HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The seventh win of the season did not come easily for No. 1 Hutchinson (7-0, 4-0).
The Dragons ripped off 20 unanswered points to begin the game, but left the door open for Garden City (3-5, 2-3) after Broncbuster quarterback Jalen Daniels connected on a 53-yard bomb to Keyshawn Buckley.
Buckley stepped out-of-bounds on the play and two flags were thrown. After deliberation, officials concluded pass interference on the Dragons forced the receiver out-of-play. Buckley re-established his feet before touching the ball.
Two defensive penalties on the Dragons (one for pass interference, the other for being offsides) were declined and the Broncbusters went for two.
The two-point conversion failed. Hutchinson took a 20-6 advantage into the locker room.
Hutchinson's first 20 points came compliments of three Samari Collier touchdowns, two on the ground and one through the air.
Collier scored twice on the ground within the first six minutes of play.
His 4-yard touchdown run was followed by a defensive fumble recovery. Collier took advantage of the field position with a 3-yard score.
Collier's 33-yard touchdown pass to Zeriah Beason with 9:28 to play in the second quarter put Hutchinson up three scores.
The first misstep of the day came on a Cole Segraves 36-yard field goal attempt. His kick was good, but Hutchinson was flagged for illegal formation and backed up five yards.
The 41-yard attempt from Segraves was no good.
From there, Hutchinson committed three turnovers in the red zone.
"We left a lot on the table there today," head coach Drew Dallas said.
Collier was intercepted twice by Daniel Martin. The Broncbuster defender also recovered a fumble in the red area.
A Ryan Nolan interception in the third quarter gave Hutchinson a shot at another historic field goal. In the last home game against Dodge City, kicker Nestus Burger set a school record from 50 yards out.
Saturday, his 54-yard attempt went just wide right.
It was tough sledding on the ground for the Dragons. Garden City came into the game only allowing 79.7 yards rushing per game.
Collier led the Dragons in rushing with 67 yards, while Tyrell Reed (who was coming off his third offensive player of the week honor) was held to 58 yards on 11 carries.
The Dragons managed 138 yards on 37 rushing attempts, a far cry from the 263 Hutchinson averaged coming into the game.
"We just weren't able to get established at times," Dallas said of the rushing attack.
In the fourth quarter, Garden City faced 4th and Goal from the 4. Hutchinson stopped the Broncbusters, but got flagged for illegal substitution.
With new life, Daniels hit Alex Lines for a two-yard score.
Braxton Frey's extra point failed and the Dragons held on to a 20-12 advantage.
Craziness struck with 8:19 remaining.
Stefaan Forbes mishandled the snap on a punt attempt inside the Dragon 15. Garden City recovered the ball at the Hutchinson 12.
Fortunately, an unsportsmanlike penalty on Garden City forced the ball back to the 27. Another Buster penalty, this time on head coach Tom Minnick, forced Garden City even farther back.
Facing 3rd and 30 from the 47, Daniels completed a 19-yard pass to Demond Demas. On 4th and 11 from the 28, Daniels scrambled around and found Ajou Ajou wide open on the back side of the defense.
Down 20-18, Garden City went for two. Daniels threw incomplete for Lines on the try.
Hutchinson answered on the next possession with a 29-yard touchdown pass from Collier to Beason.
Beason finished the day with five catches for 91 yards and two scores.
"He made two unbelievable catches," Dallas said of Beason.
Collier finished the day 11-of-19 with two touchdowns and two interceptions. He also ran for 67 yards and two scores on the ground.
Daniel Brown wreaked havoc on the Buster offense all day. The nation's sack leader added three more to his tally. Brown finished with eight tackles, 3.5 for loss and three sacks.
"He's dynamic in a lot of different ways," Dallas said of Brown.
Garden City's last chance on offense ended with a turnover-on-downs with 1:35 to play.
FINAL: Hutchinson 27 Garden City 18
Hutchinson travels to Highland (6-3, 3-2) on Oct. 28 for a noon kickoff.
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