The Story of one of Junior College’s best teams

In 2015, Garden City lost a program record seven straight games. But on Oct. 24, the Broncbusters changed the landscape of Junior College football when they knocked off No. 1 Butler; still considered one of the greatest upsets in NJCAA history. A little more than 12 months later, they were champs.

ALL THE WAY HOME

BY MIKE PILOSOF

Photography by Adam Shrimplin

IN THE TRENCHES

On Dec. 3, 2016, No. 1 Garden City and No. 2 Arizona Western squared off in one of the most heartpalpitating National Championship Games in history. And in the end, it was two Kansas kids making the play that secured the program’s first title.

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JEFF SIMS MAY NEVER ADMIT IT, but the test of his coaching resolve may have come on Saturday, Oct. 26, 2015. Garden City was reeling a bit, coming off a last-second loss at home against Air Force Prep the week before. Now they were tasked with beating a team that had not won a game in more than two years.

“Unfortunately, the football season doesn’t wait for you,” Sims said. “You have to be ready to play.”

Despite facing a program riding a 20-game losing streak, Garden City’s fortunes went from bad to worse. Trailing by seven with less than two minutes to play, Brian Michalowski’s defense needed to make a play. Instead, former Garden City signee Bryce Gemmel, burned his former team, gashing them for a 63-yard score that put the game away.

“We should be embarrassed,” Sims said. “That’s what happens when you don’t take care of what you’re supposed to. We’re not a team yet.”

Garden City went on to lose their next three games, including a 49-14 rout at the hands of Hutchinson, dropping them to 1-7.

“It’s easy to get lost in records,” Sims said. “But until you get guys to buy in, there’s not much I can say that will fix this right now.”

That brings us to Oct. 24, 2015, the day when the Jayhawk Conference flipped on its’ heels. A night when a perennial power was brought to its knees.

The Butler Grizzlies not only were the darlings of the Jayhawk, but Troy Morrell and James Shibest made them into a true Junior College giant. The Grizzlies won five national championships from 1998-2008winning back-to-back titles twice. The program has claimed six crowns overall, which is tied with Northeatern Oklahoma for the most all-time.

To that point of the season, the Broncbusters had inconsitent quarterback play, a young, unproven offensive line, and a defense that gave up three 100-yard rushers in a 35-point loss to the Blue Dragons. There was no reason to think that a Saturday night late in the season, in one of the most hostile environments in the conference, against the No. 1 team in the country, would prove to be anything more than a breeze for the heavily-favored Grizzlies.

Little did Butler Coach Tim Schaffner know, Sims was preparing to unleash a new weapon; one that would change the dynamic of the contest.

The smile on Sims’ face two days before the matchup, said it all. It was like a kid on Christmas. But at that point, he wouldn’t divulge his plan; instead, he let his facial expression do the talking.

48 hours later, Butler, and the rest of the home crowd, saw first hand what Sims and his staff had concocted. Jeremy Faulk, who later that season

would be named the national defensive player of the year, started the game at running back. The results were rather impactful, breathing life into a ground game that ranked dead last in the nation in yards per game.

The final numbers may not do Faulk justice. He carried the ball 12 times for just 33 yards. But his presence alone was enough-scoring one powerful touchdown in the first half while opening up the passing game for Todd Porter, who threw for 249 yards and two scores, one of which was a perfectly executed fade pattern to Jeff Thomas in the left corner of the end zone that put Garden City up 13-0.

With time winding down, and with Butler having moved the ball to the Garden City 10, Delshawn Phillips blindsided Grizzlies’ quarterback Justice Hansen. The sack ended the game. It also short circuited Butler’s reign atop the conference.

“David knocks off goliath here in El Dorado,” radio voice Mike Pilosof shouted as the final seconds ticked off the clock. It was perhaps one of the biggest upsets in Junior College history. A 1-7 team, left for dead just seven days earlier following a 16-point road loss to Fort Scott, had waltzed into El Dorado and won a game against a team that had beaten them 20 straight times. It was also their first victory in Butler’s stadium in 16 years.

“These players did this,” Sims said. “I’m so proud of these guys. Everybody said we had no chance. Well guess what, our guys did it.”

The Broncbusters closed the season by winning two out of their final three games, taking top-10 Coffeyville down to the wire in the

regular-season finale.

“I really wish the season wasn’t over,” Sims said. “We are just starting to get this thing rolling.”

Jeff Sims called it the best bus ride he’s ever taken. Considering it was 10 hours long, and that the air conditioning went out on the bus on the way, Garden City’s week-one victory over Ellsworth in Iowa Falls, IA was definitely a springboard.

“For one week at least, this was the best football team I’ve ever coached,” Sims said.

Tra Minter’s 155-yard, two-touchdown performance, coupled with a Broncbuster defense that limited the Panthers to just 49

“unforunately, the football season doesn’t wait for you. you have to be ready to play because it comes quick.”

jeff sims

total yards, gave Garden City a massive turbo boost.

Seven days later, Garden City was back home, in a heavyweight tussle with Highland, who was one of only three teams to find themselves on the wrong end against the Broncbusters during a rebuilding 2015.

Garden City scored all 13 of their points in the first quarter; then held on for dear life.

Clinging to a six-point lead in the fourth quarter, the Broncbusters watched the Scotties march to the Garden City 11. But Faulk, already a folk hero from his antics as a running back in Garden City’s upset win over No. 1 Butler in 2015; added in with the fact that he was the reigning defensive player of the year, made the stop of the season. On fourth-and-2, he

THE BEGINNING

(Above) Running back, Tra Minter, jets for the end zone in 2016 vs. Highland. (Left to right) The Broncbuster defense , led by linebacker Myles Matthews, swarm Butler tailback Kevon Abrams in 2015. Next, is Jeremy Faulk blasting up the middle for a first-half touchdown. And finally, Todd Porter sets up the offense.

fought off two blocks to tackle Highland running back Marquis Terry at the line of scrimmage for no gain. Game over. 2-0 start preserved.

“Our defense as a whole was tremendous,” Sims said.

While week three’s showdown with Independence featured more glitz than glamour, the Broncbusters were all business.

The headlines all week surrounded the tense relationship between Sims and his former offensive coordinator Jason Brown, who was let go a week before the start of the 2015 season. 12 months later, he landed the head job at Independence, trying to rebuild a Pirates team that was one of the worst Junior College programs in the country. Eventually, he became the star of the Netflix series Last Chance U.

Minus the lead-up, the actual game lacked any real drama.

The Broncbusters broke a 7-7 tie with Dwayne Lawson’s one-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. It fueled a stretch of 18 straight points that put Garden City up 25-7. Meantime, the Pirates were held to just 173 total yards, and the Broncbusters forced four turnovers. So much for a juicy story.

“Things are really starting to come together,” Sims said. “These guys are buying in.”

Gowan’s Stadium has been a house of horrors for the Broncbusters over the past decade. So it was only natural that their was some trepidation going into their week-four matchup with No. 6 Hutchinson. In fact, entering 2016, Garden City had not won a game in Reno County since 2007.

Not only did the brown and gold end that streak, they did so without scoring an offensive touchdown.

Mike Hughes’ electrifying 83-yard punt return for a score; coupled with B.J. Blount’s 34-yard pick six and Luke Herring’s go-ahead, 25-yard field goal in the third quarter, pushed the Broncbusters over the top. But what made this win even more impressive was the fact that Josh Hager’s defense never wilted despite the Blue Dragons running 29 more plays (88-59).

Minter’s streak of three straight 100-yard rushing games ended (24 carries, 48 yards), but his impact was still strong. His 11-yard carry on third-and-10 late in the game, sealed the victory. And while Hutchinson coach Rion Rhoades was in disbelief, Sims’ team had slayed the Dragon, literally.

“Our defense was out of this world,” Sims said afterwards. “They just kept making plays.”

At 4-0 and ranked fifth in the polls, Garden City was riding high. But during their off week, quarterback and Virginia-Tech transfer Dwayne Lawson was caught out of the dorms after curfew. The result: a one-game suspension. Some thought it would be catastrophic.

“I called a meeting a couple of days before the Butler game,” Sims said. “I called Jayru (Campbell) and Peyton (Huslig) into my office. I told them, Jayru, we can put you in as the quarterback and be pretty good. But if we put

2016 NATIONAL CHAMPIONS you in as the quarterback and be pretty good.

But if we put you at receiver and Peyton at quarterback, we can be great.”

Campbell, who had endured his own topsyturvy path to Garden City that at one point had him committed to Michigan State as a freshman in high school, didn’t even blink. He agreed to the position change.

The rest is history.

Huslig absolutely dazzled in his first collegiate start. Nearly a year removed from guiding Andover Central to the state championship game his senior season, he was the guy leading the nation’s fifth-ranked squad.

The true freshman completed 21-of-30 passes for 311 yards and four touchdowns, Daniel Davis caught five balls for 100 and two scores, and the defense picked off Grizzlies’ starting quarterback David Isreal three times in a 43-0 rout. It was the Broncbusters first shutout victory over Butler since 1991. It was also the first time in 276 games that the Grizzlies failed to score a single point.

“Honestly, I was pretty nervous,” Huslig admitted. “But I go into every practice thinking that I will be the starter.”

Huslig no longer had to think about it. He was entrenched as the starter the rest of the way, the same guy who had limited options coming out of high school. The same player who was passed over for guys like Derby’s Brady Rust. It was his show; his time to take over.

For his efforts, Huslig was named the Jayhawk Conference Player of the Week. A few days after that, he threw for 180 yards and a touchdown in a 39-13 demolition of Coffeyville, the same stadium where the Broncbusters had suffered a humiliating 84-21 loss to close the 2014 season.

“We probably could have done the same thing to them,” Sims said. “But for what purpose? Our goals are bigger than beating Coffeyville.”

The win moved Garden City to 6-0 for the first time in 16 years and pushed them to No. 2 in the polls. But there were still plenty of question marks, especially with a trip to Council Bluffs looming on the horizon.

Since their inception in 2012, Iowa Western’s football program has been a powerhouse. In 2013, they knocked off Butler in the National Championship. A year later, the Reivers lost

RUN TO THE TITLE

(Above) Trailing 14-13 midway through the third quarter vs. Hutchinson, Luke Herring drilled a 25-yard field goal to put the Broncbusters on top for good. Garden City eventually held on for a dramatic, 16-14 victory over the Blue Dragons, their first at Gowan’s Stadium since 2007.

the big game to Buddy Stephens and East Mississippi. That was the same season where they ripped right through Garden City in week five, 45-3. Although, that contest is more infamously known for what happened afterwards. When the custodial staff was cleaning up, they noticed a message on a dryerase board inside the visiting locker room. The players and coaches had purposely left a prediction of the final score. It read: beat Garden City 50-0.

The 2016 version of the Reivers was not the same team that demoralized the Broncbusters two years earlier. After nearly knocking off Arizona Western in the opening week of the season, Iowa Western suffered through a stretch of significant injuries, including their top two quarterbacks. But the Reivers were still formidable, bringing in the nation’s 11th-ranked defense. And it showed as they held Garden City scoreless in the first half, taking a 3-0 lead into the break.

The second half was a different story. Huslig delivered a 17-yard strike to Ben Phillips for a touchdown in the third quarter followed by Gabe Luyanda’s 20-yard interception return for a score that flipped the game. And after Iowa Western sliced Garden City’s lead to four in the fourth, Minter had the answer, scoring on a counter play from eight yards out to stretch the advantage to 11. Later in the quarter, Rashaun Croney punctuated the victory with a pick six, sending the Broncbusters back to Garden City with a 7-0 mark. The win also moved the brown and gold to the top of the polls for the first time since 2000.

“Our guys are winning in a lot of different areas,” Sims said.

When Bob Larson’s Broncbusters beat Coffeyville 20-7 at the end of the 2000 regular season, Garden City was crowned Jayhawk Conference champions. A few weeks later, they took down Butler in an epic four-overtime thriller in the

region title game. They finished the year as the National runner-up after falling to Glendale 13-10 in the Valley of the Sun Bowl.

In a sense, it was the end of an era; one in which Garden City showed out as one of the best Junior College programs in the country. Larson coached for four more seasons before retiring in 2004, but it would be nearly two decades before the Broncbusters arrived back on the scene.

The week before the 2016 season opener, Garden City hosted Dodge City in a scrimmage. It was a game where the Broncbusters suffered a significant injury on the offensive line when they lost freshman, and Garden City native Edgar Guzman to a season-ending knee injury. glimpse at a team that some thought may win six or seven games if things fell their way.

In the end, the Broncbusters showed plenty of progress, with Sims turning to the media that was hunkered in along the sidelines and shouting out: “that’s what a Junior College program is supposed to look like.”

Nearly two months later, the two teams met again. But there was much more at stake for Garden City this time around than back in August. A win would give the Broncbusters their first conference championship since 2000. It would also provide a gateway to the National Championship Game.

Garden City never hesitated, landing one body blow after the other. On their first play from scrimmage, Huslig hit Harley Hazlett for an 82-yard gain. Linebacker Gary Johnson tripped him up at the 2-yard line, temporarily delaying the inevitable. That happened on the next play, when Minter blasted in from two yards out.

Moments later, Rashaun Croney picked off Conquistadors’ quarterback Caden Walters and returned it for a touchdown. Then, in the second quarter, Huslig connected with Daniel Davis for an eight-yard touchdown, pushing the Broncbusters out to a 21-0 halftime advantage.

Minter added his second rushing touchdown of the game in the third quarter, and Lawson sprinted in from 10 yards out, cementing Garden City as the 2016 Jayhawk Conference Champions.

“We worked so hard,” linebacker Alex Figueroa said. “We’ve progressed so much through the season.”

It was a far cry from where the program was sitting just 12 months earlier, looking up from the bottom of the standings. Figueroa can attest to that. After transferring from Miami, the sophomore broke his foot in the first game of the season vs. Highland. He was granted a medical redshirt. With one goal out of the way, the Broncbusters finished off the season with blowout wins over Iowa Central and Fort Scott, punching their ticket to the National Championship Game.

During the Championship Game, Broncbuster fans nationwide were treated to a major dose of déjà vu. Nearly 16 years ago to the day, Garden City quarterback Corey Jenkins, with the Broncbusters trailing Glendale 13-7 with less than two minutes to play in the fourth quarter of the national championship game, was driving his team down the field for the gamewinning touchdown. Once the Broncbusters reached the Gauchos 25, disaster struck. Glendale linebacker Tim Patrick intercepted Jenkins deflected pass, dashing the brown and gold’s title hopes.

“It’s one of those moments you never want to remember,” said Garden City High School athletic director Drew Thon, who was a starting linebacker on that 2000 squad.

Fast forward to 2016, and that same scenario played out again. But this time, Garden City quarterback Peyton Huslig finished what Jenkins started nearly two decades earlier.

Huslig capped off a wild final minute with a one-yard touchdown pass to Harley Hazlett with 30 seconds remaining; Bryan Blount intercepted a desperation heave by Emmanuel Gant in the final seconds, and Garden City captured the program’s first national title with a 25-22, heart-stopping victory in the El Toro Bowl at Memorial Stadium.

“I can’t even put it into words,” Huslig said. “This is why we came here. We did it.”

Huslig’s late-game heroics overshadowed another dazzling performance by Garden City’s defense. But their lack of depth on that side of the ball, nearly cost them in a fourth quarter for the ages.

Leading 19-14 with 12 minutes to go, Arizona Western (11-1, 8-0) began slicing their way through Garden City’s defensive front; a wall that seemed impenetrable for most of the afternoon. Tre Rodriguez’s 44-yard dash gave the Matadors a first down at the Broncbusters 33. It was the longest run allowed all season by Josh Hager’s defense.

“We were gassed,” Sims said. “And they were gashing us.”

“HONESTLY, I WAS PRETTY NERVOUS. BUT I GO INTO PRACTICE ALL THE TIME THINKING THAT I’M GOING TO BE THE STARTER.”

PEYTON HUSLIG

Greg Bell continued the assault on the very next play, sprinting 14 yards to the Garden City 19. Moments later, Gant connected with tight end Jeremy Patton, who fought off two defenders to reach the end zone from eight yards out, giving the Matadors a 20-19 advantage.

“You just have to keep playing each play,” Garden City Head Coach Jeff Sims said afterwards. “We never put our heads down.”

Gant pushed the lead to three when he hit David Lucero in the middle of the end zone for the two-point conversion, putting Arizona Western up 22-19 with 10:07 to play in the game.

“I still felt like we had a chance,” Huslig said. “We just needed to keep going.”

The Broncbusters chances for hoisting the trophy began to slip away late in the fourth.

With 6:22 left, the Matadors began a timeconsuming march that ate up more than five minutes of the fourth-quarter clock. Arizona Western converted two third downs on the drive; none bigger than a third-and-11 at their own 38. Gant dropped back and rolled right. Just as he released the ball, Broncbusters linebacker Alex Figueroa drilled the sophomore quarterback. But the linedrive pass was a thing of beauty, hitting star receiver Steffon McKnight right in the chest for a 22-yard gain to the Garden City 40.

“You have to hand it to him (Gant); that was a heck of a throw,” Sims said. “We got there, and he still put that on the money.”

Then, facing a third-and-3 at the Garden City 33, it was Rodriguez finding first-down yardage to the Broncbuster 20.

“We couldn’t stop them at that point,” Sims said.

Things seemed even more dire when Rodriguez found a crease up the middle on the next play for 17 yards. Only Mike Hughes’ outstretched arms kept the Florida-Atlantic transfer from waltzing into the end zone.

“Our guys never gave up on plays,” Sims said. “That’s why I always tell them to just play the play. Each play will take care of itself.” Rodriguez carried the ball three straight times inside the 3-yard line and gained a total of one yard. Now it was fourth-and-goal from the 2 with 1:30 to play and decision time for Arizona Western Head Coach Tom Minnick: keep the offense on the field and go for the kill, or play it safe and kick the field goal.

“I totally agree with Coach Minnick’s decision,” Sims said. “We would have done the same thing.”

Minnick rolled the dice and went for it. It was an odd call; especially against one of the nation’s top defenses: a playaction, naked bootleg that never fooled Blunt and Rayshawn Wilborn, who combined to rip down Gant behind the line of scrimmage for a 13-yard loss.

Ironically that same play worked for a touchdown earlier in the season vs. Mesa. Against Garden City, the Broncbusters were licking their chops.

“We gave ourselves a chance at the end,” Huslig said.

That was the tiny little sliver that the true freshman needed to spark the fire. And it setup one of the most dramatic finishes in NJCAA history. With no timeouts; 1:20 showing on the clock and 85 yards from the go-ahead score, the brown and gold needed a miracle. And after back-to-back incompletions put Garden City into a third-and-long situation, it wasn’t looking promising.

“We just needed to get a first down,” Huslig explained. “I just stayed within myself.”

The freshman calmly gathered himself and delivered a strike to to Daniel Davis for 12 yards. Then it was Huslig to Davis again for eight.

“I just took what the defense gave me,” Huslig added. “I didn’t want to force anything.”

On the very next play, Huslig lobbed a majestic rainbow down the right sideline that Ben Phillips snagged out of the air. The sophomore receiver sprinted 51 yards to the Arizona Western 14 before Jekyren Miles shoved him out of bounds.

“we just beat a team with 90 dudes; it was like an all-star team. it was all part of the process, and these guys are all champs.”

jeff sims

For Miles, his nightmare was just beginning. But the Matadors failed to recover, keeping it a threepoint game.

“I made a mistake on that call,” Sims said.

Any chance of an Arizona Western comeback was quickly put to rest when Blount intercepted Gant’s wobbly second-down pass with seven seconds remaining, completing the greatest, single-season turnaround in NJCAA history.

“I feel bad for Arizona Western,” Sims said. “I know what that feeling is like. They’re a great football team. They played well enough to win.”

The Matadors’ misfortunes were compounded by a sluggish start, gaining only 20 yards in the first quarter as Garden City (11-0, 7-0) built a 13-0 lead on

Back-to-back pass interference penalties in the end zone-one on Miles; the other on Keisean Nixon, put the ball at the 1-yard line with 37 seconds. Then the play that will live in Garden City Community College lore.

On first-and-goal, Huslig launched a fade into the back-left corner of the end zone that Hazlett plucked out of the heavens; snaring it away from Miles, and giving Garden City the lead back 25-22 with 30 seconds remaining.

AN ICONIC MOMENT

(Above) Mike Hughes came to Garden City after a brief stint at North Carolina. And by the time his lone season in brown and gold ended, he cemented himself as one of the best players in program history. His dive for the end zone at the end of the second quarter vs. Arizona Western, will live on forever.

“It was a three-person progression,” Huslig said of the play. “I didn’t have a lot of time because they were sending a lot of people. But Harley has been telling me all year to trust him. So I did, and it worked out.”

The celebration was nearly doused when Huslig fumbled the ball on the two-point conversion. Huslig’s spectacular 85-yard touchdown run on the Broncbusters third offensive possession and Malcom Howard’s fumble recovery in the end zone in the second quarter.

“Malcom Howard is an unbelievable player for us and an unbelievable person,” Sims said. “He’s a national champion on and off the field. Howard’s fumble recovery in the end zone in the second quarter came following a decision by Minnick that will be second guessed for all eternity. Going into the wind, Arizona Western was staring at a fourth-and-1 from their own 10. Minnick dropped Gant back into the end zone to punt. But the second-year starter took the snap and acted as if he was going to throw the ball. Howard wrapped both arms around him; knocking the ball free before recovering it for a touchdown.

“If I told him (Howard) three years ago that he would make two plays like that to win us a national championship, he would have looked at me like I was crazy,” Sims said.

Howard’s other contribution came on the third play of the final stanza when he blocked Gant’s punt, giving Garden City the ball at the Arizona Western 22.

But the Matadors had no plans of going quietly. Instead they used a questionable roughing the kicker penalty in the second quarter to extend a drive. Then on secondand-10 from the Broncbuster 14, Gant hit Dominick Anderson on a slant for a touchdown that pulled Arizona Western to within six.

The game appeared to be getting away from Garden City the next time they had the ball when Miles returned Huslig’s fumble 10 yards for a touchdown and 14-13 Matador advantage.

On the ensuing kickoff, Mike Hughes nearly turned it back over to Arizona Western when he flat out dropped Brady Viles end-overend boot. But the Broncbusters recovered, dodging a major bullet.

“That second quarter could have gotten away from us,” Sims said. “But it never did.”

Garden City settled down, and Huslig hit Hughes for a 32-yard touchdown pass in the final minute of the first half to give the Broncbusters a 19-14 lead. It was only second time all year that the Matadors trailed at half.

Huslig was named the most valuable offensive player, completing 13-of-22 passes for 192 yards and two touchdowns while running for 112 and a score. Tra Minter, the nation’s second leading rusher was held to just 24 yards on 19 carries. Davis had five catches for 36 yards; Campbell added three for 38 and Hazlett had two for 22 and a touchdown. Jeremy Faulk was named defensive MVP with four tackles and a quarterback sack.

THE RING CEREMONY

On Dec. 3, 2016, Garden City cemented their place in the pantheon of all-time Junior College football programs. On May 3, 2017, they were rewarded for a dramatic, come-from-behind, heart palpitating, 25-22 victory over No. 2 Arizona Western in the National Championship Game, receiving their jewelery during the Broncbuster Ring Ceremony.

Pictured above is defensive back Mike Hughes (middle), linebacker Rayshawn Wilborn (right) and redshirt defensive back Warren Saba (left). Hughes eventually transferred to Central Florida in August before being drafted in the first round by the Minnesota Vikings in 2018. Wilborn signed with Ball State in 2017 and started 12 games in 2018. Saba, who sat out the 2016 season, started on the 2017 team that finished 8-4. He transferred to East Carolina, where he played in all 12 games during the 2018 season.