Little Rock, Arkansas
Defense wins championships. On Wednesday night in Arkansas, oh boy, did it ever!
Iowa Western (10-2) rode the backs of the Nation's best defensive unit to the program's second national title in a dominating performance over Hutchinson (11-1) at War Memorial Stadium.
The IWCC offense did their part early, scoring 17 first-quarter points and the 'Darkside' defense never allowed the #1 Blue Dragons any offensive momentum as Head Coach Scott Strohmeier's squad cruised to a 31-0 rout of their Jayhawk Conference rival.
"I'm just so happy for the guys that bought in, that took last year's defeat (to NMMI in 2021's NJCAA National Title game) and worked to make sure that they learned from that lesson and to make sure it didn't happen again," said the 14th year head coach after the game. "So many of these guys were here for that one and even when the regular season didn't end the way we'd hoped, they kept working hard, pushing toward the goal they had set for themselves."
Two games prior it was a game of explosive plays for the Reivers against the previously undefeated Blue Dragons, with HCC scoring a late touchdown to propel themselves to a one-point win in Council Bluffs. Those explosive plays never materialized for the Blue Dragons in the rematch, but they certainly did for Iowa Western.
Just five plays into their opening drive, Quarterback James Graham and the Reivers struck. The sophomore from Georgia found LJ Fitzpatrick on a short pass and Fitzpatrick, much like he's done on several occasions this season, raced down the sideline for a 68-yard score and an early 7-0 Reiver lead. The TD was the 800th touchdown in 14 seasons of football in Council Bluffs and Fitzpatrick's third of the season that covered 60 or more yards for a score.
The 'Darkside' allowed Hutchinson a first down on their first drive, but a high snap and continued pressure from Iowa Western forced the Blue Dragons to punt and gave the ball back to IWCC.
In his third start of the season, Graham led the Reivers on a nine-play, 69-yard scoring drive on the next possession, capped by Jaden Koger's 4th career rushing score. Sam Wilber's 34th PAT of the season pushed the 1st quarter lead to 14-0 Reivers.
The Iowa Western pressure continued defensively, keeping Hutchinson QB Dylan Laible from getting comfortable, although the Sophomore didn't get any help from his receivers when he did have time to throw. Trailing 17-0 early in the second quarter, Laible's pass to Malik Benson was dropped by the prize recruit, on what may have been the best chance of the day for the Blue Dragons. It was the most glaring drop of the day for Hutch's high-powered offense, but certainly not the only one.
The Reivers kept the 'Big 3' of Benson, Laible, and running back Dylan Kedzior in check in the game. After scoring a long touchdown against the Reivers in the first match-up, Benson, the Alabama commit, didn't fair well this time around against the Reivers secondary, dropping several passes on the day and losing a fumble on a jet sweep when the 'Darkside' sniffed out the potential wide receiver pass.
The Reivers locked down Laible as well, allowing just 137 yards passing and holding the Walter Jones Trophy nominee below 50% on 37 attempts.
And as good as the pass defense was, The Darkside was even better at locking down the Blue Dragons' running game. Kedzior, the KJCCC Offensive Player of the Year, was limited to just 13 yards rushing after he had scored a pair of touchdowns against both the Reivers in November and three against Coffeyville in the semi-final round of the NJCAA playoffs. Those two performances pushed the Oklahoma native past 1,000 yards on the season into the title game. Kedzior's struggles in Little Rock were amplified when Quientrail Jamison-Travis stripped the running back for his first fumble lost of the season.
Travis, out of Minneapolis North high school, recovered two of three fumbles lost on the day by the Hutchinson offense and was awarded postgame Player of the Game honors during the Reivers' celebration. In addition to the pair of fumbles he recovered, the sophomore defensive tackle also turned in four tackles and two and a half of the Reivers' six sacks on the night. Those six sacks helped IWCC set their single-season record at 56, surpassing the 2015 total of 50.5 quarterback sacks.
Iowa Western's second-half offense was deliberate and paralyzing for Hutchinson's comeback chances. Bryant Williams capped a pair of drives with short touchdown runs, while the offense ground the clock down, splitting the time of possession with the Blue Dragons and the 'Darkside' forced two of the three turnovers on the day and a pair of turnovers and a pair of fourth-down stops as the clock wound to zero.
The Reivers posted their 4th shutout of the year as Rashion Hodge led the team in tackles to finish the season with a team-high 77 on the year. Elijah Elmore joined Travis as the only players with multiple QB sacks in the game as IWCC piled up 11 tackles for loss in the game. Will Lee, Jamorri Colson, and Dylan Reyes were credited with multiple pass breakups as the 'Darkside' turned in their best performance of the season. Hutchinson, averaging over 431 yards into the title game, was limited to just one-third of that yardage in the loss and was shutout in a game for the first time since 2010. In fact, it was the first time a shutout had been posted in an NJCAA National Title game since 1992.
"The coaches I'm able to work with make it easy," said Strohmeier, "If Black's (Mike Blackbourn) not here since day one, AT (Aaron Terry), Finney (Eric Finney), Monthei (Jeff Monthei) and the other guys that come in and know what to do, I don't have to worry about them, I don't have to micromanage and that's huge, especially at this level. We come in as a staff and we go to work, there's no hand-holding. We as an offense can do our job and the defense does theirs, it's a huge advantage for us to be able to have that culture instilled without having to revisit it every recruiting season, every fall camp."
James Graham completed only four passes in the game but piled up 116 yards passing and a touchdown as the Reivers ground out 288 more yards on the ground with Graham leading the way. His 102 rushing yards were the most by a quarterback since Kai Locksley cleared the mark against DuPage to close the 2017 regular season.
"So proud of James, he comes in in the fall and was open to a position change (wide receiver), but took reps at QB and we end up needing him," added Strohmeier, "his confidence level the last two games left me with no doubts about what he was capable of and he backed that up. What a story, barely on the depth chart at the beginning of the season and now a National Champion Quarterback, that's hugely rewarding."
The victory pushed the Reivers to 10 or more wins for the 8th time in 14 seasons of football in Council Bluffs. In two of those seasons, the Reivers played in less than 10 games.
For Strohmeier, it's the second time he's led the Reivers to the title, earning the program's first national championship trophy in 2012. The Reivers have finished runner-up twice since, but each time they've made the game, it's something that the Watkins, Minnesota native won't take for granted. "You know every time you make the game that there may not be another, so for the team to continue to persevere and win this one makes it so rewarding. We all have a family at home, and we all have people that sacrifice in order to make our jobs possible. For them to see these young men, get rewarded for their hard work is a testament to what their sacrifices at home allow us to do." Strohmeier added, "It's just about so much more than getting to wear a ring for winning a game, this game is about opportunities and we made the most out of it this season. I'm really proud of this team and who they are and will be as people."
The Reivers' last national title came just over 10 years ago when they won 27-7 over #2 Butler in the 2012 Graphic Edge Bowl in Cedar Falls, Iowa. The Reivers lost to East Mississippi in 2014 and New Mexico Military in last year's title game, in both of those seasons, the Reivers finished the regular season undefeated.
IWCC ended Hutchinson's 17-game winning streak with the victory and improves to 5-3 all-time versus the Blue Dragons. The two teams are scheduled to finish the 2023 regular season in Kansas at Gowans Stadium next season, a game that both squads hope is a precursor to another playoff run for each.
Iowa Western coaches will head out on the road immediately to finalize their recruiting season, while many players from this year's squad will make known where their next destination will be in the coming weeks. Former Reiver Namdi Obiazor is the only former Reiver playing in the NCAA Playoffs and can be seen wearing #4 for TCU when the Horned Frogs take on Michigan in the semi-finals on New Year's Eve at 3:00 pm CST. That team is led by Quarterback and Council Bluffs native Max Duggan. Duggan played for Lewis Central High School, the team that the Reivers share their field with for home games.
The 2023 season is slated to kick off on the road on August 26th against the Conquistadors of DCCC from Memorial Stadium in Dodge City, KS. The annual Blue-White Spring Game will take place on Friday, May 5th at Lewis Central High School at a time to be determined.
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