Ft. Dodge, Iowa

Iowa Western Football won't have to rearrange the trophy case just yet.  'The Cup' is back in the Bluffs!

The 2nd-ranked Reivers (8-0, 2-0) rallied to top 13th-ranked Iowa Central (5-4, 1-1), 35-21, in Ft. Dodge in a tale of two halves.

For their third consecutive contest, Iowa Western faced an NJCAA Top 15 team and the Reivers' defense was called upon to shut down a top-tier offensive team.  Head Coach Jesse Montalto's Triton offense entered Saturday's game versus IWCC averaging nearly 480 yards per contest, leading the nation in touchdowns scored entering the game.  

In the first half, Iowa Western's vaunted 'Darkside' did exactly what was expected—holding the Tritons scoreless while allowing just 79 yards of offense.  However, the Tritons countered with a solid showing of their own, blanking the Reivers on the scoreboard while allowing just 91-yards to the visitors.  It was the first time since the Reivers faced off last fall against #1 Snow that they played a scoreless first half.  That would all change quickly in the third quarter.

Triton quarterback Zach Marker, one of three signal callers the Reivers would face on the day, led the Tritons to the first score of the game on the first drive of the second half.  After Jackson Filer sacked Marker to force a 3rd and long, the sophomore out of Norwalk scrambled and found Triton receiver Cal Weidemann open on the sideline, and 54-yards later the home team was up 7-0 on the scoreboard.  

Just 15 seconds later, Iowa Central scored again.  After Micah Davis lost the football on a fumble to the Tritons on the kickoff, Marker fired a missile to Jamarien Wheeler to put ICCC up two scores at 13-0 with 9:59 remaining in the third quarter.

"I told the team, there's plenty of time left, take care of what we can take care of." Head Coach Scott Strohmeier said, "There's going to be situations like these in a season and fortunately for us, it took eight games to be put into one of them, but I thought we handled it well and obviously it worked out in our favor in the end."

Still scoreless, the Reivers' offense wouldn't capitalize right away, converting a pair of first downs before stalling out on a fourth down attempt at the Triton 25-yard line with Quarterback Aiden Niedens narrowly missing a completion on the drive's final three plays.  The defense however had seen enough.

After back-to-back scoring drives by the Tritons, Iowa Western flexed its defensive muscle, forcing a quick three-and-out before special teams took over.  Matt Kordas surged through the line and blocked punter Kolben Miller's kick, scooping it up to score for the second straight game and posting the Reivers' first points of the game, slicing the lead to 13-7 with 7:48 still remaining in the 3rd quarter.

Another three-and-out by the Tritons set Iowa Western up with the football, 80-yards from a tying score.  A pair of runs by Bryant Williams and Niedens pushed the Reivers to midfield and IWCC followed with a huge gash of the Triton defense on a 25-yard scamper by Williams.  Two plays later, Niedens found a wide-open L.J. Fitzpatrick in front of the end zone to even the score at 13.  Josh Meyer's extra point put the Reivers ahead 14-13 with 3:44 still to go in the 3rd.

The Tritons would turn the ball back over to the Reivers just two plays into their next drive.  Safety Dylan Reyes got his hands under a low Zach Marker pass for his third interception of the season and Niedens made the Tritons pay.  Aisea Toki, found an opening and the football when Niedens completed a 35-yard strike for his first score of the year and a 21-13 lead with 2:27 left in the quarter.

Averaging nearly 42 points per game, Iowa Central's 'O' wasn't finished.  Sophomore receiver Desna Washington willed the Tritons down the field, making three beautiful catches off of the arm of Justin Silverstein, the third good for a 20-yard score over the outstretched hands of Reyes to help the home team close the gap on the scoreboard.  Silverstein would find Weidemann for the two-point conversion and the teams headed to the final quarter, tied at 21.

After the uncharacteristic fumble earlier in the half, Davis would set the Reivers up just outside of midfield as the 4th quarter got underway.  Niedens found Toki, Davis, and Roscoe Parrish on the drive, and IWCC's offensive line and the running game found more success.  Williams rushed to set up a 2nd and goal from the one-yard line and Niedens followed with a one-yard scoring run to put Iowa Western back on top with 10:19 left in regulation.

Each team would punt on their next pair of drives, with the Tritons regaining possession inside their own 20 with the clock down to 2:37 to play.

After a short run and a completed pass set-up a first and 10 for ICCC near their 40, 'The Wolf' got unleashed.  Jackson Filer chased down Silverstein and stripped the football away for his third sack of the afternoon and teammate Anterio Thompson scooped the ball up at the 12-yard line and rumbled for the game-clinching score.  Meyer's extra point provided the final, 35-21, margin.

"I told Jackson before the defense went back out (for Iowa Central's possession) that it was his time," said Coach Strohmeier after the game, "go make something happen and he did.  He's such a special player and he's surrounded by guys just like him on our defense."

Thompson, who verbally committed to Iowa earlier in the day, converted the first fumble return for the Reivers since 2019 and helped to ice the comeback victory and the team's 12th regular season conference championship.  IWCC missed out on the title in both 2009 and 2019, but have posted an overall conference record since the team's inception of 52-8, with four of those losses coming in the team's inaugural season.

With the win, 'The Cup', rode the bus back to Council Bluffs along with the Conference trophy as IWCC will return the traveling trophy back to its place on campus for another season.

The Reivers will remain on the road for their next contest, heading to Coffeyville, Kansas for a night game with the Red Ravens of CCC.  Coffeyville also rallied from down a pair of scores in their game on Saturday at Butler, scoring 19 unanswered points to beat the 10th-ranked Grizzlies, 19-14.  It will be the fourth consecutive Top 15 battle for IWCC with just two games remaining on the schedule.

After the two-season layoff between the Jayhawk & ICCAC, this week is the first contest between Coffeyville and IWCC since the 2019 season opener at Titan Stadium.  Running Backs Zaquandre White and Brian Snead each scored a touchdown through the air and on the ground in the 36-14 win.  The Reivers' Defense sacked Ravens' QBs six times, led by current Nebraska Cornhusker Devin Drew.  IWCC came from behind to win the game, with 29 second-half points.

Iowa Western leads the all-time series, 4-2, and has won three straight in the series, dating back to a 57-14 win at Coffeyville in 2017.  That victory ended Coffeyville's two-game winning streak in the series.

All the action can be heard, free of charge, on the Reiver Sports Network.  The game, with Jake Ryan, Russ Nelsen, and Josh Odson 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 6:30 on the radio side with the video stream starting just before kickoff.

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NOTES

With the victory to close out October, the Reivers are now 50-4 all-time in the month.

IWCC's mark against Iowa Central is now 15-2 in the all-time series.

The win was the 111th for IWCC as a ranked team, with the overall mark against ranked teams improving to 39-20.

The Reivers now have 22 come-from-behind victories in program history.  It is the second time the Reivers have won after trailing in a game this season.