GARDEN CITY, Kan. - With a 43-0 loss at No. 5 Garden City on Saturday, Butler football has lost three consecutive games for the first time since the 1995 season.
Butler (2-3 overall, 2-2 conference) recorded season lows in both offensive yards (130) and first downs (7), while Garden City racked up 476 yards of total offense en-route to the win. The Grizzlies were last shut out back on Dec. 8, 2013 in a 6-0 loss to Iowa Western in the Graphic Edge Bowl.
Saturday's shutout also marked the first time since 1991 that Butler was blanked by a Jayhawk Conference opponent. Oddly enough, Garden City was also the last conference opponent to hold Butler without a score, beating the Grizzlies 36-0 on Sept. 21, 1991. The loss ended the Grizzlies' 173-game streak of avoiding a shutout by a conference foe during the regular season.
Butler has now also gone 13 straight quarters without an offensive touchdown. The last time the Grizzlies were held without an offensive score this long occurred in 1978, when Butler suffered three straight shutouts (28-0 vs. Coffeyville, 27-0 at Cowley, 12-0 vs. Highland).
Garden City (5-0, 3-0) jumped out to a 15-0 lead after one quarter, as the Busters received a 13-yard touchdown pass from Peyton Huslig to Jeremiah Jackson and an 8-yard rushing score from Tra Minter.
Huslig added three more scoring passes and a 12-yard touchdown run in the final three quarters, as he completed 21-of-30 attempts for 311 yards. Minter led all rushers with 125 yards on 26 carries, while Daniel Davis finished with 100 yards receiving on five catches and two touchdowns.
For Butler, David Isreal completed just 8-of-23 passes for 103 yards and was picked off three times by the Garden defense. Tyler West led the Grizzlies' ground game with 27 yards on eight attempts, while C.J. Sims caught five passes for 72 yards.
On defense, linebackers Jake Seurer (12 tackles, five solo and Tony Jones (11 tackles, four solo) led the Grizzlies.
Butler will attempt to get back on the winning side next Saturday against No. 20 Highland, which begins a four-game homestand for the Grizzlies. Kickoff from BG Products Veterans Sports Complex is at 7:00 p.m. The Scotties, who were idle this week, are 4-1 overall on the season.