No. 5 Grizzlies roll to 44-14 road victory at Blinn

BRENHAM, Texas – The Butler football team scored on its first possession and rolled to a 44-14 non-conference victory over Blinn College on the road Saturday night at Cub Stadium.

It is Butler's second straight win over Blinn after a 28-10 win over the Buccaneers last year in the first-ever football game at BG Products Veterans Sports Complex. 

"I'm really proud of our kids," said Butler head football coach Troy Morrell. "It was a long trip and it was humid, but we hung together and kept battling. I'm proud of the way we played and we finished strong."

The Butler defense took to the field first and allowed a long run on the first play of the game, but eventually stiffened and forced a Blinn punt. The Grizzlies took over and drove 81 yards in eight plays, capped by a 14-yard pass from Hunter Vaughn to Trey Hallman in the middle of the end zone.

Butler punted the next two times it had the ball but eventually got rolling offensively again. The Grizzlies got a 3-yard touchdown run by Ty Suggs, a 30-yard field goal from Robert Rawlings and a 29-yard touchdown pass from Vaughn to Steven Walker. That put the Grizzlies ahead 23-0 late in the second quarter.

Blinn would get its only offensive touchdown of the night on a 1-yard quarterback keeper by Garry Kimble with 25 seconds left in the first half.

Butler provided more offense in the third quarter as Hunter Vaughn threw a pair of touchdowns midway through the quarter. Vaughn connected with Chris Floyd for a 15-yard scoring pass with 7:44 left in the third. Just 1:34 later, Van Powell caught a pass, avoided multiple Blinn defenders and ran 24 yards for the touchdown to put the Grizzlies up 37-7.

Defensive lineman Gabe Luna had the final Butler score of the evening, when he recovered a loose ball in the air and ran untouched for a 10-yard touchdown.

Hunter Vaughn completed 16-of-22 passes for 285 yards and four touchdowns. Chris Carson was the leading rusher for the Grizzlies, carrying 13 times for 60 yards. Callen Hightower led Butler with three receptions for 87 yards.

Defensively, Tyler Hayes led Butler with five solo tackles and three assisted tackles. As a team, the Grizzlies forced three turnovers in the win.

Butler (2-0 overall, 1-0 KJCCC) will hit the road again next Saturday for a 1:00 p.m. conference battle at Fort Scott (0-2, 0-1).