COLBY, Kan. – For the third time in the past five years, the Hutchinson Community College Football team will play for an NJCAA National Championship as the Blue Dragons will face off against Iowa Western Community College in the 2024 Credit Union 1 NJCAA Division 1 Football National Championship game on Wednesday, December 18th in Canyon, Texas.

A rematch of a thrilling Week 2 matchup between Hutchinson and the IWCC that saw the Blue Dragons prevail by a score of 38-37 in Council Bluffs, Iowa will take place as both teams will enter the contest with a one loss on their record. Iowa Western advanced to the National Championship game for the fourth-straight season as the Reivers are two-time defending National Champions while Hutchinson will play for a National Title for the second time in the past three seasons as the 2024 rendition will serve as another matchup in what has quickly become a rivalry between two of the top teams in the nation.

Wednesday's game will kickoff at 7:30 PM (CST) from Bain-Schaeffer Buffalo Stadium on the campus of West Texas A&M University and be nationally televised on ESPNU. For Hutchinson, it will be the third game this season on an ESPN platform as HCC also had their season opener against New Mexico Military and their NJCAA Football Playoff Semifinal game against Georgia Military air on ESPN+.

Since a stunning 27-22 defeat for the Blue Dragons to Butler Community College on October 26th, Hutchinson has defeated Highland, Garden City, and Georgia Military by a combined score of 149-38 with an average margin of victory of 37 points per game with just two of their 10 wins coming this season by single digits (38-37 at Iowa Western, 33-30 over Iowa Central in overtime). The last time Hutchinson and Iowa Western met in the NJCAA Football National Championship game, the Reivers won by a score of 31-0 to avenge a 29-28 defeat to the Blue Dragons during the 2022 regular season.

Both HCC and IWCC are led by finalists for the JUCOWeekly Trophy with Hutchinson led by running back Waymond Jordan Jr. while Iowa Western is led by quarterback Hunter Dekkers. Jordan Jr. scored in every Hutchinson game this season and is the NJCAA rushing leader with 1,533 yards (average of 127.75 per contest) with 20 touchdowns and nine 100-yard rushing games. Dekkers meanwhile leads the NJCAA with 3,413 passing yards (284.5 yards per game), a 65.1 percent completion percentage, and is second in passing touchdowns (30). The sophomore three for over 300 yards four times and had two 400-yard performances for the Reivers which included a 419-yard performance against Hutchinson on September 7th.

Statistically, Hutchinson has the top offense in the NJCAA and will enter the game with an average of 478.1 yards of total offense per contest while Iowa Western comes in with the fifth-best total offense total of 443.4 yards per contest. Both teams enter the game allowing under 20 points per game defensively, with Hutchinson allowing only 15.1 points per game while Iowa Western has allowed 19.3 points per game.

Previews and information regarding ticket pricing and other useful information for those traveling to Canyon for Wednesday's game can be found below.

NJCAA Preview | Iowa Western Preview | Hutchinson Preview