THREE DRAGONS RUSH FOR 100+ IN VICTORY AT NO. 10 BUTLER

Tyrell Reed Jr rushes for 117 yards and three touchdowns to lead No. 1 Hutchinson to a 43-16 victory at No. 10 Butler on Saturday in El Dorado (Billy Watson/Blue Dragon Sports Information)

September 30, 2023

Hutchinson CC Sports Information

EL DORADO – Tyrell Reed Jr. led three different Blue Dragons with 100 or more rushing yards and the No. 1 Hutchinson Community College football team captured its third road victory of the season against a nationally ranked opponent.

The No. 1-ranked Blue Dragons rushed for a season-high 354 yards to defeat No. 10 Butler 43-16 on Saturday at BG Products Veterans' Sports Complex in the 100th all-time meeting between Hutchinson and Butler.

The Blue Dragons start a season 5-0 for the 10th time in program history and improved to 2-0 in the Jayhawk Conference. The Blue Dragons will face their fourth nationally ranked opponent in six games when No. 15 Dodge City comes to Gowans Stadium for a 1 p.m. kickoff next Saturday. Butler falls to 3-2 overall and 2-2 in league play. The Blue Dragons have won six-straight games over Butler.

Reed, Samari Collier and Brandon Epton all rushed for at least 100 yards to lead the Blue Dragons. It's the first time the Blue Dragons had at least three backs rush for 100 or more yards since Treyvon Paulk (137), Tyren Jones (124), Blaik Middleton (105) and Trey Griffin (104) all had 100-yard rushing games in 2015 against Garden City.

Reed led the charge against Butler on Saturday with 117 yards on 23 carries and a career-high three touchdowns. He scored on runs of 5, 14 and 25 yards.

Collier had the longest run from scrimmage by a Blue Dragon quarterback since 2016 of 83 yards for a touchdown. Collier finished with 103 yards on eight carries. Collier was 12 of 19 for 136 yards and a touchdown and interception.

Epton had his first career 100-yard game with 100 yards on 13 carries and a 61-yard touchdown run.

The Blue Dragons out-gained Butler 490-272.

Defensively, tackle Xavier Stillman had a career-high three of Hutchinson's six quarterback sacks. Linebacker Daniel Brown had a team-high six tackles with four tackles for loss, two quarterback sacks and three more quarterback hurries. Cornerback Jaymar Mundy had the only defensive takeaway with an interception.

After the teams traded punts, Butler scored first when Nick Brown caught a 48-yard touchdown pass from Tanner Murray with 4:52 to play in the first quarter. The extra-point snap wasn't handled and the Grizzlies led 6-0.

After a Tre Richardson 44-yard kickoff return, the Blue Dragons immediately answered the Butler touchdown with a Reed 5-yard touchdown run that capped a seven-play, 39-yard scoring drive. Holder Darby Roper ran in a planned two-point conversion for an 8-6 lead with 2:10 remaining in the first quarter.

One play after a Grizzly 3-and-out, Epton burst up the middle and went 61 yards for a touchdown and a 15-6 Blue Dragon lead with 24 seconds to play in the opening quarter.

The Blue Dragons added two second-quarter touchdowns to lead 29-6 at halftime.

Reed made it 22-6 with a 14-yard scoring run that capped a six-play, 55-yard scoring drove with 12:02 remaining in the second quarter. Richardson then caught a 23-yard touchdown pass from Collier with 1:49 left in the half for a 29-6 lead.

After Butler scored on its opening drive of the second half, a 6-yard Justin Stephens, TD reception with 10:22 to play in the third quarter. The Dragons answered with 4:40 to play in the period when Collier broke loose for the longest play of the game, an 83-yard touchdown run, the longest run from scrimmage by a Blue Dragon quarterback since Mark Wright broke loose for 66 yards against Butler in 2019.

Butler got an Aidan Battle 44-yard field goal in the fourth quarter with 4:54 to play, cutting the Dragon lead to 36-16. Reed's 25-yard touchdown with 2:04 left in the game capped the scoring.

GAME NOTES – The Blue Dragons are now 51-48-1 all-time vs. Butler. … The Blue Dragons are 15-2 against nationally ranked opponents and 12-2 against NJCAA Top 10 competition in the Drew Dallas era. … The Blue Dragons are 17-1 under Dallas with a player rushing for 100 or more yards. … With four points scored on Saturday, kicker Cole Segraves is tied for 10th on the career scoring list with 126 points. … Hutchinson's last three rushing touchdown game was Dylan Kedzior, who had three in 2002 against Butler. … The last time the Dragons rushed for more than 300 yards was September 3, 2022 against Ellsworth.