CANYON, Texas — Down 14 just halfway through the first quarter, No. 3 Hutchinson (11-1) found a way to capture its second national championship in program history Wednesday night.
Back-to-back national champion No. 1 Iowa Western (11-2) scored on its first two drives to build a 14-0 advantage with 6:49 left in the first frame.
Reiver quarterback Hunter Dekkers drove his team 93 yards in just nine plays on the first possession of the game. Dekkers capped the drive with a 27-yard pass to Keyon Brown.
Hutchinson went three-and-out and Davis Barr had his punt blocked. The Reivers recovered with a short field and capitalized on a free play.
The Dragon defense jumped offside and Dekkers hit Titus Myers on a 14-yard strike.
Dekkers finished the first half with 240 yards and two touchdowns on 15-of-23 passing.
Hutchinson cut into the Iowa Western lead as the first quarter expired when Samari Collier completed his first pass of the contest to Ben Prosper for 26 yards.
Collier used that momentum on a 27-yard touchdown run just four plays into the second quarter.
A Max Bartachek 32-yard field goal gave Iowa Western a 17-7 halftime lead after a Nestus Burger field-goal attempt from 46 yards went wide right.
The Reivers drove to the Dragon 4, but had no timeouts left as the clock expired on the first half.
Hutchinson scored the next 21 points unanswered.
The Dragons opened the third quarter with a 10-play, 54-yard drive that was capped with a Collier 8-yard pass to Prosper.
Shortly after, Collier left the game with an ankle injury.
Christian Johnson entered the game at quarterback for Hutchinson and threw a dime for seven on just his second play from scrimmage.
"(You) always got to stay ready," coach Drew Dallas said of his team's next-man-up mentality. "It's two cranks of the arm and go."
Johnson dropped back and hit Tre Brown for a 34-yard score.
In the national semifinal, Johnson threw a touchdown pass on his first play from scrimmage.
The play of the game came with 3:26 left in the third quarter.
Punt returner Kordell Gouldsby backpedaled to retrieve a Jonah Dupont punt. He found the opening he needed for a 73-yard house call.
The momentum-shifter put Hutchinson up 28-17 and was enough for Gouldsby to be named the game's most valuable player.
Hutchinson erased a double-digit lead and etched a double-digit lead of its own, but Iowa Western would not go away quietly.
Dekkers led the Reivers on another 93-yard drive. The 10-play drive was capped on a Brown reverse from 11 yards out.
Reiver head coach Scott Strohmeier kept his offense on the field for a two-point try. The attempt failed as Dekkers could not connect with receiver Fresh Walters.
It was the second time in as many meetings this season that a failed two-point attempt helped decide the outcome of the game.
Up five, Hutchinson needed one last stop from its defense after a Nestus Burger 32-yard field-goal attempt was blocked.
The Reivers took over at their own 15.
Iowa Western drove the ball to its own 46 before facing a fourth down. On 4th-and-5, Dekkers found tight end Naivyan Cargill for 13 yards.
The Reivers moved the ball to the Hutchinson 5 before facing fourth down again.
Dekkers was looking for Cargill again when he was pressured by Dragon linebacker JaQuel Mack. The pass was broken up by Avian Rice.
"Play for the man beside you," Rice pleaded with his teammates at halftime when the Dragons were down 10, a sentiment Kedrick Walker reminded himself throughout the second half.
Walker, Mack and Rice combined for 18 tackles, a tackle for loss, two broken-up passes and three quarterback hurries.
Marshon Oxley lived in the Reiver backfield and registered three sacks.
FINAL: Hutchinson 28 Iowa Western 23
This is Hutchinson's second national title under Drew Dallas.
Much like the first championship, Hutchinson had to erase a 14-point deficit.
The Dragon defense held Hunter Dekkers to 36.8% passing in the second half.
National Player of the Year Waymond Jordan Junior was held to 79 yards rushing on 24 carries.
Before his exit, Samari Collier threw for 80 yards on 6-of-16 passing and added 109 yards on the ground with two total touchdowns.
Christian Johnson's only completion in five attempts went for a 34-yard touchdown.
The Reivers went 3-of-3 on third down to begin the game but were held to 3-of-14 the rest of the contest.