Hutchinson knocks off unbeaten Derby
Hutch downs top-ranked Panthers
HUTCHINSON After losing two of three football games, both at home, Hutchinson coach Randy Dreiling looked to the past for inspiration.
“We have some giant photos in our weight room and our trophy case is packed with trophies,” he said Friday night. “Only three teams won all their games. In (2008), my son, Nate, was a senior, and they were really, really good, and we were 2-2 at one point.
“So you have that to fall back on. It’s not an automatic, punch your ticket, win every game, collect your trophy deal. You gotta get better every week. Sometimes it wakes you up a little bit.”
Hutchinson, ranked fifth in Class 6A, defeated Derby, 6A’s top-ranked team, 31-28. It was Derby’s first loss, while Hutchinson improved to 4-2.
The Salthawks got a 13-yard touchdown run from Tanner Higgins with 1:19 remaining for the go-ahead score. On the ensuing kickoff, the ball bounced funny and Hutchinson senior Jarrod Dawson fell on the ball, allowing the Salthawks to run out the clock.
“You have to battle back from week to week,” said Hutchinson quarterback Trevor Turner, who had 124 rushing yards on 14 carries. “If you lose, learn from it and move on. Losing sometimes can be good. It can give you motivation to work harder the next week.”
Such thinking is what Derby coach Brandon Clark wants to see from his team. He said heading into Friday’s game that win or lose, all that matters is district play.
The Panthers had a scare when, with 55.8 seconds remaining, Derby senior defensive lineman Conner Littleton was injured. The game was delayed for about 20 minutes and two ambulances were called. He was taken off the field on a stretcher.
Clark told his team that it appeared Littleton had a concussion and that they shouldn’t worry.
As for the game, Clark was frustrated and when asked if he was pleased with how the Panthers played, he said, “not at all.”
“Good teams make you play bad, and that’s expected,” he said. “We did a lot of things that were in our control. Like sending guys in motion, running the right plays. There were 3-4 times where we ran the wrong play.”
Derby had leads of 21-17 with 7:13 to go in the third and 28-24 with 10:32 remaining.
Derby’s defense was stout, holding Hutchinson in check and taking over on downs twice in the first half.
The Panthers, after having to punt after three plays on their first two possessions, finally got their offense going when quarterback Chandler Shantz, who left the game in the fourth quarter with an injury, connected with DeAndre Goolsby for a 17-yard touchdown play with 4:02 to go in the first half.
Shantz was 13-of-20 passing for 214 yards. Goolsby had six catches for 99 yards, Kellen Sims 6 for 104.
But Hutchinson scored twice in the final 1:14 for a 17-7 lead, including on a 52-yard run by Higgins two plays after Higgins intercepted Shantz.
“It was big,” Higgins said of his touchdown run. “It gives momentum.”
Derby appeared to have snatched momentum back when it scored twice in less than a minute early in the third quarter.
Sims caught a 28-yard touchdown pass from Shantz to open the period and get the Panthers within 17-14. On the short kickoff, the ball bounced high and Derby was able to recover it. Two plays later, Goolsby caught his second touchdown pass from Shantz, this one a 19-yarder for a 21-17 lead.
Clark was insistent that his team will not dwell on this loss.
“We told them all the time, we’re going to build off this week, no matter what,” Clark said. “Hopefully after tomorrow, it’s behind us.”
| Derby (5-1) | 0 | 7 | 14 | 7 | — | 28 |
| Hutchinson (4-2) | 3 | 14 | 7 | 7 | — | 31 |
H—Lemons 34 FGF
D – Shantz 17 pass to Goolsby (Moeder kick)
H—Tafolla 8 pass from Turner (Lemons kick)
H – Higgins 52 run (Lemons kick)
D – Sims 28 pass from Shantz (Moeder kick)
D – Goolsby 19 pass from Shantz (Moeder kick)
H—Turner 14 run (Lemons kick)
D – Sims 10 pass from Shantz (Moeder kick)
H – Higgins 13 run (Lemons kick)
Individual statistics
Rushing – Derby, Shantz 17-65, West 8-38, Sims 5-4. Hutchinson, Turner 14-124, Smith 24-93, Higgins 2-65, Brower 11-72, Likes 7-37.
Passing – Derby, Shantz 13-20-214-1, Sims 0-1-0-0. Hutchinson, Turner 5-12-65-0.
Receiving – Derby, Goolsby 6-99, Sims 6-104, Rogers 1-11. Hutchinson, Likes 2-39, Brower 1-16, Tafolla 1-8, Dower 1-2.