Hutch football reloads for a run at a 6A title

Over the last decade, Randy Dreiling has taken the Salthawks to the pinnacle of high school football in Kansas.  With eight state title appearances in the last nine years, and seven state titles across two classifications in the last eight years, Hutchinson is one of, if not the premier program in the state.

HUTCHINSON

Coach:  Randy Dreiling (16th year at Hutch, 145-31 with the Salthawks, 170-70 overall)

2011 Recap:  11-2 overall, 5-0 in the Ark Valley Chisholm Trail League (League Champions), 5A State Champions.

Hutchinson lost a couple of games last season.  Those losses are the exception not the rule.  After dropping the opener to Missouri power Rockhurst, the Salthawks went on a tear, winning seven straight, beating opponents in the streak by an average of more than 33 points.  Against Bishop Carroll in Week 9, uncharacteristic mistakes in the form of fumbles hurt Hutch in a 32-24 loss.  But the Salthawks had the last laugh, beating Carroll in the state semifinals and taking out Blue Valley for their seventh state title in eight years.

Returning Starters:  Offensive 7, Defensive 10

Returning Lettermen:  52

2012 District:  at Dodge City, Garden City, at Maize

2012 Schedule:

2012 Outlook:

Offense:

This season, the Salthawks are returning seven starters, all seniors, from an offense that scored 550 points last season at a whopping 42.3 points per game.  Hutch picked up 5,022 yards on the ground last year, running for more than 358 yards per game.

If the Salthawks take care of business this year, there is no reason to believe their ground and pound won’t be pummeling victims into submission again.  Senior quarterback Trevor Turner is back after a monster year, rushing for 1,138 yards and 11 touchdowns, and adding 13 passing touchdowns for good measure.  Turner will have plenty of help sharing the load in the running game, with a pair of seniors to take the handoffs.

Dakota Brower is a senior running back who was a dual threat last year.  Brower picked up 364 yards on 35 carries with a pair of touchdowns on the ground, and took 5 catches for 117 yards and 2 touchdowns.  Tanner Higgins is another senior running back who will be a threat on the ground and through the air.  Last year Higgins picked up 292 yards rushing with 3 touchdowns and was a danger in the passing game, taking 5 catches for 153 yards and a touchdown.

Of course no dynamic running game will ever take flight without a strong group of collision-happy linemen, and Hutch has a group that takes pleasure in the sound of defeated whimpers.  Seniors Trae Boese, Marc Saffle, and Chris Starks return to the offensive line to set the table for the skill players to feast.  Boese and Saffle were both second team All-AVCTL players last season.  Joe Dower provides another senior leader up front as a tight end.

Defense:

If the Hutchinson offense doesn’t scare you, its defense should.  The Salthawks are bringing back 10 returning starters from a state championship defense a year ago.  Eight of Hutch’s returning starters are seniors, making for an intimidating unit that will make every offense it faces earn every yard.  With the amount of experience this group brings to the table, Dreiling will not tolerate much in the way of a margin for error.

Senior free safety Tanner Higgins is returning to the secondary after garnering first team All-AVCTL honors a year ago.   Higgins was responsible for 69 solo tackles, 5 interceptions, and a blocked punt last season.  At strong safety, senior Cody Miller returns to handle the other side of the field after an AVCTL honorable mention award last year.  Miller recorded 60 solo tackles, an interception and 3 tackles for a loss. 

Flanking his classmates at safety, is senior cornerback Shaquille Henderson.  A second team All-AVCTL player last year, Henderson made 35 solo tackles and broke up 7 passes.  On the other sideline, senior Jarrod Dawson returns after a season with 2 interceptions.

At linebacker, the Salthawks don’t quite have the age, but have experience.  Senior Blake Simms is the elder linebacker and earned second team All-AVCTL honors last year with 65 solo tackles, 4 tackles for a loss, an interception and a sack.  Colby Turner is a sophomore linebacker, but as a freshman last season he was busy.  Turner picked up 46 solo tackles, 5 tackles for a loss, an interception, caused a fumble and recovered a fumble.  Turner Wintz is another sophomore linebacker, who only started in two games last year, but made 20 solo tackles, with 2 tackles for a loss and pressured the quarterback three times.  Tyler Cox is a returning senior who had 48 solo tackles with 6 tackles for a loss, a sack, and 3 fumble recoveries.

On the defensive line the Salthawks are also stacked, as the first line of a defense that doesn’t have much in the way of weakness.  Seniors Colton Blea and Jarod Gagnebin are back to hold down the edge at defensive end.  Blea had 26 solo tackles last season with 5 tackles for a loss, 3 sacks, an interception, and 8 quarterback pressures.  Gagnebin picked up 16 tackles, a sack and 4 pressures.  Dalton Luce is a junior returning to the interior of the defensive line with 17 solo tackles and a fumble recovery.

Odds and Ends:

Hutch’s bruising offense will get a lot of attention as the group should be as good as anyone in the state, with scoreboards working overtime.  But this defense is going to a nightmare for opposing offenses.  Last season, Hutch was good defensively, holding opponents to 22.1 points per game.  This year, the defense has the potential to be great, with practically the entire unit coming back.

As you pull into Hutch, there is a sign that lists the state championship years for the Salthawks.  At the rate this program is going, the city may want to switch from a sign to a billboard in order to fit it all in by the time it’s over.  However, the ease with which Hutch has piled up its seven titles in eight years is merely an illusion.  None of them came without an incredible amount of work behind the scenes.  While up in the stands, wins may be taken for granted, on the playing field, and on the practice field before the game ever starts, wins are not viewed as a birthright.

The Salthawks play in an extremely tough AVCTL Division I.  In the entire state, if there is any other 6A team that is in the conversation with Hutch, it is Derby.  These league rivals are on a full-steam-ahead collision course for October 5, when the teams will meet up for what could be the first of two games, if they meet again in the playoffs.  If Hutch needs a reminder that wins have to be earned, it only needs to look back to 2008, when the Panthers beat the Salthawks in Hutch 30-27.