By Tim Perera / World-Herald correspondent

COUNCIL BLUFFS — Whether Iowa Western had any fuel in the tank or was running on fumes, the Reivers had just enough  to cross the finish line.

T.J. Starks threw for 226 yards and three touchdowns, and Iowa Western held off an Iowa Central fourth-quarter rally to claim its 10th straight Kinney Cup with a 26-20 win  Saturday at Titan Stadium.

The Reivers held a comfortable 26-7 lead heading to the fourth quarter before Central made it interesting. The Tritons scored two touchdowns and had a chance to grab the lead with a final drive.

But the Western defense sacked Triton quarterback Justin Blake twice, including a game-clincher by Morris Joseph to preserve the win and improve the Reivers to 2-0.

Iowa Western coach Scott Strohmeier said his team didn't have much left down the stretch.

"Defensively, we were running out of gas there. At the end of the day, that's what was happening. We were running out of gas, and they were getting some plays on us," he said.

A Kalen Jennings interception of Blake Dever stopped a Central drive in the first quarter, and that led to the Reivers' first score.

Starks connected with Michael Zachary for an 89-yard touchdown strike to give Iowa Western a 6-0 lead  with 9:01 left in the period.

The Reivers had chances for more but weren't able to convert.

Following a Dever fumble that put the Reivers at the Central 8, Tanner Murphy recovered a Starks fumble in the end zone for what appeared to be a Western touchdown.

But the officials ruled the fumble occurred in the field of play and couldn't be advanced, giving the ball back to the Tritons at their own 1.

Central stopped Iowa Western on the next drive, stoning Gayflor Flomo at the 1 on back-to-back attempts to keep the game at 6-0.

"We had too many opportunities to put this thing away," Strohmeier said.

"And we didn't. We just gave them life. When you give a team life that has firepower, that's what happens. There's probably three or four touchdowns that we left on the field."

Starks said he believes the struggles at the goal line can be overcome.

"Just miscommunication. That's really it. I mean, it's still early in the season, but we'll get it fixed," he said.

Clay Beathard took over for Starks on the drive that ended with the fumble in the end zone after Starks lost his helmet.

Rather than pull Beathard after one play, Strohmeier let him finish the drive.

"Clay is ready to go," Strohmeier said. "I think that's the nice thing about him. I don't care what situation we're in, I feel comfortable with him playing, and we went with him a couple more series and very easily could have stayed with him the whole game."

Beathard finished the game 9 of 10 for 92 yards.

After an Eddie Ogamba field goal gave Iowa Western a 12-0 lead in the second quarter, the Tritons responded with a 75-yard touchdown drive that cut the Reiver lead to 12-7 at halftime.

Central had a chance to take the lead on the initial drive in the second half, but Rodney Owens picked off Dever to give the ball to the Reivers at their own 37.

Starks drove the Reivers down the field and fired a 28-yard touchdown strike to Javonte Richardson to make it 19-7 with 10:09 left in the third quarter.

"Any time you can get the ball back and try to stop their momentum a little bit is huge," Strohmeier said.

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