Sophomore Ravelle Leak ran for better than 200 yards while return specialist Aidan Bruce tied a single-season school record to lead the No. 1-ranked Hutchinson Community College football team to the seventh 9-0 start in team history on Saturday.
Facing their first deficit of the season, the Blue Dragons immediately responded and had a huge second half to defeat the NEO Golden Norse 52-24 at Gowans Stadium.
The Blue Dragons improved to 9-0 for the season heading into next Saturday’s KJCCC battle against Dodge City in a 5 p.m. kickoff at Gowans Stadium. NEO fell to 5-4 after starting the season 5-0.
Leak ran for a career-high 203 yards on 19 carries and had 65-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to lead a Blue Dragon attack that ran for 306 yards and five touchdowns. Leak averaged 10.7 yards per carry against the Golden Norse.
Leak is the first Blue Dragon rush for 200 yards in a game since Waymond Jordan Jr. ran for 201 yards in Hutchinson’s national semifinal win over Georgia Military on December 8, 2024 in Milledgeville, GA.
Bruce opened the Blue Dragon scoring just 1:03 into the first quarter when he returned an NEO punt 58 yards for a touchdown. Bruce had three punt returns for 80 yards against NEO.
That was Bruce’s return for a touchdown this season, which ties Cordarrelle Patterson and Kordell Gouldsby for the most returns for touchdown in a season. Patterson had three kickoff returns for touchdowns in 2011, while Gouldsby had two punt returns and a kickoff return in 2025. All three of Bruce’s returns came on punts this season.
NEO took a 10-7 lead with 6:10 to play in the first quarter, which was the first time the Blue Dragons trailed in a game all season long. That deficit lasted all of 5 minutes, 14 seconds when Jayden Hall‘s 7-yard touchdown run gave the Blue Dragons a 14-10 lead with 56 seconds to play in the opening quarter.
The Blue Dragons led 21-17 at halftime and outscored NEO 31-7 in the second half, racking up 300 total yards in the second half.
Hutchinson out-gained NEO 466-392, outrushing the Golden Norse 306-91.
Blue Dragon quarterback Randy Phillips completed 17 of 22 passes for 160 yards with a touchdown and interception. He also rushed for 37 yards and a touchdown.
Sophomore receiver Jeremiah Looney had a career-high seven receptions for 73 yards. Nakai Poole had three catches for 49 yards and a touchdown.
Linebacker Dylan Gill had 10 tackles to lead the Hutchinson defense. Jace White and Jawon Springs had seven tackles each. Springs and Marcus Dawson each had interceptions. Tre Darden had a season-high three pass breakups.
Freshman kicker Parker Grizzell kicked a 27-yard field goal to give him 12 for the season on 18 attempts. Grizzell is now tied with Michael Mesh and Alejandro de la Poza for third on the Blue Dragon single-season made field goals list.
The Blue Dragon defense forced a three-and-out and a punt to open the game and Bruce returned the punt 58 yards for the game’s opening score and a 7-0 Hutchinson lead with 13:57 to play in the first quarter. NEO answered with a 10-play, 69-yard scoring drive that was capped by a Ognjen Petronijevis 25-yard field goal with 9:54 to play in the quarter, cutting the Dragon lead to 7-3.
With NEO leading 10-7, the Blue Dragons embarked on a 10-play, 65-yard scoring drive that was capped by Hall’s 7-yard touchdown run with 56 seconds to play in the first quarter and Hutchinson led 14-10.
The Blue Dragons took a 21-10 lead with 3:04 left in the second quarter when Rashaud Hurt‘s 2-yard TD run capped an 80-yard, 11-play scoring drive. Hutchinson forced another NEO three-and-out, but the Golden Norse got a 35-yard interception return for a touchdown from Jordan Warrior with 1:48 to play in the half to cut the Dragon lead to 21-17 at halftime.
Hutchinson upped its lead to 31-17 after three quarters when Phillips ran in from 14 yards out for a rushing touchdown with 7:14 to go and Grizzell added a 27-yard field goal with 4:29 to play in the period.
Poole opened the fourth quarter with a 35-yard touchdown reception from Phillips for a 38-17 lead. After an NEO touchdown pass, Leak burst up the middle and sprinted for a 65-yard touchdown run for a 45-24 lead with 11:34 to go in the final quarter. Bravin Powell closed out the scoring with a 4-yard touchdown run with 7:20 to play.
GAME NOTES – The Blue Dragons have won three-straight games against NEO and now trail in the all-time series 5-11. … The 52 points scored by the Dragons are the most in series history and the 76 combined points are the most in series history with NEO. … This was head coach Drew Dallas’ 75th game on the Blue Dragon sideline. … This was the first time the Blue Dragons gave up a 300-yard passing game since Iowa Western had 427 on September 7, 2024. … This was the sixth game with 400 or more total yards and the second game of 300 or more rushing yards this season. … The Dragons had a season high 10 quarterback hurries against NEO.
