Lane continues to lead Hutchinson rush
10/2/2012
By TONY JIMENEZ
Special to The Telegram
Sophomore Terrell Lane continued to show why he is one of the most prolific rushers in the national two-year school ranks, rushing for at least 100 yards for the fifth game in a row as Hutchinson moved into a first place tie with Butler by winning at Highland, 49-12, to showcase Jayhawk Community College Conference play Saturday night.
In other conference games, Garden City won over Fort Scott, 42-13, and Independence went to western Kansas and came away with a win over Dodge City, 42-14.
In a non-conference game, Butler got past the Air Force Prep 49-6. Coffeyville had a bye.
As the season hits the midway point, signs point to a conference showdown on Oct. 27 when Butler is at Hutchinson. Both teams are 4-0 in conference play.
Lane, who is No. 1 among all NJCAA rushers with 167.2 yards per game, gained 123 yards on 23 carries with touchdowns of 4, 5 and 14 yards to lead a 496-yard offensive output by Hutchinson against Highland.
Quarterback Luke Barnes, also No. 1 in the NJCAA ranks with an average 353.5 yards and 17 TD passes, did his part by completing 23-of-32 passes for 262 yards with scoring strikes of 12 and 27 yards to wide receiver Antonio Johnson. Johnson caught 10 passes for 118 yards.
Hutchinson asserted itself early by scoring on its first two drives, on a 10-play, 69 yard push that was capped by a 12-yard TD pass from Barnes to Johnson, and then on a seven-play, 58-yard effort climaxed by a 4-yard Lane scoring jaunt. The Blue Dragons' defense held its own, limiting Highland to only 58 yards rushing.
"I was really proud of how we played," said Hutchinson Coach Rion Rhoades. "We started fast and played winning football in all three phases of the game."
Independence's win was its first in four tries in conference play, while Dodge City is now the lone winless team (0-5). The Pirates played well overall most of the night, amassing 441 total yards, 331 rushing on 61 carries, led by Chris Dinham who had touchdown runs of 1, 31 and 51 yards.
Defensively Indy had four sacks, a pair of pass interceptions and played solid.
Butler remained the only unbeaten team in Kansas overall (6-0) winning out of conference play against the Air Force Prep (0-4).
The Grizzlies did it thanks to another balanced offensive effort that netted 501 total yards, 295 passing and 206 rushing.
Quarterback Billy Cosh and running back Dreamius Smith were the ringleaders again, with Cosh completing 21-of-33 passes for 295 yards with scores of 27 and 34 yards to wide receiver Javess Blue, and Smith gaining 92 yards on 15 carries with 1-, 2- and 9-yard scoring runs. Smith is the No. 5 rusher in the NJCAA with a 117.8-yard average.