HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Despite building a 12-0 advantage and leading 18-7 at halftime, the Blue Dragons (4-5) lost to Independence (3-4) in Gowans on Saturday.
Tre Griffin started the scoring in the first quarter on a 4-yard run.
Griffin finished the day with 112 yards rushing.
Luke Niemeyer hit a 26-yard field goal later in the first to extend the Blue Dragon lead.
That FG was one of three makes for Niemeyer on the day. He finished the day 3 for 4 with a long of 40.
J.J. Holmes recorded the fourth safety for HCC’s defense this season with two minutes left in the first quarter when he trapped Darrell Hickman in the end zone.
HCC led 12-0 heading into the second stanza.
Indy cut into that lead with a 14-yard TD pass from Jonathan Banks to Calvin Jackson.
Hutchinson would finish the first half with two more Luke Niemeyer field goals from 32 and 40 yards out, respectively.
Niemeyer’s only miss came from 28 yards away on a kick that barely left the ground.
HCC did not score in the second half.
Independence found pay dirt early in the third quarter on another 14-yard pass. This time, Leondre James was on the receiving end of an Alin Edouard pass.
Zavery Goodrich had his extra point blocked as Indy cut the HCC lead to 18-13.
The Blue Dragon defense would hold Independence on a critical 4th down in HCC territory, but Asher Goldston intercepted a Jonathan Banks’ pass on the 6 yard line. The turnover worked more like a punt, but ultimately didn’t hurt the Blue Dragons.
What did hurt the Blue Dragons was a muffed punt.
Three-time special teams player of the week Adrian Cross muffed a punt on the HCC 1 yard line. He tried to catch the punt while backing up against his own goal line.
Independence recovered the muff in prime position to score.
Jonathan Banks capitalized on the turnover with a short sneak.
Indy then completed a two-point conversion from Banks to Jackson.
With 6:09 left, Indy claimed a 21-18 lead.
The Blue Dragons had a chance to tie the game late, but failed on a fourth down conversion to get the necessary 4 yards.
The defense nearly got the ball back with limited time, but an unsportsmanlike penalty ended HCC’s chances of getting the ball back.
With one timeout left, Hutchinson could do nothing but watch Independence kneel the ball and run out the clock.
FINAL: Independence 21 HCC 18
The Blue Dragon defense only surrendered 93 yards on the ground and 98 yards in the air. It held the Pirates to 4 of 14 on third down conversions.
The Pirates were also 0 of 3 on fourth down. However, Indy scored on all three red zone attempts, while the Blue Dragons missed one opportunity out of four.
The Dragons fumbled the ball six times and lost it twice.
Cam Jones finished the day with 8-of-21 passing for 81 yards and no interceptions.
Gary Cross had another chance at a TD reception, but dropped the ball in the end zone.
HCC (4-5) is on the road at Fort Scott (4-4) next Saturday.