Council Bluffs, Iowa

Why would it be easy?  Top-ranked Iowa Western (10-0, 4-0) and fourth-ranked Snow (7-2) treated fans in Council Bluffs to another instant classic Saturday afternoon at Titan Stadium.

The Badgers rallied from an 18-point deficit to send the NJCAA semi-final match-up into overtime before the Reivers thwarted Snow's 2-point conversion attempt in the first overtime to win, 30-29, and advance to the NJCAA Championship game in Little Rock, Arkansas on Friday, December 17th.

"At halftime (with IWCC leading 20-2), I told the guys this game is far from over, they're (Snow) not going anywhere." Head Coach Scott Strohmeier said after the game, "They're well coached and they wanted this just as much as we did.  We had to continue to play perfect and a few of our errors took away our advantage."

It was all Reivers in the first half as Iowa Western played inspired on both sides of the football.  The Reivers received the opening kickoff and completed two quick passes for 41 yards and a pair of first downs, but a personal foul penalty pushed IWCC behind the chains and they were forced to punt three plays later.  

The 'Darkside' defense set the tone early for the home team, allowing a short gain by Snow running back Targhee Lambson before forcing an incompletion and sacking starting quarterback Gabe Sweeten for an eight-yard loss.  Tyree Hill's sack would be one of three on the day for the Reivers with Hill dropping the QB twice.

After a Kaden Wetjen return that set the Reivers up at Snow's 31-yard line, Nate Glantz and the offense went to work.  The defending NJCAA Offensive Player of the Year hit Michael Love for a first down gain and followed with a 16-yard Touchdown to Ryan Flournoy to open the scoring.  Flournoy caught the ball on a crossing route and split two defenders for his fifth TD of the season.  Noah Sauberan's point after made it 7-0 IWCC.

Snow drove the following kickoff down to the IWCC 28-yard line before the Reivers held and took over after a missed field goal attempt.  Four plays later the Badgers broke through after their defense forced a Reiver punt, the snap sailed over the head of Jake Calvert and the punter had to race to the endzone to kick it out of bounds for the Snow safety and a 7-2 lead for the home team, still in the opening quarter.

Sweeten and the Badger offense took over at their own 43-yard line, but a fumbled exchange and another Reiver QB sack, this time by Queden Ballew, forced another punt attempt by Snow.  On 4th and 15 the Reivers special teams brought the house, Wyatt Rhomer blocked the Brodie Taylor punt and Jaheim Jenkins scooped up the football and raced in for the score.  Snow partially blocked the extra point to keep the Reiver lead at 13-2 after one quarter of action.

The turnover bug bit on Snow's opening drive of the second quarter.  Reivers Linebacker Kenny Wilkins, Jr. dove to the bottom of the pile to recover a loose ball after another botched exchange for the Badgers to snuff out another drive by the visitors.

The two teams would exchange punts again before IWCC would strike again.  Glantz's hot hand delivered completions on four of five attempts as the Reivers drove from Snow's 43-yard line.  After a pair of runs by Glantz and running back Moses Bryant and the QB's lone incompletion on the drive, the Reivers found themselves with a 3rd and goal from the Badgers 6-yard line.  Out of a time-out, Glantz fired a missile to Roscoe Parrish in the endzone as the lead grew to 20-2 with 4:50 remaining in the first half.

Snow's next drive was snuffed out by ICCAC Defensive Player of the Year Jacob Ellis.  A diving Ellis intercepted Sweeten on a tipped ball for the third turnover on the day with the play going to review before the Reivers took over in Badger territory.  The replay showing the fingers of the sophomore linebacker getting under the football before pulling it in for his fifth interception of the season.

Snow's defense made it a tough road all day for the Reivers, especially the rushing attack.  The Badgers sacked Glantz twice after the interception to force another change of possession, but Lund's field goal attempt on the ensuing drive was missed again, this time just to the right of the uprights to keep the Reivers up three scores into the break.

Down 18 points, Snow chewed up over half of the third-quarter on their opening march of the second half.  Targhee Lambson carried for seven of his 30 attempts on the drive, but the Reivers' defense forced yet another punt by the Badgers.  

The Reivers offense was unable to establish themselves after taking over, forced to punt after the Badgers sacked Glantz again.  Another high snap, this time over Ty Nissen's head, gave the Badgers two more points and more importantly reduced the deficit to just two scores with 20 minutes of football remaining.

Wilkins aided the Reivers defensive effort again, stepping in front of a Sweeten pass to end, what looked to be, a promising Snow offensive drive. 

The Badgers would return the favor three plays later as Glantz's pass was overthrown and Snow's Austin Francis grabbed it out of the air to set up the Badgers into the fourth.

Down 20-4, Snow faced a 4th and 8 just two plays into the final quarter from the Reivers 20 and the Badgers finally cashed in.  Sweeten's pass to Caden Leggett in the left corner of the endzone was placed perfectly, with Leggett dragging his toe inbounds for the score.  The two-point attempt was snuffed out as IWCC held on to a two-score lead, 20-10, with 14:49 still remaining.

Glantz drove the Reivers right back, leading an eight-play scoring drive that resulted in a 39-yard field goal from Noah Sauberan, extending the lead to 23-10, but keeping Snow within striking distance with still 12:40 left in regulation.

Just twelve seconds later, the Badgers struck.  Keionte Scott rambled 87 yards on the kickoff return, the PAT slicing the lead to 23-17 and the momentum clearly swinging to the Snow sideline.

IWCC looked to burn clock and take pressure off of Glantz by establishing a threat in the run game, but back-to-back runs by Milton Sargbah and an incomplete pass by Glantz gave the ball back to Snow near midfield with a chance to take the lead in the game.

After a pair of runs, Snow went to the air on 3rd and seven.  Sweeten lateraled to set up a wide receiver pass that was underthrown down the Snow sideline and the Reivers appeared ready for a sure interception, but the ball deflected forward off of the Reiver defender and into the arms of Dionte Davis for a 46-yard completion to the Reivers' three-yard line.  One play later Lambson blasted into the endzone and the game was tied at 23, with Snow an extra-point away from their first lead of the game.

Kyre' Williams made sure that didn't happen.  The redshirt-freshman from Akron, Ohio blocked the kick by Lund, preserving the tie on the scoreboard with nine minutes still remaining.

Both teams exchanged punts before Iowa Western would drive to the Snow 37-yard line.  However, three straight incompletions forced another punt, giving the ball back to Snow with 2:44 left in the game.

Snow took over at their own 10 and immediately started marching, converting a third down to move the chains to the Badgers' 24, but the drive would stop there.  A pair of incompletions brought up another third down and another diving interception for the Reivers.  This time it was Rashion Hodge extending for a tipped ball, the replay confirming the turnover, and IWCC had the football at the Snow 40-yard line with 1:21 remaining.

A pair of Glantz completions weren't enough to move the chains and instead of a 50-yard field goal into the wind, the Reivers elected to go for it on 4th down.  Glantz had his man, but the pass was knocked down by the Badgers' Cole Bowers to force a turnover on downs.  

Snow, with just 29 seconds remaining, went to the air, moving the chains on a 22-yard gain on first down.  A screen to Lambson lost a yard and the Badgers were flagged for a hold after a 31-yard completion that may have brought a field goal attempt from the visitors. The final play of regulation was an 11-yard completion to the Reivers' 45, sending the game to overtime tied at 23.

The Badgers won the coin toss to start the extra period and elected to defend against IWCC as the Reivers set-up toward the south end zone at Titan Stadium.  

On 1st down, Glantz sent Bryant in motion and hit the running back in stride past the goalline for the score.  Sauberan's extra point gave the Reivers a sudden 30-23 lead with the Badgers needing to match the score to continue the game.

Snow converted a third down to move the sticks before Tyree Hill picked up his second sack of the game on Sweeten who then threw incomplete on second down.  Lambson caught a screen for seven yards on third and the Reivers forced 4th and 11 with the game in the balance. 

Out of a timeout by Snow, Sweeten found Leggett for his second score of the game to keep the Badgers' chances alive, down by just a point.

On the road, Snow Head Coach Zac Erekson elected to go for the win, sending Sweeten on a QB keeper to the right side.  The 'Darkside' kept him from turning the corner and the Reivers' celebration commenced as Sweeten lay on the turf, three yards shy of a victory, the 30-29 final score glowing off the scoreboard in the darkness.

The Reivers will now face #2 New Mexico Military on Friday, December 17th in Little Rock, Arkansas.  The Broncos topped Northwest Mississippi, 49-30, in their semi-final match-up.  Game time is set for 7:00 pm at War Memorial Stadium and will be televised on CBS Sports Network and on Iowa Western's 100,000 watt FM radio station, 89.7 the River, with Jake Ryan and Russ Nelsen on the call.

Follow the game on social media with the official Twitter & Facebook accounts of Reiver Football.

If you're going to the game in Little Rock, the official team hotel for the Reivers is the Four Points by Sheraton.  The hotel is offering a discounted rate to family, friends, and alumni.  For more information, contact Tracy Morales at 501-748-4710.  Tickets for the game can be purchased through the NJCAA.  For more information on Little Rock and the game, click here.

NOTES

Saturday's win extends IWCC's win streak to 17 games.  That is tied for the second-longest streak in program history.

With the win, the Reivers are now 2-2 in overtime football games.  The other win came over Butler in the 2014 season when the Reivers also played in the NJCAA Championship game.

Ryan Flournoy's first-quarter touchdown was the 750th in program history.