Reivers Pounce Early, Close Out ICCAC Play With Conference Crown

Iowa Falls, Iowa

With the end of the regular season in sight, the remaining games on the Iowa Western football schedule scream 'trap' as the Reivers vie for the number one seed in the upcoming NJCAA Playoffs.

Saturday on the road against Ellsworth was the perfect spoiler game that so many seasons are ruined by. The one-win Panthers, courtesy of Garden City's forfeit victory, welcomed IWCC for their regular season home finale under first-year head coach Matt White. 

It's a good thing the Reivers have always come ready to play at Cadet Field.  That history began with the first eye-opening victory in program history 15 seasons ago when the visitors upset the 11th-ranked Panthers to cap off a 5-4 inaugural season.

Unlike that Saturday in 2009, there was little drama this time around as top-ranked Iowa Western (9-1) rolled to their 8th straight victory in a 59-10,  ICCAC Championship clinching, win over Ellsworth (1-9). 

Quarterback Hunter Dekkers and the Reivers' offense went to work straight away, rolling down the field in just over two minutes of game time.  Dekkers completed three of four attempts on the drive, including a 15-yard scoring play to Fresh Walters to put the Reivers ahead, 7-0.

Two possessions later, the Reivers cashed in again.

After linebacker Ahmad Johnson pounced on a muffed snap at the Panthers' 35-yard line, Trevor Burnett took over, carrying three times on the drive, capping it off with a 26-yard run for his sixth rushing score of the year to make it 14-0.

Ellsworth's offensive struggles continued as the 'Darkside' continued to dominate for their third straight Saturday.  

Cameron Done collected back-to-back tackles for loss before ECC punted successfully for the first time, giving the ball back to the offense at IWCC's 24-yard line.

Dekkers again got the 'O' rolling, hitting tight end DeAndre Horn and receiver Titus Myers for consecutive gains for over 30 yards each and then hit Fresh Walters on consecutive passes to cap the drive.  Walters second catch on the drive was good for his second score of the day as he found the endzone after hauling in Dekkers' pass at the 10.

With the score 21-0 in the Reivers' favor, Max Bartachek's shallow kickoff bounced at the ECC 20 and bounced away from the return man, Christian Williams hopped on the loose ball and IWCC took over again on the Panthers' special teams misplay.

Williams' recovery was exacerbated for the home team when an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty was called and the Reivers took over on the Panthers' 10-yard line.

It took three plays, but Dekkers found Walters again and the lead ballooned to 28-0 with 3:49 still to play in the opening quarter. The Reivers last posted 28 points in a quarter when they blitzed Kilgore in last season's NJCAA Semifinal at Titan Stadium.

With the lead at four scores, the Darkside forced another Ellsworth punt and Hunter Dekkers snuck one more drive in before his day was over. After a pair of four-yard runs by Jonathan Humpal, Dekkers hit Owen Gish for 34 yards and found Fresh Walters … again, for a 20-yard touchdown and a 35-0 lead just 10 seconds into the second quarter.

The two teams traded punts on the next two possessions before the turnover bug bit the Panthers again.

Gabriel Robinson, ECC's starting quarterback, was flushed out of the pocket toward the right side and to avoid a sack flung the ball wildly as he went down, but instead of an incomplete pass, Ahmad Johnson came up with the ball for his first interception of the season.

The Reivers capitalized three plays later when quarterback Nolan Geislinger tossed his first touchdown of the season on an eight-yard strike to Javohn Thomas. Thomas' first score as a Reiver and the ensuing PAT made the score 42-0 with just under four minutes remaining in the opening half.

IWCC forced another three-and-out to get the ball back and Geislinger led the Reivers' offense through a perfect two-minute drill.

After running back Jazan Williams ripped off four runs for 40 yards, the freshman QB showed off his arm again, finding Cyrus Courtney for 10 yards before dropping a dime into Jackson Naeve's outstretched arms for the score and a 49-0 halftime lead.

The 49 points were the most in a single half since the Reivers posted the same amount versus ASA-Miami in October of 2021.

Ellsworth found the endzone on their first drive of the second half when Kellen Cockrell hit running back Nigel Cheeks for a 56-yard score.  The Panthers also hit a 45-yard field goal for their final points.

Max Bartachek answered with a field goal of his own and another extra-point when Makelle Taylor rumbled for a 52-yard fourth quarter run.  Those points allowed him to cruise into 4th place on the all-time kicking list, leaving him one-point shy of tying Lance Irvin for third-place all-time.

IWCC FOOTBALL | ALL-TIME CAREER POINTS - KICKERS

All told, three different Reivers scored their first touchdowns in an IWCC uniform and the team clinched their 14th regular season ICCAC title since celebrating their first in 2010.  The program is 54-6 all-time in conference games and has won 14 straight contests in ICCAC play. 

"Moreso from social media posts, if you can post all your accomplishments it looks good," said Head Coach Scott Strohmeier about the title after the game, "Kids know, they do, but the year we don't win it, then it catches more attention. It's good to take care of it, but we're not worried about conference championships, our goal is to win National Championships and winning the conference is one of the goals on the way to the title, that's what this program is about."

The Reivers forced four turnovers in the game to finally get on the plus side of the turnover ratio. In addition to Johnson's interception and fumble recovery, Thomas Sundell grabbed his first interception of the season and Tim Roberson recovered another Ellsworth drop.

Dekkers finished with four touchdowns passing and 203 yards through the air as he continues to inch up the all-time passing yards chart, Dekkers passed former Reivers Zach Martin and Connor Bravard on the day as he inched closer to the single-season passing record held by Jake Waters. Dekkers, with one regular season game to play, needs 449 yards to equal the 3,501 yards Waters threw for in 2012. He joined the Reivers' Hall of Famer as the only players to surpass 3,000 yards passing in a single season. It should be noted, all five men that top the list on the all-time chart played in an NJCAA National Championship game with Waters and Bravard winning rings on the 2012 title team.

IWCC FOOTBALL | ALL-TIME CAREER PASSING YARDS

The final regular season game looms for IWCC when they travel to Highland this weekend. The Scotties haven't had much luck against the Reivers, but Kissinger Field has tested the visitors in the past with the lone loss in the series coming in Northwestern Kansas.

With a victory, Iowa Western would secure the number one seed in the upcoming NJCAA Playoffs, the Reivers' fourth appearance since the playoffs began four seasons ago. Game time is set for 1:00 PM from Highland, Kansas. The RSN Countdown to Kickoff, presented by Barley's Bar & Grill, begins at 12:30 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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