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By Steve Carpenter
HCC Sports Information Director
Saturday, September 12, 2009
The No. 7-ranked Hutchinson
Community College football team rode the hot hand of freshman running back
Chris Anderson as the Blue Dragons hammered the Highland Scotties 58-6 in
the 2009 home and Jayhawk Conference opener on Saturday night at Gowans
Stadium.
Anderson rushed for a
season-high 120 yards and a team single-game record of six touchdowns as the
Blue Dragons exacted some revenge on the Scotties for last year’s 23-10 loss
at Highland.
“He kind of had the hot hand
tonight,” said HCC head coach Rion Rhoades, who evens his record at
Hutchinson at 11-11 after starting 1-7. “You have to give credit to the 10
other guys that are out there helping get it done. I’m happy for Chris.
“We have at least three
capable backs. When you have that, you have to feel who has the hot hand and
saddle up and go with him.”
Anderson breaks the old
record of five touchdowns, set by Jamison Palmer against Independence in a
1998 Jayhawk Conference playoff game. Anderson had touchdown runs of 4, 11,
6, 1, 5 and 1 yard.
Two weeks ago, it was Chris
Clay that HCC rode to a win over NEO with 231 yards. On Saturday, it was
Anderson’s turn to shine against the Scotties.
“My O-line really blocked
and stepped it up,” Anderson said. “They were opening up the holes and I
just picked the holes. I give it all to the O-line.”
Hutchinson scored the
third-most points in series history against the Scotties. The Blue Dragons
(2-0, 1-0 Jayhawk Conference) rushed for 288 yards and eight touchdowns and
had 357 yards of total offense. The Dragons have scored 106 points in their
first two games.
Seven different running
backs carried the ball for Hutchinson. Clay, who was not feeling well at
game time, had 64 yards on 12 carries and one TD. Freshman Cordell Reed
rushed for 44 and a score and freshman Romero Cotton rushed for 34 yards.
“We have great backs and we
all believe in everybody,” Anderson said. “We all have faith in ourselves
and in each other.”
Freshman quarterback Angelo
Pease completed just 5 of 15 passes for 55 yards and he rushed for 27 more.
Thanks to a much-improved
defensive effort, strong return game and five Highland turnovers, the Blue
Dragons had great field position all night. Hutch started 11 of 16 drives in
Scotty territory and the average starting line of scrimmage was the Highland
40. Meanwhile, the Scotties’ average starting position was its own 21 and
they took just three snaps from inside HCC territory.
“I thought our front four
played good,” Rhoades said. “The backers got it done. It was something that
we wanted to be better at was stopping the run and trying to force them to
through. We would have liked to been better against the pass, but you have
to credit Highland for executing.”
Highland finished with just
133 yards of total offense, getting 124 through the air and just nine yards
rushing. The Dragons had three quarterback sacks and eight total tackles for
loss.
“Coach got on us hard in
practice until we got it right,” said HCC sophomore cornerback Thad
Williams, who had one of two HCC interceptions. “(The turnovers) are really
big. We have to give it to the defensive line. They create everything and we
react to them.”
Hutchinson got the first
break of the game when freshman Dorrian Roberts recovered a muffed Schuyler
Watson punt at the Scotties 20. Three plays later, Clay scored his third
touchdown of the season from 2 yards out for a 7-0 lead.
Highland answered right
back, taking advantage of a busted HCC coverage. Corey Ward hit Develin
Robinson in stride on a slant pattern for a 53-yard touchdown catch and run.
HCC’s Darrell Zellars blocked the extra point and HCC led 7-6 with 6:15 to
play in the half.
HCC then took another short
field at the Scotty 34. Six plays later, Anderson scored his first TD from
4-yards out for a 14-6 lead with 14:54 to play in the second quarter.
Hutchinson outscored
Highland 23-0 in the second quarter getting three Anderson TD runs and a
safety when Adam Davis and Ian Knight tackled Ward in the end zone. The
Dragons scored at least 30 points in the first half for a second-straight
game leading 30-6 at halftime.
Anderson scored three more
times in the second half and scored his first collegiate touchdown on a
1-yard plunge late in the fourth quarter.
The Blue Dragons will not be
at home again in the month of September. Next Saturday, Hutchinson travels
to Dodge City for a 7 p.m. kickoff at Dodge City’s Memorial Stadium.
GAME NOTES
– The Blue Dragons are 2-0 to start a season for the first time since 2004.
… HCC head coach Rion Rhoades tied his former Hutch coach, Sam Pittman, for
ninth on the career coaching list with 11 victories. … HCC is now 26-2
all-time against Highland and is 16-0 at Gowans Stadium. … Adam Davis had an
assisted quarterback sack, which gives him 15 for his career and ties Henry
Thomas (1993-94) for fourth on the career sacks list. … Hutchinson was 8 of
10 in the red zone. … HCC punter Schuyler Watson had down punts downed at
the 1-yard line. One led to a safety and the other led to a short field and
an eventual touchdown. Watson averaged 36 yards per punt and had three
downed inside the Scotty 20. … Sophomore Kendall Davis had his second
interception of the season.
BOXSCORE
PHOTO GALLERY
OTHER QUOTES
Head Coach Rion Rhoades
On Schuyler Watson’s
punting …
“He did a great job of
getting good height. Schuyler is a great punter and he did a great job
tonight.”
On the safety in the
second quarter …
“A safety is such a big
deal. Not only to you get two points, but you get the ball. It was a huge
play. Adam Davis just willed it to stay in the end zone.”
Freshman Chris Anderson
On the offense’s
performance …
“Offensively, we did good,
but there are some holes that we have to cover up. We are going to get
better and better every week.”
Sophomore Adam Davis
On getting five turnovers
and a safety …
“It’s very big. It changes
momentum of the game getting those turnovers. (The safety) was very cool. I
was surprised that he came at me. I thought they would pass.” |
