Courtesy of Blue Dragons Sports Information
The Hutchinson Blue Dragons, ranked third in the latest NJCAA Division football poll, pummeled the Broncos from New Mexico Military Institute 42-10 in their home-opener and season-opener Thursday night at Gowans Stadium.
The HutchCC-NMMI matchup was streamed lived as the ESPN+ NJCAA Division I Football Game of the Week.
Hutchinson’s top returning player is Samari Collier, the 2023 Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference Co-Offensive Player of the Year. Collier is a 6-foot-3, 225-pound sophomore quarterback from DeSoto, Texas.
Waymond Jordan Jr., a 5-foot-10, 200-pound sophomore from Pensacola, Fla., scored the first HutchCC touchdown on a 26-yard touchdown run with 7:29 left in the first quarter. The TD capped a 13-play, 72-yard drive.
Nestus Burger, a sophomore from Perth, Australia, kicked the extra point for a 7-0 Blue Dragon lead.
HutchCC’s Ja’Cory Thomas, a 6-3, 195-pound sophomore from Walker, la., then caught a 68-yard TD pass from Collier for the Blue Dragons’ second TD with 4:12 left in the first quarter.
Burger’s extra point made the score 14-0. The drive was five plays for 86 yards and took 1 minute, 36 seconds off the clock.
After HutchCC’s Avian Rice intercepted a pass, Collier connected with Derrick Salley, a 6-3, 220-pound freshman from Green Pond, S.C., on a 13-yard TD pass on a one-handed catch in the back of the end zone.
Burger booted his third PAT kick for a 21-0 lead at the 2:16 mark in the first half.
HutchCC’s Collier threw an interception with 12:34 left in the second quarter.
HutchCC backup quarterback Christian Johnson, a 6-foot, 204-pound freshman from Montgomery, Ala., hooked up with Salley on a 41-yard TD pass with 3:22 left in the first half. Burger connected on his fourth PAT kick for a 28-0 lead.
NMMI quarterback Elliott Paskett-Bell connected with wide receiver Kris Harbin for a 9-yard touchdown pass with 54 seconds left in the first half. The drive went 75 yards in nine plays. The PAT kick was good and the Broncos cut the Blue Dragons’ lead to 28-7.
Jordan opened the scoring 36 seconds into the second half with a 54-yard TD run around the left end. Burger’s fifth PAT kick of the game made the score 35-7. That was the score at the end of the third quarter.
Johnson scored the Blue Dragons’ sixth TD on a 8-yard broken play run with 9:48 left in the game and Burger booted his sixth PAT for a 42-0 HutchCC lead.
Iowa Western’s Jack Nelson kicked a 26-yard field goal to cut the Blue Dragons’ lead to 42-10.
HutchCC’s Burger tried a field goal with 1:03 left in the game but it was blocked.
The Blue Dragons rushed for 371 yards and rolled up 508 yards of total offense. NMMI had 315 yards in total offense.
Collier completed 5-of-18 passes for 96 yards. He threw two TD passes and three interceptions. He added 49 yards rushing on five carries.
Johnson completed 1-of-4 passes for 41 yards and one TD. He added 23 yards on five carries.
Jordan led the Blue Dragons in rushing with 179 yards on 14 carries. Titus Petteway added 58 yards on six carries, Walter Samuel had 32 yards on six carries, Deshaun Carter had 29 yards on four carries. Julius Bolden had 14 yards on three carries.
Thomas caught two passes for 74 yards and Salley had two catches for 53 yards.
NMMI quarterback Paskett-Bell completed 20-of-39 passes for 165 yards with one TD pass and one interception. He also ran for 47 yards on eight carries.
Zahir Favors rushed 25 times for 50 yards. Alvin Johnson III added 33 yards on six carries.
Harbin caught seven passes for 59 yards and one touchdown. Karl Peterson had four catches for 45 yards and Kendall Jones had five catches for 36 yards.
Three Blue Dragon defenders each made eight tackles — Spencer LaModrick, Kordell Gouldsby and Jace Boswell. Kedrick Walker and Devan Lowe each had six. Boswell had a sack.
NMMI’s top defenders were Rayden Aphayvong and Damon Mayberry with nine tackles each.
The theme for Thursday night’s home game was “Blue Dragon Students Night Out.”
Hutchinson (1-0) will hit the road Sept. 7 for a matchup against Iowa Western CC in Council Bluffs, Iowa. It is the first of three matchups against Iowa schools for HutchCC.
The Blue Dragons host Iowa Central on Sept. 14 and Ellsworth CC Sept. 28.
NMMI plays the Utah Islanders Sept. 7 at Herriman, Utah, and Kilgore College Sept. 14 in Kilgore, Texas.