CANYON, Texas – The Hutchinson Community College football team got off to a tremendous start in Wednesday night’s NJCAA Football Championship game against Iowa Western.
But the No. 2-ranked Reivers grabbed control in the second quarter and never relinquished control in a 28-10 victory over top-ranked Blue Dragons in a championship game rematch at Bain-Schaeffer Buffalo Stadium.
The Blue Dragons close the season with a program-record-tying 11-1 record, matching the 2014, 2022 and 2024 teams. Hutchinson is now 2-2 in NJCAA Championship games. The Blue Dragons had been ranked No. 1 all season long after winning the 2024 national title.
Hutchinson jumped out to a 10-0 lead after one quarter, scoring on their first two possessions of the game. The Blue Dragons out-gained the Reivers 108-39 in the first quarter.
The Reivers assumed control of the game in the second quarter and never relinquished command of the game. Iowa Western outgained the Blue Dragons 368-54 in the final three quarters. The Dragons were 2 of 4 on third down in the first quarter and 1 of 11 over the remainder of the game.
In the first quarter, the Blue Dragons broke two individual game or season records and tied another.
Freshman kicker Alejandro de la Poza kicked a school-record 52-yard field goal, surpassing Nestus Burger’s old record of 50 yards two seasons ago. De la Poza also set a season record for made field goals with his 15th of the season.
Receiver Derrick Salley Jr. tied Roger Frazier’s 20-years single-season touchdown receptions record with his 13th touchdown pass of the season.
The Blue Dragons had a season-low 162 yards total offense (73 rushing, 89 passing) on Wednesday.
Sophomore quarterback Christian Johnson completed 10 of 21 passes for 89 yards with a touchdown. He was sacked a season-high eight times. Johnson rushed for 20 yards on 19 carries.
Lekedrin Harvey was Hutchinson’s leading rusher with 24 yards on seven carries.
Salley had four catches for 41 yards and a 15-yard touchdown. Kordell Gouldsby had four carries for 34 yards.
Defensively, Darius Wiley and D.J. Jester had eight tackles each. Wiley had 2.5 tackles for loss and a quarterback sack.
Iowa Western finished with 407 total yards (194 rushing, 213 passing). Game MVP Daniel Swinney rushed for 153 yards on 21 carries and a touchdown. Quarterback Malachi Marshall had 213 passing yards with three touchdowns on 18 of 35 passing.
After Hutchinson’s defense forced a three-and-out to start the game, the offense marched down the field, going 65 yards in eight plays to score on a Johnson-to-Salley 15-yard touchdown pass, Salley’s first TD reception in five games.
The Dragons again forced another Reiver punt that led to a six-play, 22-yard scoring drive that was culminated in de la Poza’s record 52-yard field goal and the Blue Dragons led 10-0 with 6:14 remaining in the first quarter.
Iowa Western struck for two second-quarter touchdowns – a 9-yard TD reception from Marshall and a 20-yard TD reception by Tre Brown to led 14-10 with 7:31 remaining in the second quarter.
The Reivers scored single touchdowns in the third and fourth quarters each to close out the game.
GAME NOTES – The Blue Dragons are now 7-6 all-time against Iowa Western, getting their four-game win streak over the Reivers snapped. … The Dragons are now 19-10-2 in 31 all-time NJCAA postseason games, including 5-3 in NJCAA Playoff games. … Hutchinson’s has now played in six No. 1-vs.-No. 2 matchups in program history, going 4-2 in those games. … Head coach Drew Dallas is 60-6 after completing his sixth season with the Blue Dragons. … Quarterback Christian Johnson tied PJ Peters with his 28th career touchdown pass and jumped to No. 5 past Peters in career completions with 221.
