Top-ranked Hutchinson handles Garden City

Garden City, KS-On Saturday, Hutchinson proved to any doubters that they are indeed the best team in the country. 

Dylan Laible, who was once recruited by Tom Minnick, threw for 199 yards and three touchdowns, Dylan Kedzior totaled 144 yards and a score on the ground, and No. 1 Hutchinson blew past Garden City, 65-7 at Broncobuster Stadium. The loss dropped Garden City to 3-5 overall and 3-2 in conference play. 

This one was never close. 

Hutchinson out gained Garden City 415-173, limited the Broncbusters to minus-6 rushing yards, and forced seven turnovers, which included two pick 6's. For more context, Garden City held the ball for just two minutes in the first quarter as the Blue Dragons posted the second largest victory over Garden City in the 75-year history of the series; the most lopsided since a 69-0 Hutchinson win in 1948. 

The Blue Dragons wasted no time in getting the offense going. Laible who began his Blue Dragon career as the backup quarterback before leading Hutchinson to the 2021 spring national championship, engineered an eight-play, 72-yard drive that included a 17-yard scoring strike to Marcello Bussey. 

Later in the period, after Ty Perry forced a pass over the middle that Ja'Maric Morris intercepted, the Blue Dragons scored again when Laible snuck in from one yard out. Interestingly enough, on the play before, the Broncbusters appeared to recover a fumble at the 1-yard line. But after review, the call was overturned. The Blue Dragons added a Cole Seagraves 21-yard field goal to end the quarter with a 17-0 advantage. 

The next time Garden City had the ball, wide receiver Quin Bright fumbled, and Ja'Mez Drummer recovered it for Hutchinson at the Broncbuster 20, a play which was also reviewed after backup quarterback Gabe Friend's screen pass was ruled a lateral by head official Kyle Sommer. From there, Seagraves connected on a 37-yard field goal, Laible added a 40-yard touchdown pass to Malik Benson three minutes into the second quarter, and Hutchinson had a 27-0 lead.  

The only highlight for Garden City on a day where the team suffered its most lopsided defeat in nearly a decade came late in the second quarter. The Broncbusters were set to punt before Jermaine Hamilton jumped offsides on fourth-and-four. On the very next play, Friend lobbed a perfect spiral to Martiel Singleton, who outraced Morris for a 70-yard gain to the Blue Dragon 3. That eventually setup Travis Dixon, whose one-yard plunge gave Garden City its lone score of the afternoon. The Broncbusters were down 27-7 at the break. 

The third quarter on the other hand was a nightmare. 

After Jakari Foster's interception of Ty Perry was negated by a roughing the passer penalty, the Broncbusters failed to get a first down on their opening possession, failing on a fourth-down attempt when Perry's pass to Dawson Otto was broken up by Jalik Thomas. Six plays later, Laible threw a dart to Treymon Echols, who sprinted 29 yards for a touchdown. 

On Garden City's ensuing drive, Perry was picked off again, this time after forcing a pass into double coverage that Thomas snagged before returning it to the Blue Dragon 29. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Chris Carter coupled with Dylan Kezior's 36-yard touchdown jaunt had the Broncbusters in a 41-7 hole. That was followed up with Thomas's 38-yard pick 6 a few minutes after, Perry fumbled later in the quarter, and backup Hutchinson quarterback Colin Shields threw a 64-yard touchdown pass to Echols two minutes into the final period. After Minnick inserted third-string quarterback Kaden Johnson in the fourth, the Holcomb native gift wrapped another Hutchinson score when Morris intercepted his pass and glided 75 yards down the left sideline for a touchdown. Johnson then threw another pick on the Broncbusters ensuing possession, ending a seven-turnover debacle that had shades of the 2014 regular-season finale when Matt Miller's team coughed it up nine times. On that night, Denarius Graham and Tyler LaSalle combined to throw six interceptions. 

Perry, who was benched for a second straight week, finished 10-of-22 for 67 yards and two picks for Garden City, which is in danger of finishing under .500 for the first time in seven years. 

Laible was 15-of-26 for 199 yards and three touchdowns for Hutchinson, which beat Garden City for the fourth straight time and tired a school record with five interceptions. Echols caught four balls for 102 yards and a score, and Benson, the Alabama commit, had four catches for 56 and a touchdown.