Council Bluffs, IA
A 100% chance of Snow, on an October day that soared into the upper 90s, sure, why not.
Iowa Western welcomed NJCAA #3 Snow College to town for the second of three straight home games in Council Bluffs on an unusually hot, mid-season Saturday.
The Reivers (5-1) turned away the Badgers (5-1) for the fifth consecutive time in the series, stopping Snow's perfect season in the process.
The previous five match-ups between the squads produced four one-score games including a split of one-point battles in Council Bluffs and with two of the top offenses in the NJCAA, the points expected exceeded the actual 51 total points the teams posted in Saturday's 31-20, Reivers' win.
Quarterback Hunter Dekkers led Iowa Western down the field on a methodical 14-play, 72-yard drive that stalled at the Badgers' 3-yard line. Jesse Wilson and Solomone Langi teamed up to stop running back Daniel Swinney for no-gain on 4th down.
Dekkers was 5-6 on the drive for 53 yards, while Swinney carried seven times for just 12 yards.
Returning Badger starting QB Donovan Smith wasted little time moving his team down the field. The redshirt-sophomore entered the game with an NJCAA leading 18 touchdowns, but it was his handoff to running back Adonis 'AJ' Tillman that resulted in the games' first points. Tillman's one-yard run put the Reivers in the hole for the fourth time in six games and put Snow up 7-0 with 4:21 to play in the opening quarter.
While Snow's drive took only 2:57 off the clock, the subsequent Reivers' drive took even less time with Dekkers guiding the offense into the endzone in just 2:27. The Reivers' redshirt sophomore completed four of six passes on the lightning quick drive with the final completion going 41 yards to Trevor Burnett for his first receiving score of the year and second of his career.
With kicker Max Bartachek's tying PAT, the game rolled into the 2nd quarter knotted at seven points apiece.
Iowa Western grabbed the football after forcing a three-and-out just before the quarter expired and promptly drove down for another sub three minute scoring drive.
Dekkers ripped off a big completion to tight end DeAndre Horn on a reverse flea-flicker and then scored four plays later on a Swinney two-yard rush to give the Reivers the lead. The drive took just 2:36 off the clock.
The Reivers' 'Darkside' defense entered the game giving up just under 400 yards per contest while Snow entered gaining just under that mark, but in the first-half the Badgers were held in check.
Iowa Western forced three Badger punts and a turnover on downs after the Snow touchdown that opened the scoring and headed into halftime with a 14-7 lead.
"Beside their first drive, the big play, we've played well overall", Head Coach Scott Strohmeier said at the half, "We're able to throw into the wind and with the wind, while I think they've been a little more one-dimensional when they were against the wind."
The opening possession for Snow lasted just over five minutes and moved into Iowa Western territory with the Badgers converting two third downs into a fresh set of downs, however on the third attempt De'Veion McLilley-Bulo turned in the hit of the game.
Smith tried to hit Tillman out of the backfield on a quick hitter, but McLilley-Bulo delivered a hit that actually drove the football backward and completed the slightly overthrown pass, with Tillman tackled for a three-yard loss on the play.
The subsequent fourth down attempt was incomplete and the Reivers offense drove for another score on a 19-yard field goal from Max Bartachek and an important two-score lead.
Down 10 points, Snow went to their star receiver. Reggie Frischknecht, the NJCAA's leader in touchdowns scored, showed off the skills that put him atop the rankings. The hometown kid out of Ephraim, Utah took a 20-yard pass from Smith and turned it into a 71-yard score, outracing the Reivers' secondary to slice the lead to 17-14 with 4:52 remaining in the 3rd Quarter.
The two teams exchanged possessions to close out the quarter and entered the fourth with IWCC leading 17-14.
The quarter started quickly for the Reivers' offense, Dekkers hit a wide-open Keyon Brown for 49-yards on a pass and 'K2' finished the drive, scoring on an end-around from the 10 to push the home team back to a two-score advantage.
It was Brown's first score since Week 2 against Hutchinson and proved to be the game winner.
The Reivers would score one drive later on an unusual play when running back Trevor Burnett, headed for the goal line, was stripped at the one. The ball never had a chance to hit the ground because wideout Titus Myers watched it sail into his hands and finished out the one-yard run on what amounted to a lateral for the Reivers' fourth touchdown of the afternoon and a three-score advantage.
The breathing room proved to be much needed when Frischknecht caught another Smith pass on the subsequent drive and raced 60-yards for his second score of the day. Five of Frischknecht's six scores on the year had come against non-NJCAA competition, but he proved it didn't matter against IWCC, catching five passes for 173 yards on the day.
His score would prove to be the final one of the day for either team as the Reivers recovered the Badgers' onside kick attempt and stopped their next offensive opportunity after Snow converted a first down on another long pass to Frischknecht. Smith missed on three of his next four attempts with the lone completion for just two yards.
A pair of kneel downs by IWCC ended the game with the Reivers on top for the fifth straight time in the series and the seventh in nine games against the Western power.
"We made enough plays in the second half to get it done," said Strohmeier after the game, "that's a good d-line, they're big and they're physical, we'll go back on film and see a few things, I thought they played a good game overall."
Hunter Dekkers jumped into the all-time passing Top 10 with his performance. He leapfrogged both T.J. Starks (2018) and Hunter Watson (2023) to land ninth in all-time passing yards with 1909 through six games. He sits 180 yards from 8th place and 340 from moving into the top six on the program's all-time list.
Trevor Burnett's TD catch to open the scoring for IWCC was the 800th offensive touchdown in program history. In all the Reivers have scored 893 touchdowns through 15 ½ seasons of football in Council Bluffs.
A hard earned bye week comes at the midway point of the regular season. IWCC has five regular season games left, including two of the next three at home. Independence comes to town on October 19th for a 1:00 pm game at Titan Stadium, the Pirates are just 1-4 with #1 Hutchinson on the schedule this week.
All the action from Council Bluffs on the 19th, 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 PM from the press box at Lewis Central High School.
The complimentary tailgate party, sponsored by Barley's Bar & Grill in Council Bluffs begins approximately two hours before kickoff in the west parking lot outside of the stadium. Reiver fans are invited to set-up their personal tailgates near the main tailgate village parking lot. A $5 donation will allow tailgaters to park inside the tailgate lot near the main tailgate.
A reminder that Reiver games are free to watch and to listen to, no credit card information or payment is necessary. Any links asking for that information are spam/phishing and will attempt to get you to enter credit card information. DO NOT CLICK THOSE LINKS.
