DRAGONS STUN REIVERS LATE IN NJCAA NO. 1-VS.-NO. 2 CLASH

Hutchinson CC Sports Information

Christian Johnson hit Derrick Salley Jr. with a 3-yard touchdown pass with 1:01 remaining in the fourth quarter Saturday to lead the No. 1-ranked Hutchinson Community College football team to a dramatic win over No. 2 Iowa Western.

Playing as the top two teams in the NJCAA Division I national rankings for the third-straight season, the top-ranked Blue Dragons edged the Reivers 30-27 in Hutchinson's 2025 home opener at Gowans Stadum.

The Blue Dragons improve to 2-0 overall and have won four consecutive games over the Reivers. Hutchinson travels to No. 14 Iowa Central next Saturday in Fort Dodge, Iowa. Iowa Western fell to 1-1.

Hutchinson is now 4-1 all-time in No. 1-vs.-No. 2 matchups in program history.

In a game that featured four lead changes and two ties, trailing 27-23 in the fourth quarter, the Blue Dragons got a defensive stop and took the ball over after a Reiver punt at their own 13 with 2:20 to play in regulation. The Blue Dragons embarked on a seven-play, 87-yard scoring march.

Johnson had completions of 20 yards to Kordell Gouldsby and 13 yards to Bobby Shaw III. Following a Reiver pass interference penalty and a Johnson 17-yard run to the Reiver 4, three plays later on third-and-goal, Johnson hit Salley with a 3-yard touchdown pass with 1:01 remaining to give the Dragons a 30-27 lead.

The Blue Dragon defense held IWCC to four incomplete passes on its final possession to take the ball over on downs and seal the victory.

Johnson completed 18 of 26 passes for 242 yards with a touchdown and interception. He also rushed 18 times for 52 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Blue Dragon offense.

Johnson threw his third go-ahead touchdown in as many games against Iowa Western going back to last season's 38-37 Dragon win in the regular season in Council Bluffs and the 28-23 win over IWCC in the national championship game.

The Dragons out-gained Iowa Western 343-338. Hutchinson had 242 passing yards and 101 rushing yards. The Reivers had 215 passing yards and 123 rushing yards.

Rashaud Hurt was the Dragons' leading rusher with 55 yards on eight carries with a 40-yard touchdown.

Gouldsby had career highs with seven receptions for 68 yards. Salley had four catches for 106 yards and the go-ahead touchdown catch with 61 seconds remaining.

Teegan Haines led the Blue Dragon defense with 11 tackles. K.J. Henson had seven tackles and 1.5 quarterback sacks. M.J. Graham had his third interception of the season.

The Blue Dragon special teams came up huge against Iowa Western. Amir Hill blocked an Iowa Western punt that set up the Dragons' first touchdown. Jeffrey Manns blocked an extra point for the second-straight game, but this one was returned by Jack Sells for a defensive two-point conversion for a key three-point swing in the third quarter.

After that Hill blocked punt set the Dragons up at the Iowa Western 18-yard line, the Dragons needed five plays to score, getting a 2-yard Johnson scramble for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead with 9:49 left in the opening quarter.

Early in the second quarter, IWCC tied the game when DeAndre Horn caught a 14-yard touchdown pass from Malachi Marshall. The game was tied at 7-7 with 13:06 remaining in the half. The Dragons regained a 14-7 lead on Hurt's 40-yard touchdown run that capped a six-play, 75-yard drive with 10:10 to go in the half. The Reivers again tied the game at 14 when Jaivyn Moore hauled in a 24-yard touchdown pass with 4:02 remaining in the half.

A key sequence occurred just 1:57 into the third quarter. Cyrus Courtney caught a 43-yard touchdown pass from Marshall. Then Manns blocked the extra-point try and Sells returned it out of the end zone 102 yards for a defensive two-point conversion. Instead of a seven-point deficit, the Dragons trailed 20-16.

Getting a defensive stop and IWCC punt, the Dragons went 61 yards in seven plays to take the lead when Johnson finished off the drive from 2-yards out for a 23-20 Dragon lead with 2:55 to go in the third quarter.

Marshall – he was 14 of 21 passing for 202 yards and three touchdowns and had 33 rushing yards – gave IWCCC a 27-23 lead with a 15-yard touchdown run with 13:35 to go in the fourth quarter. The teams traded four possessions before Hutchinson's game-winning march started at its 13-yard line with 2:10 to play.

GAME NOTES – The Blue Dragons are now 68-24-2 in home openers, winning their 13th-straight opener at home. … The Dragons are 4-1 in No. 1-vs.-No. 2 matchups in team history, including 3-0 in such games against Iowa Western. … The Blue Dragons are now 24-4 against ranked opponents, including 17-4 against Top 10 competition in the Drew Dallas era. … The Dragons are now 7-5 all-time against Iowa Western, including 3-2 at Gowans Stadium. … Derrick Sally Jr. has four touchdown receptions in two games this season.