(HCC Sports Information)
HUTCHINSON – No. 13 Iowa Western won its seventh consecutive game and kept the Hutchinson Community College football team from breaking out of a midseason slump as the Reivers took advantage of five turnovers in a 35-15 win over HCC on Saturday at Gowans Stadium.
Hutchinson slips to 4-5 overall, dropping below .500 for the first time since 2007. HCC also dropped a fourth-straight home game at Gowans Stadium for the first time since 2006. Iowa Western improves to 7-2.
The Blue Dragons built a 9-3 lead after Gary Cross’ 30-yard touchdown reception with 9:10 to play in the second quarter. HCC was driving for more when Kane Stone intercepted a pass in the end zone for a touchback. The Reivers then marched 80 yards on eight plays over 1 minute, 13 seconds to take a 10-9 lead on a Jon Nzombo 1-yard touchdown with 17 seconds to play before halftime.
The third quarter was disastrous for Hutchinson as Iowa Western outgained the Dragons 67 to minus-6 and HCC had four turnovers, including a sack/fumble that was recovered by Iowa Western’s Detric Bing-Dukes in the end zone for a touchdown. HCC trailed 23-9 after three quarters.
The Blue Dragons racked up 300 total offensive yards, getting a combined 244 passing yards from Kylen Binn and Dimonic McKinzy. Tyren Jones led HCC’s ground attack with 50 yards on 19 carries. Hutchinson had a season-high five turnovers that Iowa Western scored 20 points from.
Binn started for the first time since Week 3 and completed 7 of 21 passes for 127 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions. McKinzy was 8 of 10 for 117 yards and a touchdown and an interception.
Freshman receiver Gary Cross had a season-high 155 receiving yards on six catches and two touchdowns.
Iowa Western quarterback Zach Martin completed 27 of 43 passes for 305 yards with a touchdown and interception. That interception was made by HCC freshman Asher Goldston, who picked off his third pass in the last two games.
Iowa Western amassed 351 total yards, getting only 46 rushing yards against the Blue Dragons.
After the Dragon defense posted a three-and-out on Iowa Western’s first possession of the game, HCC worked the ball in position for a Tymony Bonilla career-long 35-yard field goal with 10:53 remaining in the first quarter. The Reivers tied the game on their next possession with a Bobby Patterson 26-yard field goal with 7:31 remaining in the first quarter.
Goldston intercepted Martin in the second quarter and returned it 41 yards to the Iowa Western 27. It took Hutchinson five plays to cash in when Cross caught a 30-yard strike from McKinzy for HCC’s first touchdown of the game. Iowa Western blocked the extra point, but Hutch led 9-3 with 9:10 remaining in the first half.
HCC’s next possession looked promising taking 14 plays to go from the Dragon 12 to the Reiver 2. The drive was kept alive with a spectacular Cross over-the-shoulder catch to the IWCC 4 on fourth-and-4. Two plays later, the drive stalled with Stone’s interception in the end zone.
The Reivers cashed in with an eight-play, 80-yard scoring march capped by Nzombo’s 1-yard touchdown with 17 seconds remaining. Iowa Western led 10-9 at halftime,
Iowa Western got Patterson field goals of 24 and 40 yards on its first two possessions of the third quarter to build a 16-9 lead with 8:10 remaining. HCC survived a fumble at the Dragon 37. HCC forced a punt after that miscue. But the Dragons didn’t survive the second as a sack/fumble rolled into the end zone – HCC’s fourth turnover of the quarter – for a Reiver touchdown and a 23-9 lead with 2:57 to play in the quarter.
The Blue Dragons still had life early in the fourth quarter when after a DeQuan Bowman 33-yard kickoff return to the HCC 39, Hutchinson drove 61 yards in four plays. Cross caught his second touchdown pass of the game, this from 14 yards from Binn to cut the Reiver lead to 26-15. Iowa Western again blocked the extra point and Darez Diggs ran it back for a defensive conversion to up the IWCC lead to 28-15 with 11:35 to play in the game.
Iowa Western tacked one a Martin 40-yard touchdown pass to Marshall Clark to round out the scoring.
Hutchinson will play its final regular-season home game next Saturday against Ellsworth in a 1 p.m. kickoff at Gowans Stadium.
GAME NOTES – HCC head coach Rion Rhoades coached his 100th game with the Blue Dragons on Saturday. … HCC is 0-2 all-time vs. Iowa Western. … With his one reception, DeQuan Bowman moved into sole possession of fifth place on the career receptions list with 77. He also became the sixth Blue Dragon receiver in history to reach 1,100 career receiving yards with 1,108.