So ... We Meet Again! Reivers Prepping for Title Game Showdown With Hutchinson

Council Bluffs, Iowa

For Iowa Western, the NJCAA Playoffs are becoming a deja vu experience, and not just because the Reivers have punched their ticket to make an appearance all four years of its existence.

In three of four playoff appearances, IWCC has faced a rematch with a regular season opponent. This season, the Hutchinson Blue Dragons are the repeat opponent and the two teams square off in the NJCAA Division 1 Championship Game for the second time in three seasons on Wednesday, December 18th at 7:30pm CST.

When the original schedule was released for the 2024 and 2025 seasons, fans of both IWCC and HCC were drawn to the season's opening game, the Reivers versus the Blue Dragons. Two teams that have been at or near the top of the NJCAA rankings over the last 10 years.

It turns out the matchup wouldn't be the first of the year for either squad as an opening week trip to Georgia greeted the Reivers, while Hutchinson hosted New Mexico Military Institute to start the season. The Blue Dragons blew out NMMI, while the Reivers won a narrow, 41-40, overtime match-up with eventual NJCAA semifinalist Georgia Military College in the searing southern heat.

"We always want to schedule quality non-conference games", said Head Coach Scott Strohmeier, "Looking at the schedule we were given, I felt it was important to get a quality Week One game before the game with Hutchinson, it also allowed us to play earlier, which did us more good than practicing for one more week during fall camp."

Iowa Western and Hutchinson are currently even in the all-time series, with nine of the 10 contests coming during the regular season. IWCC won four of the first five in the series, but the Blue Dragons have held the upper hand in recent games, including a 38-37 win earlier this season when they held off a Reivers' two-point try near the end of regulation. The Blue Dragons have evened the series by winning the past four regular season games with the lone win for IWCC coming in a 31-0 victory in the 2022 National Championship Game. It hasn't been easy for HCC to even the series as two of the last four match-ups have been decided by one point, while three of the last five have been decided by just one score. Four of the past five have featured a Top Five match-up, while the fifth featured both teams ranked inside the top 10 and all five have featured one team ranked in the top spot, Wednesday's game will be the sixth straight with either IWCC or HCC ranked #1.

IOWA WESTERN VS HUTCHINSON | ALL-TIME SERIES HISTORY

TOP 5 MATCH-UP | 5 TIMES          RANKED MATCH-UP | 8 TIMES          WIN BY LOWER RANKED TEAM | 3 TIMES 

And while the most important game of the season lies ahead for IWCC, the Reivers are no strangers to same season rematches. The team has squared off with Iowa Central and Ellsworth numerous times during the regular season and played in four conference playoff home match-ups when the schedule dicated in the program's early days. Overall, IWCC is 8-0 in rematches played in the same regular season, while the Reivers are 4-2 in playoff rematches with teams faced during the regular season. The overall record when facing teams twice during the same season, regular or playoff, is 24-5. In addition to facing Iowa Central and Ellsworth twice in a regular season, IWCC has also squared up with North Dakota Science and College of DuPage in home and home action during the 2013 regular season.

REGULAR SEASON / PLAYOFF REMATCHES 

*MIDWEST FOOTBALL CONFERENCE PLAYOFFS     **REMATCH IN NJCAA PLAYOFFS     ***NJCAA D1 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

Wednesday also features two of the best coaches in the NJCAA with the Reivers' Scott Strohmeier and Hutchinson's Drew Dallas, currently in his fifth season. Dallas, the Salina, Kansas native has lost only five games in his overall tenure and has the Blue Dragons in the Playoffs for the third time since the format began following HCC's National Title march in the spring of 2021.  For Strohmeier, he racked up his 150th win at Iowa Western during the season and in his 16th year has built a program that those around the country respect for its sustained success.

Both teams feature high powered offenses and staunch defense, with the Reivers' 'Darkside' defense finding their footing after an uncharacteristically slow start to the season.

BY THE NUMBERS / Per Game Averages

The offensive leaders for each team are also finalists for the 2024 JUCO Weekly Trophy, an award given to the top player in the NJCAA. Reivers' Quarterback Hunter Dekkers and Hutchinson Running Back Waymond Jordan, Jr. are two of the three players vying for the award, while Tyler College Linebacker William Cornelson is the third player to make the finalist list. The award winner will be announced at Tuesday night's National Championship banquet.

Dekkers is just shy of the Reivers' single season passing mark and has tossed 30 touchdowns on the season while leading the NJCAA in passing. Jordan, Jr. leads the NJCAA with 139.4 yards per game and has scored 21 times for the Blue Dragons this season.

TELEVISION / RADIO COVERAGE

The game will be carried nationally on ESPNU and ESPN+. Iowa Western's flagship radio station, 89.7 The River, will also carry the game with a one-hour pregame show featuring exclusive interviews Reiver coaches and players. The 'Voice of the Reivers", Jake Ryan, will be joined by Russ Nelsen, Josh Odson and Tony Boone on the call. Those outside the Council Bluffs / Omaha Metro can stream the game on the station with the FREE, downloadable app or by clicking the Listen Live icon at the top of the station's webpage. Get into the broadcast booth with the guys during the game here.

TICKETING

For those attending the game, tickets can be purchased in advance or at the ticket office the day of the game at Bain-Shaeffer Buffalo Stadium.

HOTEL INFORMATION