Iowa Falls, IA
Iowa Western's opening drive Saturday against Ellsworth had the Reivers in prime position to take an early lead on the road ... then, the storms came. Just two minutes in to the game, officials cleared the players from field and the fans from the stands for what would become a delay of over two hours.
When the game finally resumed, it was all visitors. Iowa Western (5-0, 1-0) stayed unbeaten, while Ellsworth (1-4, 0-2) dropped their second straight. Quarterback Hunter Watson led the Reivers to scores on five of the team's first six offensive drives, tossing a pair of touchdown passes, including a strike to Kyrell Jordan for the freshman receiver's first collegiate score.
Jordan Johnson led the team in receiving with one of his two catches going for a 26-yard touchdown from Watson.
The Reivers ground out the clock in the second half allowing backup QBs Chad Kearns and Tyler Manske to both get critical game action behind center with six regular season games remaining.
"We never really have, but with the playoff, we certainly don't worry about 'style points' or perception when it comes to the final score", said Head Coach Scott Strohmeier after the game. "We want our guys to stay healthy first of all and secondly we've got guys that need film and it's important that they get game experience and today we were able to do that with the big halftime lead and with the delay it was especially important to keep fresh legs in the game."
The Reivers racked up 273 yards rushing, led by strong running by freshman Jonathan Humpal. His seven carries netted him a game high 78 yards, while Maximo Vasquez racked up the toughest yards of the day, rushing 10 times for 54 yards when the ECC defense knew what was coming late in the game. Humpal scored one of the three rushing TDs on the afternoon / evening while Trevor Burnett and Shawn Gary, Jr. both crossed the goal line as well.
As usual, the 'Darkside' did their part, limiting Ellsworth to one score on the day and just 80 yards of total offense. The Reivers intercepted Panthers QB Brycen Davis five times and recovered a forced fumble, while the special teams came up with a pair of punt blocks, one of which linebacker C.J. Jones recovered in the endzone for the first touchdown of the year not scored by the offense.
Overall, the defense collected nine sacks, led by Walt Gray and Cheick Kaba's two and a half sacks each. The Panthers managed just six yards rushing on the day as IWCC collected 20 total tackles for loss.
With the victory, the Reivers moved to 19-1 all-time against Ellsworth and stay undefeated in Iowa Falls and on the season. Next up is Independence, Saturday at home.
The Pirates come to Council Bluffs at 2-2 on the season after enjoying their first bye of the season. The Reivers have played Independence the fewest times of any Jayhawk Conference opponent after the two teams had their game in 2016 canceled to start the season. The Reivers instead traveled to Grand Junction, Colorado to face Arizona Western in their 2016 season opener. It was the only time IWCC faced the Matadors before AWC shuttered their football program. That trip marked the one and only time that Dr. Dan Kinney, the former president of IWCC, rode the bus with the team. The 'OG' Dr. Kinney will be inducted into the Reivers Hall of Fame the night before Saturday's Homecoming Game against Indy.
All the action can be heard, free of charge, on the Reiver Sports Network. The game, with Jake Ryan, Russ Nelsen, Josh Odson, and Tony Boone on the call, can also be found on Iowa Western's 100,000-watt FM radio station, 89.7 The River. The RSN Countdown to Kickoff begins at 12:30 on the radio side with the video stream starting just before kickoff at 1:00 from Lewis Central's Titan Stadium.
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