Nov. 2, 2018 Collegian

Incinerate em’

Dexterous Dez

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Cheer on the Blue Dragons Saturday at noon when they take on the Broncbusters.

Dez Jackson, a sophomore running back, is having a great season.

The student voice of Hutchinson Community College

The Big Game Is Here www.Collegianweb.com

November 2, 2018

Vol. 60 Issue 8

Hutchinson Community College’s Dylan Chesterman (47) celebrates a fumble recovery with Nick Shelton during the Blue Dragons win against Highland.

Breann Rogers/The Collegian

Hey Blue Dragons fans/Hutch residents Get your ass to Gowans on Saturday

Hey Hutchinson residents and Blue Dragon fans – the game against Hutchinson Community College’s rival Garden City Community College will be on Saturday at noon, so be there or be square.

HutchCC is ranked No.4, and our team is full of amazing talent that barely gets seen. It’s just so sad to think that these guys work so hard to get to where they are and people don’t show up to watch them. If you

played sports in high school or are currently playing a different sport, wouldn’t you want people cheering on your team and yelling words of encouragement?

Looking into such a small crowd is discouraging for the team, and it probably makes them feel underappreciated.

School spirit has really diminished over the years.

Is it due to not having loyalty to your school or because you still only root

Columnist

Brenna Eller

for your hometown high school team? I can assure you that you don’t have to only cheer for one team.

Everyone has their favorite professional or NFL team they like, so why can’t you have a favorite junior college team?

Even if it’s cold out, that shouldn’t necessarily keep anyone from attending a game. You can bundle up, bring hot chocolate or coffee, and dress for the weather. Most football

games tend to be chilly.

That’s just how it is in the fall.

I know there are some valid reasons for not attending the game, if you work or have a family event/ emergency, but if you are doing absolutely nothing on a Saturday and especially are in Hutchinson, you may as well make an experience out of the day and go to the game.

Not only does watching the game at Gowans

Stadium give you a chance to socialize with family or friends, but also gives you a chance to get into the HutchCC and local spirit, and show some pride in the school. No one wants to go to a college football game that isn’t hyped up. Having a fun audience makes the whole game exciting.

What happened to student sections? What is a football game, or any game, See Fans, Page 2

Football

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The Hutchinson Collegian Friday, November 2, 2018

Dez-ert storm

Photo by Bre Rogers/The Collegian Hutchinson Community College’s Dezmon Jackson looks for big yardage during the Blue Dragons game earlier this season against Highland at Gowans Stadium.

By Amanda Carney Co-Sports Editor It’s week nine for the Hutchinson Community College football team, and one it’s one of the biggest weeks for the Blue Dragons.

The No. 4-ranked Blue Dragons will face No. 2 ranked Garden City at noon at Gowans Stadium, one of the biggest games of the season.

Growing up, sophomore, Dezmon Jackson, from El Dorado, Arkansas, went to a small 2A high school, Parker’s

Chapel, playing running back on offense and linebacker on defense. Jackson then came to Hutchinson Community College, where he has made a name for himself.

Jackson received his third straight Jayhawk Conference Football Offensive Player of the Week award. Jackson has had four straight games with at least 100 yards and six games with at least one touchdown.

“My last couple of games has been great,” Jackson said. “I’ve had four to five straight 100-plus-yard games so I’m

just trying to keep my head on steady and improve my game every week.”

As a sophomore, Jackson has doubled his stats from the 2017 football year, and has a total of 10 touchdowns for the season already.

“I’ve developed so much that I amaze myself,” Jackson said. “I just changed my whole mindset, being that I didn’t play as much I think I should have last year. So, I was just itching to get back out there and every game and that has helped me this year.”

Jackson also has another motivation –

New Orleans Saints running back, Alvin Kamara. Kamara is a pervious HutchCC football player.

“It’s a motivation to me mainly because we played the same position,” Jackson said. “So, when I put it into perspective it just drives me to know I can make it out of here.”

Jackson is currently undecided what school he will be attending next year but plans on narrowing down the list soon.

“I have offers to choose from and I plan on narrowing the list by November,” Jackson said.

Rested Blue Dragons ready for Broncbusters

Much at stake for two of top NJCAA teams

By Rebecca Carney Co-Sports Editor The Hutchinson Community College football team has a pretty big weekend ahead.

The 8-1 Blue Dragons are nationally ranked at No. 4 and are scheduled to take on the 8-0, No. 2 ranked Garden City Broncbusters at noon on Saturday at Gowans Stadium. The winner of this game could potentially have a spot in the NJCAA national championship game later this month in Pittsburg.

Two weeks ago, the Blue Dragons had big win over Dodge City, and it did not go unnoticed by coach Rion Rhoades.

“It was really good outing for us,” Rhoades said. “I thought our team did a really good job of handling going to Dodge City and doing the things

Rhoades

Montgomery

they need to do to get a big win.”

Coming off the win at Dodge, the football team headed into a much-needed bye week.

The Blue Dragons took full advantage of their week off. The team needed an opportunity to get rested, and with any luck, get some much-needed players back on the field.

A light week of workouts for the team will hopefully help the team to be physically ready on Saturday.

Standout players Monty Montgomery and Dezmon Jackson both agree that last week was the perfect week for a bye week.

“We’ve had some rough games, the last two games,” Jackson

The Hutchinson

Collegian

The Hutchinson Collegian is the official student newspaper of Hutchinson Community College.

It is created by the Newspaper Production class each week during the academic year, except for when school is not in session, or during final exams.

said, “They’ve been very physical and they play very hard. I think this (bye) week will help us get ready for the Garden game.”

The next step is to take down Garden City and keep things under control and where they need to be.

“It can be real easy to get too amped up for a game like this, and I think that could be detrimental. There’s a real happy-medium we have to get to,” Rhoades said.

“We’re in it emotionally and we’re invested.

We’re excited to play and have energy and enthusiasm, but we have to make sure it doesn’t become a detriment to us. That is something we have to be aware of.”

The winner will also be crowned the Jayhawk Conference champion, as this will be Hutchinson’s final conference game.

Garden City still has to play Butler, but everyone else would have at least one conference loss by then, should Garden City win.

Photo by Casey Bailey/The Collegian Hutchinson Community College’s Cephus Smith hauls in a long pass for a big gain against Fort Scott at Gowans Stadium.

Fans

• Continued from Page 1 for that matter without the heckling of the other team? It just isn’t fun at all.

The best games are ones that crowds interact in the most.

Staff

Editor In Chief: Brenna Eller Campus editor: Pablo Sanchez Opinion page editor: Tabitha Barr Sports editors: Rebecca Carney and Amanda Carney Digital Content Coordinators: Cody Schroeder and Caleb Reed Social Media Editor: Emily Fehrman Design Chief: Amanda January Ad Manager: Lucas Barlow Adviser: Brad Hallier Staff members: Kathrine Collins, Jared Shuff,

Another fantastic reason to come to the game on Saturday is because any student or instructor at the college gets in free with their I.D. That should make everyone want to go. That way, you have some money for stadium food or a hot drink.

A big crowd makes coaches and players happy and fired up, so help them out and cheer them on. There should never be home games with a half-empty stadium. so fill in those seats, deck yourself out in blue and red, and show support for your school and the Blue Dragons.

Breann Rogers, Rachel Lyons, Casey Bailey.

Editorial board: Brenna Eller, Pablo Sanchez, Tabitha Barr.

Editorial cartoonist: Izzy Caldwell.

Letters to the editor:

The Hutchinson Collegian welcomes letters to the editor. Letters must include the author’s signature, address and phone number. The Collegian reserves the right to edit letters for style, legality and length. Letters may not exceed 300 words.

Send letters to hallierb@hutchcc.edu.

Sports First nine games, in pictures

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The Hutchinson Collegian Friday, November 2, 2018

Hutchinson 37, Independence 27

Hutchinson 30, Ellsworth 12 Photo by Bre Rogers/The Collegian Hutchinson Community College’s Jamykal Neal (99) looks to wrap up Ellsworth’s Eric McArn during the team’s season opener at Gowans Stadium.

Photo by Bre Rogers/The Collegian Hutchinson Community College’s Marquis Whitmire looks to move up field during a victory at Independence.

Iowa Western 33, Hutchinson 24 Photo by Joel Powers/HutchCC Sports Information Hutchinson Community College’s Dezmon Jackson looks for an opening against Iowa Western’s defense. Iowa Western handed Hutchinson their only loss for the season.

Hutchinson 61, Fort Scott 21 Photo by Casey Bailey/The Collegian Hutchinson Community College’s Monty Montgomery looks to tackle a Fort Scott ball carrier during Hutchinson’s win earlier this season at Gowans Stadium.

Hutchinson 82, RPA 0 Photo by Casey Bailey/The Collegian Hutchinson Community College’s Izaiah Salaam stiff arms a RPA defender during Hutchinson’s victory earlier this season.

Hutchinson 27, Butler 13 Photo by Bre Rogers/The Collegian Hutchinson Community College’s Izaiah Salaam catches a pass ahead of Butler’s Dorian Pollard during a game in El Dorado.

Hutchinson 24, Coffeyvile 14

Hutchinson 16, Highland 13 Photo by Bre Rogers/The Collegian Hutchinson Community College’s Jonathan White lunges toward the Highland end zone and scores a touchdown during a game at Gowans Stadium.

Hutchinson 45, Dodge City 7

Photo by Bre Rogers/The Collegian Hutchinson Community College’s kicker Sebastian Garcia kicks off during the Blue Dragons game at Coffeyville.

Can’t make it to the game?

There are options to follow the action if you’re not at Gowans Stadium.

Radio

KHUT-102.9 FM

Internet

Watch the game at www.bluedragonsports.com

Social media

Photo by Bre Rogers/The Collegian Hutchinson Community College’s Monty Montgomery returns the ball for a touchdown, one of his two touchdowns of the day against Dodge City.

Follow The Collegian for live updates, on Twitter @HCC_Collegian, and add us on SnapChat at HutchCC Collegian. You can also follow the athletic department’s Twitter feed @bluedragonsport.

The Hutchinson Collegian Friday, November 2, 2018

Football

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