By DAREN DUNN
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — After a disappointing loss in Coffeyville last week, the defending national champion Blue Dragons hoped to bounce back at home against Butler.
Both teams entered the contest 0-1 for the first time since 1991.
Like last week, No. 11 Hutchinson scored quickly to take an early 7-0 lead.
The first touchdown came via the legs of Anwar Lewis. Hutchinson almost turned the ball over at the 1. Lineman Stevie Young had to fall on a Lewis fumble to keep the drive alive. Lewis also had a touchdown called back because his helmet came off on the play. With less than four minutes gone by, Lewis punched it in from one yard out to give Hutchinson the early advantage.
Butler would answer in the second quarter on a one-yard TD pass from Jake Wolff to Darrius Lassiter.
Hutchinson took nearly five minutes off the clock with a 12-play, 65-yard drive that finished with another one-yard run. This one came from Jaheim Simmons.
Without missing a beat, Butler came back with a 40-yard connection from Wolff to Lassiter. Wolff threw for 113 yards and two touchdowns. Lassiter finished with seven receptions for 108 yards and the two scores.
Tied at 14-all, Dylan Kedzior took the ensuing kickoff 52 yards into Butler territory. A fourth-down defensive pass interference call moved the ball to Butler's 13. When Hutchinson was forced into 4th and 1, a false start penalty forced C.J. Moya to kick a 26-yard field goal.
The Blue Dragons were poised to take the lead into halftime, something that also seemed inevitable last Saturday in Coffeyville. Instead, Butler used a 13-play, 75-yard drive that was capped by another touchdown pass. This pass, however, came from the arm of Gavin Screws, who replaced an injured Wolff. Wolff was forced out of bounds on a first-down run and was slow to get up. He exited the game and did not return.
Screws threw his first touchdown from six yards out to Daevon Robinson. Screws completed 10 of his 16 passes for 95 yards and two touchdowns.
"We weren't able to get a stop when we needed to," head coach Drew Dallas said after the game. He admitted that the defense did not execute at a high level.
"We didn't play our best and, in this conference when you don't play your best, you're susceptible to losing," Dallas said.
The defense still seemed to be strong after only giving up 17 points in week one. Arguably, only 3 points were scored against the defense last week as a blocked punt was picked up in the end zone for one score and the special teams extended a drive inside the 10 after a roughing-the-kicker penalty.
Dallas felt like the defense was the one thing he could depend on after a bad week in Coffeyville for his offense and special teams that featured seven turnovers and two muffed punts.
Against Butler, Hutchinson (0-2) surrendered 43 points.
After taking a 21-17 lead into halftime, the Grizzlies (1-1) scored the game's next 22 points. Butler took a 43-17 lead with 3:39 left in the contest. The four straight scores for Butler were part of a 29-point run.
The scoring run featured one more touchdown pass from Screws. He hit A.J. King early in the third quarter from 23 yards out. Screws nearly fumbled away an opportunity in the red zone to start the fourth quarter, but running back Kevontae McDonald scooped up the botched snap and ran it in for a short touchdown.
McDonald would score again with 3:39 left in the game on a 26-yard scamper.
"We didn't match their intensity in the second half," Dallas said.
Hutchinson scored one last time as the clock expired on an 11-yard pass from Dylan Laible to Miles Kitselman. With the clock at zero and the game decided, Hutchinson did not get to attempt the extra point.
FINAL: Butler 43 Hutchinson 23
Dylan Laible finished 14 of 30 with one touchdown and an interception. He threw for 164 yards.
Anwar Lewis rushed for 95 yards and a touchdown. He had two fumbles at the 1. His offensive lineman covered up the fumble on one of the drives, but the other fumble in the fourth quarter was recovered by Butler.
Russell Wilkey caught two passes for 48 yards. Micah Woods added 44 yards on three catches for Hutchinson.
Albert Nunes led Hutchinson with six tackles.
Hutchinson enters a bye week and will play Fort Scott (0-2) in Gowans Stadium on Sept. 25.