Hutchinson downs Bishop Carroll in rainy battle in 5A West regional

HUTCHINSON, Kan. (Catch it Kansas) - The rain poured down all night long at Gowans Stadium, but it wasn’t a sad night for the Salthawks. After two straight season-ending playoff losses to the Bishop Carroll Golden Eagles, the script was flipped Friday night, with Hutchinson winning with a score of 14-7.

“I told them... we can’t get too high and we can’t get too low in these kind of games,” Hutchinson head coach Mike Vernon said. “Carroll always has an answer for everything that we do.  We needed to make sure we kept our heads and they did and we got out of here with a win.”

With the rainy conditions, it wasn’t the most savvy offensive battle by any means - both teams taking to the ground for majority of the game and plenty of balls coming loose all game long.

“It was getting wet,” Hutchinson quarterback Nic Lange said. “I didn’t have a towel to use out there. My towel was wet. Everything was wet. It was hard to keep hold of the ball.”

“I’ve never played in a game like this. It was a monsoon. Not an ideal situation but I think everybody did the best that they could,” Vernon said.

With such trouble handling the football all game, it was almost poetic that the go-ahead score was a fumble recovery taken in for a touchdown from defensive lineman Mason Jones.

“I saw the ball. I was getting tired out there but I remembered I had to finish through,” Jones said. “There’s a very exciting, good atmosphere around here. It’s great to have the fans behind our back.”

Like many playoff advancers, there’s no time to celebrate. Now the Salthawks will play underdog for the first time in this 5A west bracket as they will travel to Maize to take on the Eagles.

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