FALL SUPPORTING CAST

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However, in early May on their way to a matchup with Ulysses, the team bus suffered a tire blowout, and the Wildcats needed help from another team to get back on the road.

Maintenance and Transportation Directors Donald O’Connor and Andy Bane, Principal Jason Wilson, and Athletic Director Jhon Haehn all jumped into action to coordinate a replacement bus and a plan to get it to the stranded student-athletes.

Wilson and O’Connor drove the replacement north to Ulysses and reached the stranded bus, driven by Angela Nicholson, who helped keep the group calm while waiting, along with law enforcement, and were soon back on the road.

Though the team did arrive late, they still made it to the game, with the Wildcats handily beating the Tigers.

“Elkhart has always been a community that bends over backwards to help those in need,” Aranda said. “The school is no different. Whether it’s a family in need or recognizing someone in the community, Elkhart has always been there to show support to its citizens. It’s home and we all take pride in that!” top recruits to continue their football careers. While many schools with less amenities and success are forced to frame their pitches in a particular way, Dallas and his staff simply need to present the truth.

“We have some of the best facilities, resources, college, and community that junior college football has to offer in comparison to other junior college programs,” Dallas said. “When we combine those things with our track record of recent success, our development plan, and you look where our players have moved on to after their time here at Hutch, it is a huge recruiting tool for us. We do not have to sell a dream, outdated history, or future hopes or plans when recruiting players. We sell who we are as a program currently, what we stand for, how we operate, the people that are associated with our program, and a standard that includes competing for a conference and national championship each and every year.”

The Blue Dragons recruiting advantages over a majority of other programs can’t come at a more convenient time, either.

“The state of Kansas has become a lot more popular for regional and national Division I schools over the course of the past few years,” Dallas said. “We see quite a few players gaining more national recruiting attention than ever before.”

Although this is a positive turn of events for Kansas athletes, it has increased the level of competition among recruiters.

Despite the uptick, there are still Kansas recruits looking to find a bridge to the DI level, and Hutch is a perfect crossing point for many of them.

“There are so many junior colleges, Division II schools, and NAIA schools in the state of Kansas,