Hutchinson CC Sports Information
The Hutchinson Community College football team's 42-day road trip continues on Saturday with a second-straight trip to the state of Iowa.
The No. 1-ranked Blue Dragons (3-0) play their final non-conference contest against the Ellsworth Panthers (2-3) at 11 a.m. Saturday at Cadet Field in Iowa Falls, Iowa.
The game will be broadcast live on Blue Dragon flagship station KHUT-FM (102.9) and on sister stations KWBW-AM/FM (1450/98.5) beginning at 10:30 a.m. with Sean Boston (PBP) and Daren Dunn (color) calling the action. The game will be streamed live on the Blue Dragon Sports Network beginning at 10:30 a.m.
Coming off their first of two bye weeks last Saturday, the Blue Dragons last played on September 28 and defeated No. 9 Iowa Central 35-17 in Fort Dodge, Iowa. Before the Blue Dragons play again at Gowans Stadium in October 18, they have road games at Ellsworth and Dodge City before then. Again, the 42 days between home games is the longest stretch between home games in program history.
Two weeks ago, Blue Dragon quarterback Christian Johnson threw four touchdown passes, three to Derrick Salley Jr. as the Blue Dragons broke a 14-all tie with 4 minutes to play in the third quarter. Defensively, Darius Wiley (11 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 quarterback sacks) and Teegan Haines (15 tackles) led a Dragon defense that rolled up 16 tackles for loss and six quarterback sacks.
An improved Ellsworth team had a tough battle last week in Iowa Falls, losing to No. 8 Garden City 66-10. Two weeks ago, the Panthers defeated Highland 41-38. That was Ellsworth's first KJCCC/Iowa Alliance victory since September 14, 2019, a streak of 36 games.
Last season, the Blue Dragons tied an NJCAA scoring record, defeating Ellsworth 99-0 on September 28, 2024 at Gowans Stadium, Hutchinson's sixth-straight win in the series.
The Blue Dragons out-gained Ellsworth 583-100, including 460 yards on the ground led by eventual NJCAA Offensive Player of the Year, Waymond Jordan, Jr., who had 175 yards on nine carries and four touchdowns.
Entering play on Saturday, Salley is the nation's leader in touchdown receptions with seven and is third in yards per game and yards per reception at 108.7 and 21.7 yards, respectively. Johnson leads the nation in completion percentage at 71.0 percent.
Defensively, safety M.J. Graham leads the nation with four interceptions. Haines is second in the NJCAA in tackles per game (11.0).
Now 2-0 in the KJCCC/Iowa Scheduling Alliance this season, the Dragons are now 27-8 since the Alliance started in 2014.