#1 Iowa Western Shows Off Rizz, Dominates Grizz In 2024 Home Finale

Council Bluffs, Iowa

Titan Stadium welcomed another Top 10 showdown on Saturday in Council Bluffs. When the dust had settled, #1 Iowa Western (8-1) had sent #10 Butler (5-3) home in a lopsided, 48-7, win that closed the book on the regular season home schedule for the Reivers and saw the program's 150th win.

Butler Community College was the apex football program in the NJCAA when Iowa Western started football in 2008, the Grizzlies would win their second consecutive championship the season before Coach Scott Strohmeier's Reivers took the field for the first time, and in season two, IWCC was one win away from playing the Grizzlies for the 2010 National Title. 

In the sixteen seasons since? East Mississippi and Iowa Western have climbed on top with the two programs grabbing eight of the sixteen trophies hoisted in that time. Butler hasn't fallen off completely, but they are still searching for the success they enjoyed through the first part of the 21st Century.

The back-to-back champs welcomed a Butler squad to town on Saturday that had received a new lease on their playoff hopes with their win over previously unbeaten Hutchinson the game prior and the news that their loss to Garden City earlier in the season had turned into a win via a forfeit by the Broncbusters.  

For the Reivers, that meant a dangerous opponent was coming to town with a Top-10 ranking and a renewed laser focus on knocking off #1 for the second straight week.

A cloudy, cool day that finally felt like football weather welcomed fans to Titan Stadium as Iowa Western saluted military veterans and active duty during the pregame and honored the memory of former assistant coach Yano Jones during the pregame coin flip.  Members of Jones' family were on hand as Reiver Public Address Announcer Kip Peterson read a tribute. Jones lost his battle with cancer over the summer.  

As the game began, it looked like defense would rule the day, with both the 'Darkside' and Butler shutting down the opposing offenses with a pair of punts on each team's first two drives. 

The Grizzlies entered the game holding opponents scoreless in the opening frame and it appeared that statistic would continue as the Reivers took over with 6:49 to play in the quarter at their 5-yard line.

Quarterback Hunter Dekkers started the Reivers in motion with a short completion to Titus Myers and another dart for 15 yards to Jaivyn Moore sandwiched around a short gain by running back Trevor Burnett.

A couple of first downs later a high snap pushed the Reivers well behind the chains, but Dekkers found Fresh Walters for a good chunk of yardage before hard counts drew Butler's Seven Cloud offsides on back-to-back plays. The second negated an interception by the Grizzlies and gave IWCC's offense a new set of downs.  

Dekkers capped off the drive with a strike to Myers in the back of the endzone and a 7-0 lead. The touchdown with just 1:49 left in the quarter is the only blemish to date in the quarter for the Grizzlies' opposing box score.

The good times wouldn't last long for the home fans, as Da'Realyst Clark caught Max Bartachek's ensuing kickoff at the 6-yard line and he rocketed down Butler's sideline for the game-tying score.

Dekkers quickly took control of the next drive, completing his first six passes before the Reivers handed the football to Daniel Swinney for a 1-yard touchdown, his ninth rushing score of the season, and a 14-7 IWCC lead.

When the defense finally got another chance, they showed their 1st quarter performance was going to be the trend on the day, forcing back-to-back Butler punts, the second of which was blocked by Jaxon Cherry to give the Reivers the football in BCC territory.

Dekkers would complete four more passes as Titus Myers came up half a yard short of the goal line and Trevor Burnett punched in the third score of the day for a 21-7 lead the Reivers would take to halftime.

"I'm pleased overall, but there was one opportunity where I feel we should have scored on the interception," Said Head Coach Scott Strohmeier at the break, "They'll make some adjustments, that's what they do, but we need to get some better protection and let Hunter find his receivers."

The Reivers outgained the Grizzlies 247 to 71 with 17 first downs for IWCC compared to just four for the visitors.

The 'Darkside' nearly forced an early turnover as Dominic Wiseman picked up a strip sack on Grizzlies' QB Mason McHugh with BCC falling on the football. The Reivers' Walt Gray, who attended high school just down the road from the Butler Campus in El Dorado, grabbed another sack, and the 'Darkside' forced the Grizzlies to punt on their first offensive drive.

Five plays later, the Reivers went up three scores when Fresh Walters caught a Dekkers pass on the left side, made one move, and raced into the corner of the endzone for the touchdown for a 28-7 lead.

After a pair of Butler punts, the Reivers drove into the Butler red zone before settling for a Max Bartachek field goal. The 32-yard kick made the lead 31-7 into the fourth quarter.

The Reivers struck again to start the final quarter with Burnett finding the endzone off the arm of Dekkers for a five-yard score and a 38-7 lead. The drive came after Butler's biggest offensive play of the game, a 65-yard pass from McHugh to receiver Cam Harris, was ended by Jeff Thornton's first interception of the season. After going the first seven games of the year without a pick-off, the 'Darkside' has now turned in a takeaway through the air in back-to-back games.

A short field goal for IWCC ended Hunter Dekkers' day as the QB completed 31 of 43 passes for 404 yards and three scores. Dekkers' performance made for the fifth most yards thrown by a quarterback and the fourth most completions in a single game by a Reiver.

Nolan Geislinger and Braylon Kammrad finished the game behind center, with Geislinger notching his second rushing TD of the season and Kammrad completing the first passes of his collegiate career to Scott Harr. The freshman tight end from Hampton, Iowa grabbed the first receptions of his Reivers' career.

After giving up an inordinate amount of yardage to the opposition to start the season, the Reivers' defensive unit allowed less than 200 for the second consecutive contest. Butler gained just 116 yards on offense a week after Garden City had gained only 164 versus the Reivers. IWCC also notched four sacks in the game after being held without a quarterback tackle for loss against Garden City, for the first time in 59 games.

Offensively IWCC is clicking, accumulating 513 yards with 418 of those coming through the air. Receiver Titus Myers moved into the Top 20 on the all-time receiving list with a 149 yard performance on nine catches, Jaivyn Moore and Fresh Walters were close to breaking the century mark, picking up 99 and 92 respectively.

Coach Strohmeier and the Reivers are now 150-29 all-time through 15-plus seasons of football in the Bluffs.  Game number 180 comes on the road against a familiar foe.

Ellsworth is the next hurdle for IWCC to clear. The Panthers are officially 1-8 on the season, but the lone win was the reversal of their loss to Garden City earlier in the season. The meeting will be the 21st time the two teams have met, with 19 of the 20 previous match-ups coming in the regular season. The Reivers' lone loss to the Panthers came in the 2010 ICCAC Playoffs with Ellsworth ending the Reivers hopes of a National Championship game appearance in a 34-14 upset victory. 

With a victory, Iowa Western would wrap up their fifth consecutive ICCAC Championship. The Reivers have won 14 of 16 ICCAC titles since the program's inception. Game time is set for 2:30 PM from Iowa Falls, Iowa at Cadet Field. The RSN Countdown to Kickoff, presented by Barley's Bar & Grill, begins at 2:00 PM.

All the action can be heard, free of charge, on the Reiver Sports Network, presented by Phil's Comfort Zone.  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.

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