HUTCHINSON, Kan.  -  The Independence Football team suffered their worst loss of the season at the hands of the #1-ranked and defending national champion Hutchinson Blue Dragons, Saturday afternoon, 71-12. 

The Blue Dragons looked every part of one of the nations best, as they outgained the Pirates 415 to 294, with a majority of that margin coming on the ground at 200 yards to 29. 

A touchdown on the opening drive, followed by a blocked punt leading to a short field, had the Pirates down 10-0 early in the first quarter. 

The first of five turnovers on the day led to another short field for Hutchinson and another quick score, as the Blue Dragons pushed their lead to 17 after one quarter. 

The Blue Dragons were very effective in Special Teams as well, scoring twice on punt returns, the first of which came in the second quarter to push the lead to 24. 

In the second half, with the Blue Dragon lead pushed to 44, the Pirates strung together a solid offensive drive that was capped off by a 24 yard touchdown from Reeves Taylor to the Pirates season leader in receiving Ejani Shakir, his sixth touchdown of the year. 

Hutchinson continued to execute at a high level all afternoon long, stringing together multiple scoring drives in the second half and totaling 71 points on the day, and a turnover free game. 

The Pirates found the endzone once again on the final play of the game, as Taylor found Kedan Johnson for his second touchdown pass of the day and Johnson’s first touchdown since August 30th, at Ellsworth. 

Taylor ended the day with 265 yards passing, completing 25 of his 39 attempts. A slow day on the ground was led by the Pirates backup quarterback, Nathan Neal who amassed 53 of his team high 54 yards on one play. Running back Jimarion Guyton was the leading receiver with five grabs for 77 yards. 

Defensively the Pirates were paced by Kenneth Ford Jr. and Donya Borden, who had nine and eight tackles respectively. 

A challenging stretch of season continues for the Pirates next weekend, as they will play host to the #2-ranked team in the country, Iowa Western. The game will kickoff on Sunday, October 26th at 11:00 am.