No. 1 Hutchinson, No. 2 Butler football teams both win, as top-ranked matchup looms

The top two-ranked junior college football teams in the country are on a collison course to meet each other in Hutchinson on Saturday, September 28 in what would be a classic Jayhawk Conference tilt.

No. 1 Hutchinson Community College defended its top ranking with its second straight road victory over a ranked opponent with a 27-7 victory over No. 17 Fort Scott, while No. 2 Butler also picked up a road win, 33-13, at Coffeyville on Saturday.

While Hutchinson has this coming week off, Butler will have to fend off a winless Dodge City team next Saturday to set up a No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown in two weeks at Gowans Stadium. Both teams improved to 4-0 overall, but not without some struggle on Saturday.

Hutchinson led 10-7 after the first quarter, but found breathing room after Mitchell Tinsley returned a punt 44 yards for a touchdown. Quarterback Mark Wright added a 7-yard touchdown plunge in the third quarter to wrap up the scoring, as Hutchinson’s defense did the rest.

Butler also had its own difficulties on the road, as it faced a tied game at 13 in the second quarter after Coffeyville scored on a 26-yard touchdown pass from Edwin Kleinpeter Jr. to Isaiah Taylor with 7:33 remaining. But the Grizzlies grinded out the win to improve to 4-0 and 2-0 in the Jayhawk Conference, scoring three unanswered touchdowns to end the game.

JaQuez Durham sparked the turnaround with a 70-yard punt return for a touchdown for a 20-13 lead with 2:57 remaining in the third quarter, then Adarius Thomas added two touchdown runs in the fourth quarter. Butler running back Brock Sturges finished with 225 rushing yards on 24 carries and two touchdowns, while Kway’Chon Chisom added two interceptions on defense.

Independence notches top-10 win — Independence knocked off No. 8 Garden City, 31-28, behind 308 rushing yards to improve to 2-1 on the season overall and in the Jayhawk Conference, while the Broncbusters fell to 2-2 and 1-1 in conference play.

It didn’t come without late theatrics, as Garden City nearly erased a 10-point deficit in the final minute. Garden City blocked a punt and Willie Ervin recovered it for a touchdown to trim the deficit to 31-28 with 24 seconds left, then the Broncbusters recovered the ensuing onside kick. But Independence ended the game with Tyrice Knight coming up with an interception in the end zone.

Shermari Jones led Independence with 97 rushing yards, while Morgan Ellison finished with 78 yards and a touchdown and Stephon Brown added 57 yards and a touchdown. Garden City wide receiver MJ Link finished with a game-high 77 receiving yards on five catches and a touchdown, while Krishon Merriweather logged a game-high 12 tackles.

Jayhawk Conference

No. 1 Hutchinson 27, No. 17 Fort Scott 7

H—Collins 7 run (Garcia kick), 12:00, 1st

H—Garcia 21 field goal, 6:59, 1st

FS—Davis 56 run (kick), 0:00, 1st

H—Tinsley 44 punt return (Garcia kick), 7:44, 2nd

H—Garcia 37 field goal, 0:37, 2nd

H—Wright 7 run (Garcia kick), 3:05, 3rd

No. 2 Butler 33, Coffeyville 13

B—Sturges 54 run (Winkel kick failed), 10:29, 1st

B—Sturges 68 run (Abel kick), 0:15, 1st

C—Bryan 2 run (Hughes-Ford kick failed), 11:53, 2nd

C—Taylor 26 pass from Kleinpeter Jr. (Hughes-Ford kick), 7:33, 3rd

B—Durham 70 punt return (Winkel kick), 2:57, 3rd

B—Thomas 1 run (Winkel kick), 12:14, 4th

B—Thomas 30 run (Winkel kick failed), 3:41, 4th

Rushing—Butler, Sturges 24-225, Thomas 8-38, Sanchez 3-20, Timmons 4-14, Kimbrough 1-1, Team 1-(-1), Frank 4-(-21); Coffeyville, Lee 13-76, Fa’amautau 10-29, Bryan 5-17, Kleinpeter Jr. 1-3, Williams 3-(-8).

Passing—Butler, Frank 14-26-2-181; Coffeyville, Kleinpeter Jr. 8-17-1-85, Williams 10-19-1-63.

Receiving—Butler, Qualls 4-50, Ziegler 3-35, Weidenbacher 1-29, Batiste 3-28, Caldwell 1-21, Kimbrough 1-10, Lane 1-8; Coffeyville, Taylor 4-46, Hampton 4-37, Jean 4-34, Richardson 2-10, Miles 1-10, Williams 1-7, Fa’amautau 1-3, Johnson 1-1.

Independence 31, No. 8 Garden City 28

I—Ellison 8 run (Troutman kick), 9:43, 1st

GC—Jefferson 13 run (Dos Santos kick), 0:33, 1st

I—Williams 34 run (Troutman kick), 8:22, 2nd

I—Troutman 54 field goal, 1:45, 2nd

GC—Link 13 pass from Cox (Dos Santos kick), 7:10, 3rd

GC—Johnson 17 pass from Cox (Dos Santos kick), 1:40, 3rd

I—Brown 1 run (Troutman kick), 11:39, 4th

I—Butler 2 fumble return (Troutman kick), 3:23, 4th

GC—Ervin 5 blocked punt return (Dos Santos kick), 0:24, 4th

Rushing—Garden City, Jefferson 15-43, Johnson 2-27, Merriweather 14-24, Cox 5-19, Hayes 2-13; Independence, Independence, Jones 16-97, Ellison 9-78, Williams 6-58, Brown 14-57, Dollard 6-18.

Passing—Garden City, Cox 16-28-1-213; Independence, Brown 5-9-0-36.

Receiving—Garden City, Link 5-77, Watt 3-48, Parker 1-22, Hayes 1-18, Johnson 1-17, Dingle 1-13, Wallace 2-10, Bryant 1-5, Jefferson 1-3; Independence, Dell 4-29, Heath 1-7.

Ellsworth 15, Dodge City 8

MIAA

No. 23 Pittsburg State 47, Emporia State 23

ESU—Mackey 9 pass from Cowan (Schoonover kick), 3:14, 1st

PSU—Vincent 47 field goal, 7:06, 2nd

PSU—Horak 1 run (Vincent kick), 1:29, 2nd

PSU—Vincent 30 field goal, 0:01, 2nd

PSU—Vincent 24 field goal, 9:22, 3rd

PSU—Horak 1 run (Vincent kick), 7:40, 3rd

ESU—Grace 71 run (Thomas-Cobb pass from Cowan), 4:44, 3rd

ESU—Cowan 5 run (Thomas-Cobb pass from Cowan), 14:55, 4th

PSU—Adkins 2 run (Vincent kick), 13:24, 4th

PSU—Adkins 4 run (Vincent kick), 6:51, 4th

PSU—Vincent 35 field goal, 4:26, 4th

PSU—Hardin 45 interception return (Vincent kick)

Rushing—Emporia State, Grace 16-135, Diaz 4-25, Cowan 16-6, Team 1-(-2); Pittsburg State, Adkins 10-49, Kintchen 6-47, West 3-15, Mlekus 15-10, Horak 5-9, Cooper 3-7, Sexton 1-0, Team 1-(-1), Harman 1-(-2).

Passing—Emporia State, Cowan 19-33-3-174; Pittsburg State, Sexton 16-20-0-190, Mlekus 3-10-0-53.

Receiving—Emporia State, Schumacher 4-60, Thomas-Cobb 1-30, Jones 4-26, Mackey 4-24, Swinehart 1-15, Grace 2-14, Callins 1-5, Petz 1-3, Diaz 1-(-3); Pittsburg State, West 4-88, Clemons 3-42, Harris 3-40, Murphy 3-23, Krull 1-20, Franklin 3-17, Horak 1-9, Cameron 1-4.

No. 7 Northwest Missouri State 38, Washburn 17

WU—Wilson 11 pass from Schurig (Lake kick), 13:42, 1st

NWMSU—Tatum 27 pass from Wright (Sampson kick), 9:03, 2nd

WU—Letcher 43 pass from Schurig (Lake kick), 3:50, 2nd

NWMSU—Davis 39 pass from Wright (Sampson kick), 2:02, 2nd

WU—Lake 21 field goal, 6:43, 3rd

NWMSU—Rankin 41 run (Sampson kick), 4:10, 3rd

NWMSU—Sampson 35 field goal, 0:33, 3rd

NWMSU—Rankin 2 run (Sampson kick), 10:16, 4th

NWMSU—Wright 5 run (Sampson kick), 4:46, 4th

Rushing—Washburn, Peters 14-45, Mitchell 2-16, Willis 4-15, Browning 2-10, Ruff 6-9, Letcher 2-8, Trapp 5-4, Spiker 1-2, Schurig 1-(-7); Northwest Missouri State, Rankin 17-93, Wright 6-47, Donadelle 2-12, Thomas 3-8, Hohensee 2-7, Strayhorn 3-5, Kowalski 1-4, Team 1-(-4).

Passing—Washburn, Schurig 18-31-1-243, Trapp 1-2-0-5; Northwest Missouri State, Wright 20-29-1-278, Hohensee 1-1-0-8.

Receiving—Washburn, Letcher 8-113, Wilson 8-68, Whitten 1-61, Peters 1-3, Warnick 1-3; Northwest Missouri State, Andrews 3-72, Tatum 4-45, Davis 1-39, Donadelle 3-33, Gomez 2-31, Thomas 2-25, Harper 2-21, Raunig 1-11, Rankin 1-9, Strayhorn 2-0.

Missouri Western 28, No. 25 Fort Hays State 17

FHSU—Brown 22 field goal, 1st, 8:46

MWSU—Wheeler 37 pass from Steigerwald (Aviles kick), 12:36, 2nd

MWSU—Berry 20 pass from Steigerwald (Aviles kick), 8:29, 2nd

MWSU—Griffith 12 run (Aviles kick), 4:07, 2nd

FHSU—Ramsey 28 pass from Fuller (Fuller pass failed), 8:24, 4th

MWSU—Smith 6 run (Aviles kick), 3:22, 4th

FHSU—Budke 4 pass from Fuller (Ramsey pass from Fuller), 2:18, 4th

Rushing—Missouri Western, Smith 19-84, Griffith 12-56, Steigerwald 4-17, Thompson 4-9, Scott 1-2, Team 2-(-4); Fort Hays State, Tigner 16-44, Tutson 3-0, Fuller 2-(-13), Team 1-(-17).

Passing—Missouri Western, Steigerwald 17-29-0-197, Vespo 1-5-0-8; Fort Hays State, Fuller 23-49-1-333.

Receiving—Missouri Western, Holmes 7-70, Wheeler 4-53, Grandy 3-45, Berry 1-20, Burton 2-11, Vang 1-6; Fort Hays State, Ramsey 5-102, Hazlett 5-90, Reed 2-62, Bieberle 2-27, Wendelberger 3-18, Tigner 3-16, Tutson 2-14, Budke 1-4.

KCAC

No. 4 Kansas Wesleyan 56, Friends 3

KW—Feauto 3 run (Morales kick), 12:56, 1st

KW—Prewitt 5 run (Morales kick), 0:17, 1st

KW—Williams 50 pass from Feauto (Morales kick), 10:28, 2nd

KW—McCauley 19 run (Morales kick), 7:42, 2nd

KW—Prewitt 4 run (Morales kick), 3:49, 2nd

F—Navarro 28 field goal, 0:00, 2nd

KW—Poe-Evans 12 pass from Feauto (Morales kick), 12:12, 3rd

KW—Feauto 8 run (Morales kick), 6:45, 3rd

KW—Poe-Evans 6 pass from Feauto (Morales kick), 13:28, 4th

Rushing—Kansas Wesleyan, Prewitt 18-44, Feauto 7-30, McCauley 2-23, Carmack 2-19, Lowe 3-18, Sandoval 5-9, Farrington 2-5, Singletary 1-(-1); Friends, Brown 7-54, McShan 13-50, Morris 5-35, Brown 1-8, Salazar 2-6, James 2-0, English 1-(-5), Dawdy 7-(-19).

Passing—Kansas Wesleyan, Feauto 21-30-1-411; Friends, Dawdy 7-28-4-41, Morris 0-3-1-0.

Receiving—Kansas Wesleyan, Williams 6-146, Carmack 4-143, Poe-Evans 7-73, McCauley 3-43, Prewitt 1-6; Friends, English 3-26, Evans 2-16, Fink 1-2, Caldwell 1-(-3).

Bethel 54, Avila (Mo.) 34

B—Scurry 5 run (Demond kick), 13:50, 1st

A—Edwards 20 pass from Askan (Smith kick failed), 9:29, 1st

B—Esau 3 run (Francis kick failed), 4:46, 1st

B—Palmer 60 punt return (Francis kick), 1:53, 1st

A—Moore 75 run (Leighow kick), 0:57, 1st

B—Esau 5 run (Francis kick), 11:06, 2nd

A—Senerius 12 pass from Jacobs (Leighow kick), 8:10, 2nd

B—Francis 76 pass from Esau (Francis kick), 4:12, 2nd

B—Francis 59 pass from Esau (Francis kick), 7:32, 3rd

A—Williams 3 pass from Askan (Leighow kick), 8:19, 4th

B—Esau 9 run (Francis kick failed), 4:25, 4th

B—Juarez 31 run (Francis kick), 1:44, 4th

A—An. Williams 10 pass from Al. Williams (Leighow kick), 0:00, 4th

Rushing—Bethel, Scurry 11-98, Esau 19-75, Harrison 4-75, Green 7-53, Isley 3-36, Juarez 1-31, Campbell 1-9, Seabolt 1-5, Garcia 1-0, Team 1-(-2), Barnes 1-(-6); Avila, Moore 9-100, Jacobs 1-30, Nesbitt 10-30, Hopkins 2-12, Edwards 2-10, Al. Williams 1-7, Josiah 2-(-3), Askan 4-(-18).

Passing—Bethel, Esau 2-2-0-135; Avila, Askan 27-41-0-261, Al. Williams 4-5-0-57, Jacobs 4-7-0-46.

Receiving—Bethel, Francis 2-135; Avila, An. Williams 10-112, Senerius 6-71, Edwards 6-60, Moore 5-61, Hopkins 2-25, Downton 2-24, Reid 1-12, Berryman 1-0, Nesbitt 2-(-1).

Sterling 29, McPherson 19

S—Phillips 18 run (Slysko kick), 6:58, 1st

S—Butler 23 pass from Phillips (Slysko kick), 4:51, 1st

M—Crouch 16 run (Santini kick failed), 13:54, 2nd

S—Sexton interception return on two-point conversion, 13:54, 2nd

M—Nikkel 26 pass from Crouch (Schroeder kick), 12:37, 2nd

S—Phillips 10 run (Slysko kick), 4:10, 2nd

M—Nikkel 28 pass from Crouch (Schroeder kick failed), 0:30, 2nd

S—Slysko 26 field goal, 11:39, 3rd

S—Slysko 23 field goal, 1:39, 4th

Rushing—Sterling, Phillips 20-109, Mitchell-Ford 16-106, Whitehead 4-28, Harbour 1-8, Williams 2-(-1), Team 1-(-2); McPherson, Crouch 17-147, Davis 4-12, Washington 1-(-1).

Passing—Sterling, Phillips 14-22-1-113, Butler 0-1-0-0; McPherson, Crouch 20-37-0-197.

Receiving—Sterling, Butler 5-65, Sanders 3-23, Mitchell-Ford 1-14, Whitehead 3-10, Robeson 1-4, Williams 1-(-3); McPherson, Nikkel 10-124, Scroggins 2-26, Robben 2-20, Davis 4-12, Wallace 1-8, Nash 1-7.

Bethany 21, Saint Mary 12

SM—Graham 16 pass from Grimes (Erwin kick), 14:37, 2nd

B—Pitts 91 fumble return (Townsend kick), 1:36, 2nd

SM—Erwin 36 field goal, 6:44, 3rd

SM—Safety, 3:03, 3rd

B—Molette 6 pass from Denson (Mendoza pass failed), 0:00, 3rd

B—Harris 58 run (Townsend kick failed), 10:30, 4th

Rushing—Saint Mary, Graham 19-124, Tisdell 1-17, Grimes 6-14, Gudka 2-12, Roller 6-8, Holmes 1-6, Barnhart 2-4, Daughtry 2-4, Law 1-1, Swanwick 1-(-2); Bethany, Harris 10-81, Denson 14-33, Jones 4-6, Martin 1-2, Lucero 1-2, Wilson 1-1, Team 1-0.

Passing—Saint Mary, Grimes 12-32-3-97, Holmes 1-2-0-12, Gudka 2-3-0-6; Bethany, Denson 14-30-1-166.

Receiving—Saint Mary, Dahn 1-31, Barnhart 5-29, Haskins 4-16, Graham 3-15, Daughtry 1-12, Longoria 1-12; Bethany, Molette 9-120, Mendoza 2-22, Gray 2-12, Fields 1-12.

Southwestern 17, Tabor 10

SW—Botello 38 field goal, 4:47, 1st

T—Chiavetta 20 field goal, 12:22, 2nd

SW—Thomas 4 run (Botello kick), 4:42, 2nd

T—Harper 20 pass from McGee (Chiavetta kick), 8:21, 3rd

SW—Shannon 79 run (Botello kick), 13:42, 4th

Rushing—Southwestern, Shannon 6-145, Thomas 19-78, Mueller 13-24, Davis 1-14, Spencer 6-7, Hanks 2-7, Wittenburg 1-3, Roper 1-1, Team 1-0; Tabor, McGee 16-81, Johnson 14-18, Smith 1-2, Davis 1-0, Harper 2-(-2).

Passing—Southwestern, Mueller 6-13-0-52, Spencer 1-1-0-6; Tabor, McGee 18-30-0-158, Axson 0-1-0-0.

Receiving—Southwestern, Spencer 3-36, Gonzales 2-12, Lightfoot 1-6, Banks 1-4; Tabor, Harper 5-68, Swims 4-31, Davis 2-26, Burnett 2-21, Swedorski 1-7, Johnson 3-6, Jones 1-(-1).

This story was originally published September 15, 2019 at 1:40 AM.

Taylor Eldridge

The Wichita Eagle

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Wichita State athletics beat reporter. Bringing you closer to the Shockers you love and inside the sports you love to watch.