson 43 Butler 16
Hutchinson gashed Butler with 490 yards of offense, 354 of it on the ground.
No. 1 Hutchinson will face No. 15 Dodge City (3-2, 3-0) in Gowans Stadium Oct. 7.
CLICK HERE to download the Hutch Post mobile app.
CLICK HERE to sign up for the daily Hutch Post email news update.