Game Preview: Butler Football Set for ESPN+ Debut at Dodge City Saturday

The Teams: Butler Grizzlies (4-4, 2-3 KJCCC) at #9 Dodge City Conquistadors (5-3, 3-1 KJCCC)
Where: Dodge City, KS
Stadium: Memorial Stadium (5,000)
Time: 12 p.m. CT
Streaming Platform: ESPN+
Radio: KNSS 98.7 FM and 1330 AM (www.audacy.com/stations/knss) (Dennis Higgins on the call.) Pregame show begins at 12:30 p.m. (Delay)

The Butler Grizzlies travel to Dodge City at Memorial Stadium on Saturday afternoon for the NJCAA Football Game of the Week, a clash between two KJCCC foes looking for a big win.

HOW TO WATCH AND LISTEN

The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with subscription required to watch. The ESPN+ broadcast is the first ever ESPN broadcasted game for any Butler Athletics program and will be produced by BCTV as well as Tourbeau Sports out of California. The Butler radio broadcast will air on KNSS 98.7 FM and 1330 AM (www.audacy.com/stations/knss) with Dennis Higgins on the call. The pregame show begins at 12:30 p.m. with the game airing at 1 p.m. on radio due to a delay.

SERIES HISTORY

Saturday will be the 93rd all-time meeting for the Grizzlies and Conquistadors. Butler leads the series, 57-34-1. The first game between the two schools was in 1936 with Dodge City winning 31-6 at home. A season ago Butler defeated Dodge City 30-3 in El Dorado. Butler has won 12 straight games at Memorial Stadium over Dodge City. The last loss there for Butler was in 1995, 27-18. Butler defeated the Conqs 56-21 in the last game between the two in Dodge City in the spring 2021 season.

PREVIEW

Butler (4-4, 2-3 KJCCC) has lost two straight games and is reeling, searching for a win to move back to .500 in KJCCC play as they travel to Dodge City for a noon game at Memorial Stadium. The game is a big opportunity not only for the Grizzlies but for Butler students, staff and the college as a whole as the game will be streamed on ESPN+. It marks the first ever Butler athletics event to be streamed on any ESPN platform. Butler students and staff will work on the crew helping produce the broadcast, gaining valuable experience.

The Grizzlies have had mixed results on the road this season. They lost at Garden City in week one, then ripped off two straight road wins with dominating performances over NEO (32-7) and then-#3 Iowa Central (45-10). Last week Butler played in cold, rainy conditions on the road at archrival Coffeyville and fell 15-7 in a defensive slugfest. They will look to change their fortunes vs. the Conqs. Quarterback Tanner Murray figures to be back for Butler after missing last week with an injury. His insertion into the lineup should make for an exciting matchup as the Grizzly offense continues to search for an identity as well as someone that can carry them with consistent big performances. The Grizzly defense has been on fire as of late, with a stretch of four quarters not allowing points. Two weeks ago in the second half they shut out No. 2 Iowa Western and did not allow a third down conversion and then the following week they allowed just 15 points from Coffeyville, shutting them out in the first half.

Dodge City is playing its best football in years as the Conqs have been consistently ranked in NJCAA polls this season. The No. 9 ranking is their highest since Aug. 15, 2016. This week was the third straight for them to be ranked and fifth time this season. They are 5-3 (3-1 KJCCC) with wins over Coffeyville, Highland, Garden City, Ellsworth and #9 Iowa Central. They have losses to then-No. 1 Iowa Western, then-#6 Snow and No. 1 Hutchinson. The loss to Iowa Western was similar to the Grizzlies game with the Reivers, a one score loss (27-20). The loss to Snow was also a close game with the Badgers winning 15-6. Conquistador quarterback Treyvon Jefferson has thrown for 1,230 yards, 12 touchdowns and seven interceptions, with a 49.7 completion percentage. The Conqs ride running back Jalen Smith who has rolled up 691 yards and four touchdowns on 6.2 yards per carry. They spread the ball around to different receivers with Kerya Powell and Kam'Ryn Thomas each having a team-high 23 receptions.

STAT BREAKDOWN

Both teams are very similar on paper with the biggest difference being in points per game with Butler holding a five-point advantage.

THE LAST TIME THEY MET

NOVEMBER 8, 2022 – EL DORADO, KS – Butler 30, Dodge City 3

The Grizzlies blew the game open with a 13-point second quarter that put Butler ahead and the Grizzlies would never relinquish that lead. Butler would put two more touchdowns up in the second half and cruised the rest of the way.

It was an explosive day for sophomore AJ King in his final game in El Dorado. King finished with seven receptions for 125 yards, scoring two touchdowns, catching 42 and 20-yard touchdown passes. Jacobi Myers returned from injury and was effective at quarterback, completing 10 passes on 19 attempts with 184 yards, finding the end zone twice. Butler's leading rusher Azhuan Dingle ran the ball well with 28 carries for a then-season high 164 yards and a touchdown. The Grizzlies rushed for 214 yards as a team.

Defensively, the Grizzlies did not allow a touchdown, holding the Conqs to just under 200 yards of total offense. The Grizzlies held Dodge City to only 3-of-13 on third down attempts, winning the time of possession battle by nearly 17 minutes, in addition to allowing just 48 yards of rushing. It was total domination for Butler's defense. The Grizzlies forced three interceptions, with Norman Massey, Caleb Brown and Jonathan Forson all coming away with picks. 

LAST TIME OUT FOR BUTLER

13th-ranked Butler traveled to rival Coffeyville on Saturday and dropped a 15-7 contest in a sloppy football game played in wet, windy conditions at Veterans Memorial Stadium.

There were nine total turnovers between Butler (4-4, 2-3 KJCCC) and Coffeyville (3-5, 1-4 KJCCC) as they battled the elements all night. The Red Ravens picked up their first conference win of the season while the Grizzlies dropped under .500 in league play at 2-3. The win for Coffeyville pushed their lead in the all-time series to 51-45-2 as they have also won three of the last four including the last two games over Butler.

The game went into halftime tied at zero as Butler punted on five of its seven first half drives with the other two being a fumble lost and a blocked field goal. The Grizzlies forced Coffeyville into two fumbles, two turnovers downs and two punts. There was a combined 125 yards of total offense at halftime.

The backbreaker in the second half for the Grizzlies was Coffeyville quarterback Enzo Tedesco toting the ball 63 yards for a touchdown with 3:30 left in the game to take a 12-7 lead following a missed two-point conversion. Butler quarterback Lin Johnson threw an interception on the next drive and Coffeyville ran 1:57 off the clock, eventually making a 25-yard field goal to go ahead 15-7 with 1:16 left.

Johnson tossed another interception on 2nd-and-10 on the following drive at the Butler 32-yard line and Coffeyville took over, eventually kneeling it out to secure the win.

Johnson was 14-of-34 for 80 yards through the air and three interceptions, takingover quarterbacking duties for tanner Murray who missed the game with an injury. Running back Jaisean McMillian led Butler with 41 yards rushing on 13 carries. Wide receiver PJ Caldwell paced Butler with five receptions for 36 yards.

Defensive back Armahn Hale led the Grizzlies with 11 tackles as well as an interception and 1.5 tackles for loss. Linebacker Demarcious Robinson was also flying around the field with 10 tackles, four tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble.

Punter Chevy Edwards was a weapon for Butler as he punted nine times with a long of 50 yards. Six of his nine punts were downed inside the 20, four were downed inside the ten with one being downed on the one-yard line.

Coffeyville out rushed Butler 234 yards to 22 and had 319 total yards of offense to Butler's 109. The Red Ravens won the time of possession battle, having the ball for 35:22 to 24:38 for Butler. Butler coughed up the ball four times to Coffeyville's five.

LAST TIME OUT FOR DODGE CITY

Dodge City defeated No. 9 ranked Iowa Central 34-30 at home last week. Iowa Central led 23-20 at halftime but Dodge City outscored the Tritons 14-7 in the second half to secure the win. Conq quarterback Trey Jefferson threw for 309 yards and four touchdowns while running back Jalen Smith rushed for 179 yards and a touchdown. The win marked the most wins in a season since 2016 for the Conquistadors (5-3). They also snagged their first win over a Top-10 opponent since 2015. 

WHAT HAPPENED IN THE RANKINGS?

The Grizzlies fell out of the rankings from No. 13 to receiving votes after the 15-7 loss at Coffeyville.

Hutchinson remains No. 1 and the only other KJCCC team that is ranked is Dodge City ranked 9th. A Grizzly opponent from earlier this season in the rankings is Iowa Western remaining second. Highland is receiving votes alongside Butler.

2023 NJCAA DI Football Poll | Week Ten - 10-30-23

Receiving Votes: Navarro, Iowa Central, Butler, Monroe, Highland

KJCCC STANDINGS