Holden High School’s bruising running back Dennis Hutchings blistered the gridiron with 204 rushing yards to lead his Eagles to a crushing 40-7 victory over the Warsaw Wildcats Friday night at Warsaw.
Time and time again, the big senior would not go down when hit and amazingly racked up the 204 yards on only 13 carries to average a whopping 15.7 yards per carry. He scored four touchdowns in the rout which was sweet revenge for the Eagles who have beaten the Wildcats only one time in their last five tries.
“This was a big win for us,” stated head Eagle football coach Rich Johnson. “I don’t know that we’ve ever beaten Warsaw down there and to do it so convincingly was very satisfying.”
“Hutch had a great game,” the coach continued, “but we expect that from him every game. I’ve told him that he needs to be well over 100 yards every game and that’s where he wants to be as well.”
If the big win against Warsaw wasn’t enough, Coach Johnson was also pleased at how his Eagles accomplished it. “I think what was equally as impressive as the way we racked up yards was that we did it without turning the ball over. Also, our quarterback Aaron Ferguson went eight for 12 passing for 122 yards and didn’t throw an interception in his first game behind center.”
The Eagles broke out on top drawing first blood in the game when Hutchings streaked into the end zone from 32 yards out after only two and one-half minutes had elapsed. Senior Deron Binkley’s first extra point try of the season went awry and the Eagles led 6-0.
Unfortunately for Eagle fans, the lead didn’t last long as the Wildcats took the ensuing kickoff to Holden’s 34 yard line and on the very first play from scrimmage, Logan Smith, Warsaw’s talented quarterback, found his way to the end zone after almost being sacked in the backfield. Their extra point try was good and the Eagles fell behind, 7-6.
After that point, however, yards would prove to become hard to come by for the Wildcats as they could only muster 36 more yards rushing and 15 passing the rest of the way. They never got close to Holden’s goal line again in the contest.
With only one minute left in the first period, Hutchings struck again from six yards out for his second TD of the game. He also ran over for the two-point extra point try to give the Eagles a 14-7 lead going into the second quarter.
In the second period, Hutchings scored his third of the game on a 22-yard run and Ferguson, playing in his first game as signal caller, hooked up with wide receiver Zak Anstine for a 17-yard aerial strike. At halftime the score was Holden 26, Warsaw 7.
On the Eagle’s first offensive series of the third quarter, it was Hutchings again, this time rambling for a 59-yard score. Binkley’s kick was good and the Eagles led 33-7. With barely over a minute left in the period, David Lerda got loose and raced to the endzone from 28-yards out to put the Eagles at their final score of 40-7.
It was all reserves in the fourth period as Coach Johnson alternated freshman quarterback Ryan Anderson and sophomore QB Dalton Smith. The boys didn’t score, but put together a 51-yard drive to end the game. They took over on their own 16 and pushed the sticks to Warsaw’s 33 when time ran out. The drive was highlighted by a 20-yard pass from Anderson to fellow freshman Eric Stout.
Although the coach was pleased with his offensive production, he stated that he was disappointed in his offensive line. “I don't think our O-line looked as good as they could. We blocked high, didn’t use proper technique and didn’t stay on our blocks,” he continued. “I blame myself - I’m the line coach - but we’ll fix the problem.”
Defensively, he said that the team played outstanding except for one play. “After their 34-yard touchdown, we limited them to 51 yards the rest of the game. I was especially pleased with the play of Jacob Reiman in every phase of the game.”
The coach also praised the rest of his linebacking corps including Hutchings, Lerda and James Gray.
“Our defensive backs played well too,” he added. “they couldn’t throw the ball on us. We were too physical.”
Leading tacklers on defense were: Reiman, 13; David Carter, 11; Gray, six; Hutchings, five; Jacob Borgan, Max Lloyd and Kevin Kephart, four; Anstine, three; Andrew Wakeman and Lerda, two; and Crosby Coleman and Clayton Hill, one apiece.
On the special teams, the coach wasn’t happy, but said he wasn’t too disappointed either. Things he feels the Eagles need to fix are coverage on kickoff returns and punt blocking.
Next week will be a true test for the Eagles as they take on an away game with Richmond Friday night. It will be not only Holden’s first game in the Missouri River Valley Conference, but the first game ever played in the new MRVC Eastern Division.
Richmond is coming off a loss to last year’s Class 2A state champion Lawson, but according to Coach Johnson, the Spartans turned the ball over five times and allowed a touchdown on a kickoff return. They also had two glaring blown coverages on pass plays.
“What this means is that the scoreboard didn’t tell the whole story,” the coach said. “Richmond’s going to be tough. They have a great tailback in Jamal Robinson, a good fullback in Jordan Smith and a utility player named Arthur Bivins who is a player.
“In order to win, we’re going to have to block better and continue to limit turnovers. Defensively we’ll have to tackle well. Hopefully we’ll improve from week one to week two and get our first MRVC win.”
The game gets underway at 7 p.m. Friday at Richmond.
