Greyhounds hold off No. 20 Hutchinson

HUTCHINSON — After building a three-score lead with 10 1/2 minutes remaining in this Jayhawk Conference contest at Gowans Stadium here Saturday afternoon, Fort Scott Community College’s football team held off No. 20-ranked Hutchinson, 29-24, giving itself a chance to finish the season at .500 for first-year head coach Kale Pick.

If Fort Scott beats No. 17 Garden City — headed by former Greyhound head coach Jeff Sims — Saturday afternoon at Frary Field, the Greyhounds (2-4 KJCCC, 4-5 overall) can avoid a losing season for the first time since 2011, when they finished 4-4.

The Greyhounds beat a nationally-ranked team for the first time since beating No. 7-ranked Butler in the 2009 Jayhawk Conference playoff championship game at Frary Field, a 13-12 victory that pushed the ’Hounds into the No. 1 spot in the poll the following week.

Fort Scott had lost 28 consecutive games versus a ranked opponent since then, a streak which began with No. 2 Blinn’s last-second win in the Citizens Bank Bowl in Pittsburg three weeks later. It was also the Greyhounds’ first win over Hutchinson since that 2009 playoff semifinals at Frary Field and their first victory at Gowans Stadium since 2008.

Meanwhile, Hutchinson — led by 2006 FSCC head coach Rion Rhoades — (3-3, 6-4) lost for the third consecutive week. But the previous two defeats had come at the hands of nationally-ranked Butler and Independence, which, coincidentally, faced each other Saturday night with No. 10 Butler beating No. 5 Indy, 31-27.

Dalton Sneed completed 23 of 43 passes for 276 yards and three touchdowns for the Greyhounds, the top passing team in the conference. Edward Aldred caught 9 passes for 93 yards. Kyle Harrison hauled down 7 passes for 62 yards and two scores.

The first score came with around six minutes left in the second quarter as Sneed and Harrison connected from 6 yards out. Hutchinson tied it on a 3-yard run by B.J. Emmons with 1:38 on the clock and took its only lead on a 43-yard field goal by Jose Parga with two seconds left.

The Greyhounds scored 15 points in the second quarter. The first two went on the board on a safety as Hutch quarterback Eric Forrest was forced to fall on an errant snap in his own end zone four minutes into the third quarter. After the free kick, Fort Scott reclaimed the lead on a 44-yard pass from Sneed to Harrison. A 2-point conversion failed but the ’Hounds led 15-7 with 10:27 on the clock.

The defense helped extend the lead when Raekwon Morgan took an interception 15 yards to the house with 28 seconds left. Brody Southwell’s point-after kick made it 22-7.

Sneed threw his third touchdown pass early in the fourth, hitting Braxton Curry from 44 yards out with 10:34 to go to make it 29-7. Fort Scott scored 22 consecutive points in a span of 15:32.

Forrest, who completed 19 of 32 passes for 218 yards but was picked off three times, rallied the Blue Dragons. A 10-play, 53-yard drive concluded with a 4-yard TD pass to Jaylen Erwin with 6:47 remaining in the game.

Hutchinson blocked a 41-yard field-goal try and returned it 20 yards. That put Forrest in position to find Tavian Allen on a 21-yard scoring play with 3:09 remaining that brought the Dragons within 29-24.

Hutch forced a three-and-out from the ’Hound offense but Southwell’s punt backed the Dragons up to their own 13-yard line. Forrest found a receiver on first down but he slipped and couldn’t get to the ball. The ’Hounds sacked him for a loss off 11 yards on second down — their fifth sack of the game — and Forrest threw two incomplete passes to end the game.

Saturday afternoon’s game against Garden City kicks off at 1 p.m. at Frary Field.

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FORT SCOTT....................... 0 7 15 7 — 29

HUTCHINSON..................... 0 10 0 14 — 24

Scoring plays

Second quarter

FS — Harrison 6 pass from Sneed (Southwell kick), 5:59

H — Emmons 3 run (Parga kick), 1:38

H — FG Parga 43, :02

Third quarter

FS — Safety, Forrest fell on bad snap in own end zone, 11:03

FS — Harrison 44 pass from Sneed (pass failed), 6:47

FS — Morgan 15 interception return (Southwell kick), :28

Fourth quarter

FS — Curry 44 pass from Sneed (Southwell kick), 10:34

H — Erwin 4 pass from Forrest (Parga kick), 6:47

H — Allen 21 pass from Forrest (Parga kick), 3:09

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: Fort Scott — Sneed 12-22, Crum 7-8, Randle 3-minus 2, team 2-minus 2. Hutchinson — Emmond 14-62, Williams 8-36, Jackson 5-25, Lewis 1-6, Wittmire 1-6, Waller 2-3, Lee 1-2, team 1-minus 11, Forrest 8-minus 47.

PASSING: Fort Scott — Sneed 23-43-0-276. Hutchinson — Forrest 19-32-3-218.

RECEIVING: Fort Scott — Aldred 9-93, Harrison 7-62, Curry 4-71, Jenkins 2-52, Randle 1-2. Hutchinson — Erwin 5-73, Bishop 4-28, Johnson 2-50, Williams 2-2, Allen 1-21, Moore 1-16, Brenner 1-13, Winston 1-7, Watson 1-6, Emmons 1-2

MISSED FIELD GOALS: Fort Scott — Southwell 41 (blocked).