NEWTON – Hutchinson scored all of its points in less than five minutes during the third quarter Friday, and the Salthawks held off Newton 15-14.
Newton, which came into the game having lost 17 straight but had vastly improved this season, scored the only points of the first half, as Kolbie Espada ran for a touchdown and threw for another, as the Railers led 14-0.
Hutchinson got on the board with 6 minutes, 13 seconds left in the third quarter, as quarterback Robert Hunter capped a nine-play, 80-yard drive with an 8-yard touchdown run. The extra-point kick was blocked.
The Salthawks made up for the missed kick when they recorded a safety with 3:32 left in the third quarter. On their ensuing possession, Lamar Govain hauled in a 26-yard touchdown pass from Hunter.
Karmelo Green had 103 yards rushing for Hutch on just 11 carries.
The Salthawks were able to overcome losing the turnover battle by two, and committing more penalties and penalty yards by holding Newton to 237 rushing yards.
Hutch improved to 5-2 and will return home next week to take on Maize South. The Salthawks are in sixth place in the Class 5A West District standings and could mathematically finish anywhere between third and ninth.
