The No. 11-ranked Hutchinson Community College football team opens Jayhawk Conference play for 2014 on Saturday as the Fort Scott Greyhounds come to Gowans Stadium for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
Both teams earned victories in Week No. 1 of the junior college football season. The Blue Dragons ran for better than 300 yards and had five takeaways in a 45-7 victory over the Bethany College Junior Varsity. Fort Scott unleashed a relentless running game and rallied for a 24-17 victory over Iowa Central at Fort Scott.
HCC efficiently used a rotation of three running backs to amass 327 rushing yards. Alvin Kamara had 111 yards and two touchdowns. Travis Custis had 98 yards and Bradan Smith rushed for 51 yards and two scores against the Swedes.
The Dragons defensively will have to contend with Fort Scott running back Devin Taylor, who totaled the second most rushing yards in the nation in Week 1 with 228 yards on 43 carries and three second-half touchdowns.
Overall, the Blue Dragons are 48-34 in Jayhawk Conference openers. They are 0-1 vs. Fort Scott in the only conference opener between the two teams (1992).
One year ago when Hutchinson and Fort Scott met at Gowans Stadium, things looked bleak for the Blue Dragons just one minute into the third quarter. Minus starting quarterback Luke Barnes, who suffered a season-ending injury in the first quarter, HCC trailed 36-14. With back-up quarterback Frankie Seurer running the offense, the Blue Dragons mounted what became the largest comeback in program history, defeating the Greyhounds 63-39.
The Blue Dragons have won four games in a row against Fort Scott after dropping 6 of the previous 7 matchups against the Greyhounds.
Game 2: Hutchinson vs. Fort Scott
When: Saturday, September 6, 2014
At: Hutchinson, KS
Stadium: Gowans Stadium
Capacity: 5,500
Surface: FieldTurf
Series Record: Hutchinson leads 37-32-1
Last Meeting: HCC, 63-39, 2013, Hutchinson
Blue Dragons
Record: 1-0 (0-0 Jayhawk)
NJCAA Ranking: No. 11
Last Game: def. Bethany College JV 45-7 on Aug. 28
Coach: Rion Rhoades, 8th season
Greyhounds
Record: 1-0 (0-0 Jayhawk)
Ranking: Unranked
Last Game: def. Iowa Central 24-17 last Saturday
Coach: Curtis Horton, 4th season
Radio: KHUT-FM (102.9); KWBW-AM (1450); KWBW-FM (98.5) – Rusty Hilst, Play-by-Play; Rob Dreher, color; Glen Grunwald, sidelines; Countdown To Kickoff – 6:30 p.m., Pregame Airtime – 6:50 p.m.
Internet: Blue Dragon Sport Network (www.bluedragonsports.com) – Free Live Videostream; Free Audio-Only Feed; Live Statistics
Twitter: @bluedragonsport
Facebook: www.facebook.com/BlueDragonSports
The Coaches
Hutchinson: Rion Rhoades is in his eighth season with the Blue Dragons. He has a 53-27 record at HCC and 60-32 in his ninth season as a head coach.
Fort Scott: Curtis Horton is in his fourth season with the Greyhounds. Horton has posted an 11-16 record with the Greyhounds.
Noting The Blue Dragons
+ The Blue Dragons were efficient, but not flashy in their Week 1 performance against the Bethany College JV. HCC rolled up 45 points, rushing for 327 yards and throwing for just 161. The Dragons had just one interception.
+ Defensively, HCC held Bethany to just seven points, that coming in the fourth quarter. HCC allowed 133 rushing yards and just 115 yards passing. The Dragons forced five takeaways – four interceptions and a fumble – with Riley Hunsicker returning a pick 25 yards for a defensive touchdown.
+ Rushing the football, the Blue Dragons averaged 7.4 yards per carry. Freshman transfer Alvin Kamara led the Dragons with 111 yards on 14 carries and two touchdowns. Kamara averaged 7.9 yards per attempt. Transfer Travis Custis averaged 8.9 yards per tote with 98 yards on 11 carries. Bradan Smith ran for two scores.
+ HCC used two quarterbacks extensively in the opener. Starter Dalton Demos completed 12 of 17 passes for just 85 yards with a touchdown and interception. Kylen Binn was 5 of 15 for 76 yards.
+ Sophomore Bryce Harvey had career highs of nine receptions and 71 yards to lead the Dragon receiving corps. DeQuan Bowman was the only other receiver with more than one catch last week, making two receptions for 31 yards. Eight different receivers had catches last week.
+ Overall tackles were well spread out as the defensive unit saw many different combinations against the Swedes. Kyle Wilson led the team with seven tackles, including three solo stops. Riley Hunsicker, Lakel Bass, Jeremiah Ledbetter and Seth Hartman had five tackles each.
+ Blue Dragon coverage teams have one blocked kick already this season. Jeremiah Ledbetter blocked a 54-yard field goal attempt last week by Bethany.
+ Over the last 13 games, the Blue Dragons now have 28 total interceptions. HCC had four picks last week – Hunsicker, Darius Wright, Tyler Williams and Chase Hanson – against Bethany.
+ Dragon placekickers were perfect in Game 1. Tymony Bonilla was 3 of 3 on extra points and connected on a 21-yard field goal. Kassidy Lemons was 3 of 3 on extra points.
+ Punter Stetson Broce had just two punts in Game 1. He averaged 41.0 yards per punt with both punts being fair caught.
Noting Fort Scott
+ Fort Scott trailed its season opener with Iowa Central 17-3 with 12:07 to go in the third quarter. The Greyhounds then reeled off 21 unanswered points, putting together a game-winning scoring drive that ended with a Devin Taylor 1-yard run with 32 seconds remaining in the game for a 24-17 victory.
+ Fort Scott was a deceiving 2-7 last season. The Greyhounds had one of the best rushing attacks in the Jayhawk Conference, but weren’t able to sustain several good starts for a full 60 minutes. Last season, Fort Scott ranked 13th in the NJCAA with 209.8 rushing yards per game. JoNathan Alford was second in the NJCAA with 158.2 rushing yards per game. The Greyhounds amassed 251 rushing yards against HCC last season.
+ This season, Devon Taylor is Fort Scott’s featured back. At 5-foot-11, 205 pounds, the reigning Jayhawk Conference Offensive Player of the Week led the Greyhounds with 228 yards on 43 carries and three second-half touchdowns, including the game winner from a yard out with 32 seconds remaining in the game. The 228 yards were the second most yards in the NJCAA last week.
+ The Greyhounds used a pair of quarterbacks in Week 1. Freshman Braxton Ross was 3 for 6 for just 1 yards and two interceptions. Sophomore Marc Walbridge was 7 of 19 for 45 yards.
+ Shawn Thomas as Fort Scott’s top receiver with four receptions for 21 yards. Jamal Chevis had three receptions for 39 yards.
+ Defensively, the Greyhounds were solid in Game 1. Fort Scott allowed just 17 rushing yards and 115 passing yards. The Greyhounds didn’t force any takeaways and had two quarterback sacks. They did produce 13 total tackles for loss totaling 37 yards.
+ Linebacker Gabe Lloyd led the Greyhounds with 12 total tackles, including three tackles for loss. Linebacker Nathan Emrich and defensive lineman Alexis Johnson had seven tackles each.
+ Placekicker Blayke Lindeman was 3 for 3 on extra points and hit a 27-yard field goal in Week 1.
+ Punter Matt Vincent was the Jayhawk Conference Special Teams Player of the Week after averaging 43.1 yards on nine points and dropping four inside the 20-yard line.
+ Fort Scott had good return numbers last week. Jamal Chevis averaged 31.0 yards per kickoff return, while Landon Jameis-Wilson averaged 23.0 yards per punt return on five returns.
Series History vs. Fort Scott
Saturday’s matchup will be the 71st meeting all-time between Hutchinson and Fort Scott in a series that dates back to 1929.
The Blue Dragons lead the overall series 37-32-1, winning the last four meetings.
Hutchinson leads the series 20-14-1 in games played in Hutchinson, but Fort Scott has an 18-17 advantage on its home field.
The Dragons are 5-1 in playoff meetings. The teams are 1-1 in overtime games. HCC won a 30-24 four-overtime epic in 2002 in Fort Scott.
Last year, the Blue Dragons defeated Fort Scott 69-39 at Gowans Stadium. The Blue Dragons trailed 36-14 one minute into the second half before mounting what became the largest comeback in program history (22 points).
(HCC Sports Information