Hutchinson linebacker Jordan Fee didn't want to think about the significance of Hutchinson winning its fourth straight football title, nor being on all four of those teams.

"Maybe when we're older, we'll look back and see how truly special this was," Fee said before the state title game. "Right now we're focused on Olathe South and going out with a bang."

He's got time to appreciate it now.

"It's unbelievable," Fee said. "When you start out, you want to go out as state champs, and undefeated state champs. It can't get any better than this."

Unbelievable. And unstoppable. Both words best describe the juggernaut that the Hutchinson program has become in winning its fourth straight title.

And that feat, unmatched in Hutchinson history, is overwhelmingly voted as The News' top Reno County sports story of the year.

It wasn't just that Hutchinson won every game. Or that the defense consistently stifled opponents. Maybe, as much as anything, it was the year that the success was taken for granted, assumed as much as celebrated; even a single-digit deficit gave teams reason for (ill-fated) hope.

So let's point out a few interesting tidbits to this season.

l Hutchinson's leading rusher, Romero Cotton, played two snaps in the first four games-and still finished with more than 1,000 yards.

l Hutchinson's second leading rusher, Josh Smith, was expected to see the field mainly as a linebacker.

l Hutchinson's backup kicker, Todd Schultz, made a 43-yard field goal.

l A defensive end-turned-defensive tackle, Forrest Stucky, won the AVCTL defensive MVP.

l Hutchinson's most dangerous play was an inside draw to a 171-pound running back - this coming from a team that runs the ball more than 80 percent of the time.

Hutchinson's spectacular season started with a gritty 17-7 win over McPherson. Most people looked at the score and were deceived into believing Hutchinson was vulnerable. But, minus a few fumbles, Hutchinson could have hung a 38-0 decision in that game.

Hutchinson scored 35 points in the first quarter against Salina Central, two before Hutchinson's second offensive snap.

"We might lead the state in one-play drives," Hutchinson coach Randy Dreiling said.

Hutchinson's offense later rung up 78 points on Maize - the last 22 of which came from the JV.

And even when Hutchinson's offense faltered, the defense picked up the slack. In the first Goddard game, Goddard's only touchdown was set up by a Hutchinson fumble. Against Wichita Southeast two weeks later, Hutchinson's goal-line stand at the end of the first half turned the tide and keyed a 56-6 win. Another goal-line stand at the end of the state championship game put an exclamation point on that victory.

"It felt really good," Stucky said. "They got down there, and couldn't score. It was really fun."

A few more moments stand out in another memorable season. Grant Dreiling, in his first season as a starting quarterback, had one play-fake so good that even the refs bought it. While he was running alone with the football, the refs were marking the ball at the line of scrimmage.

His brother Nate, who turned in a record-breaking season with 145 tackles, had two interceptions against Derby - one more catch than any Hutchinson receiver.

Electrifying sophomore Deveon Dinwiddie had three touchdowns against Dodge City - one running, one receiving, one on a kick return. He was denied a fourth when he was pushed out at the 1-yard line on a punt return.

The only problem Hutchinson couldn't overcome was finding enough space to list the latest title on the signs surrounding the city.

And the reign doesn't appear to end in the near future. The class of 2010 appears to be as deep and talented as those preceding it.