CANYON, Tex. (BlueDragonSports.com) – Back in the 2020/21 NJCAA Division I Championship game against Snow College, the Hutchinson Community College football team rallied from second-half deficits of 14 and 10 points to capture its first national championship.
Wednesday night at Bain-Schaeffer Buffalo Stadium, the Blue Dragons used that same recipe, coming back from 10 points down at halftime and then held on to defeat No. 1 Iowa Western 28-23 to win the 2024 NJCAA National Championship.
The Blue Dragons’ second national football title is the 11th in Hutchinson athletic department history and the sixth since 2017. Blue Dragon Athletics now have national team championships in football (2020/21 and 2024), men’s basketball (1988, 1994, 2017), men’s track and field (1954, 1959), men’s golf (2021, 2022), women’s cross country (2001) and women’s basketball (2024).
Hutchinson finishes the season 11-1, which ties for the most wins in team history, matching the 2014 and 2022 teams. Iowa Western finishes the season at 11-2, both losses came against the Blue Dragons.
Blue Dragon freshman return specialist Kordell Gouldsby was named the game’s Most Valuable Player. He joins Tye Edwards as Blue Dragon players to win championship game MVP awards. Gouldsby had the biggest play of the game with a 73-yard punt return for a touchdown in the third quarter that gave the Blue Dragons a 28-17 lead.
Gouldsby finished the game with 158 total return yards – 90 punt return yards on four returns and 68 kickoff return yards on three returns.
Hutchinson was outgained by Iowa Western 448-305. The Blue Dragons had 191 yard rushing and 114 passing. Iowa Western had 412 passing yards and 36 rushing yards. Neither team committed a turnover.
Both Blue Dragon quarterbacks had some huge moments in the championship game.
Starter Samari Collier rushed for 109 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. Collier was 6 of 16 for 80 yards with a touchdown.
Back-up quarterback Christian Johnson entered the game in the third quarter and on his second play after entering, threw a go-ahead 34-yard touchdown pass to Tre Brown with 5:11 to play in the period for a 21-17 lead. Johnson was 1 of 5 passing for 34 yards with a touchdown and he rushed for nine yards.
JUCO Weekly Trophy award winner Waymond Jordan Jr. was limited to 79 rushing yards on 24 carries. He moved into second place past Jamison Palmer (1998) on the Blue Dragon single-season rushing list with 1,611 yards.
Brown had three receptions for 66 yards and a touchdown. Benson Prosper had three receptions for 35 yards and a touchdown.
Defensively, Avian Rice and Marshon Oxley had seven tackles each. Kollin Collier and JaQuel Mack had six tackles. Oxley tied a Blue Dragon individual high with three quarterback sacks.
Dekkers threw for 412 yards on 29 of 51 passing with two touchdowns to lead Iowa Western. Fresh Walters had six receptions for 59 yards. Keyon Brown had five catches for 79 yards and a touchdown.
The Blue Dragons fell behind 14-0 just 8 minutes, 11 seconds into the game on a pair of Hunter Dekkers’ touchdown passes. Brown caught a 27-yard touchdown pass to finish off a nine-play, 93-yard scoring drive on the game’s first drive. Titus Myers then caught a 14-yard pass for a 14-0 Reiver lead with 6:49 to play in the opening quarter.
The Dragon defense got its first defensive stops of the game and the offense finally started to move the ball. Samari Collier finished off a 65-yard, six-play drive with a 27-yard touchdown run with 13:28 to play to cut the deficit to 14-7.
Iowa Western added a 32-yard Max Bartachek field goal for a 17-7 lead with 5:25 to play in the half. The Reivers drove to the Dragon 4 as time ran out in the half with a 10-point lead over the Blue Dragons.
Gouldsby’s 46-yard kickoff return to open the second half set the Dragons up with a short field. The Dragons needed 10 plays to cover the 54 yards, finishing the drive with a diving Prosper catch in the back of the end zone from Samari Collier for a touchdown, pulling the Dragons within 17-14 with 11:34 to go in the quarter.
Two possessions later with the Dragons driving, Collier was injured and left the game. Johnson came in and on the second play after entering, he found Brown for a 34-yard touchdown pass with 5:11 to go and the Dragons had a 21-17 lead.
After forcing an Iowa Western punt, Gouldsby electrified the crowd of 1,648 with his 73-yard punt return for a touchdown that gave the Blue Dragons a 28-17 lead with 3:26 left in the third quarter.
Iowa Western answered and pulled within 28-23 with Brown catching an 11-yard touchdown catch from Dekkers. The Reivers missed on a two-point try and the Dragons led 28-23.
After the Dragons missed a field goal, the Reivers’ final drive started at its own 15. Iowa Western converted one fourth down on the drive and marched to the Hutchinson 11. On fourth-and-5, Mack pressured Dekkers and Rice broke up the Reivers’ final play as Hutchinson held the Reivers on downs with 57 seconds to play.
GAME NOTES – Blue Dragon head coach Drew Dallas is now 49-5 in five seasons. … The Dragons are now 6-5 under Dallas when trailing at halftime. Two of those six comeback wins came in national championship games. … The Dragons now lead the all-time series with Iowa Western 6-5. … Waymond Jordan Jr finished with 1,811 career rushing yards, moving past Chris Clay and Dion Marion into sixth place on the career list. … Samari Collier jumped four spots into No. 7 on the Blue Dragon career passing list with 2,729 yards. … The Dragons are now 18-9-2 in NJCAA postseason games, including 2-1 in national championship games. … The 551 points scored this season are third most in team history and the 3,211 rushing yards are a school record.
