Ephraim, UT
On a day full of joy and sorrow on the campus of Snow College, Iowa Western Football took back what the Badgers left Council Bluffs with in March. The #4 Reivers (5-0) beat top-ranked Snow (4-1), 17-14, at Terry Foote Stadium in Ephraim, taking a victory the team felt they'd let slip away in the Spring.
"That's been a focus of our guys from the start of Fall Camp and even back to last (Spring 2021) season." Said Coach Scott Strohmeier, "the team has worked every week to put themselves into a position where every game matters, and this one, in particular, has been a driving force. It's a huge win for our guys."
The number, '31-30', was posted everywhere in the Reivers' locker room on campus in Council Bluffs and both teams came to the field focused and determined on Saturday.
The Badgers took over the City of Ephraim in the hours leading up to the game for the school's homecoming with parade floats rolling by the stadium in the minutes leading to kickoff. From the opening whistle, the game was a battle.
Boasting the nation's number one defense, Snow deferred and Iowa Western received the opening kickoff, converting a third and five on the opening drive to move the chains, only to stall out three plays later. Snow's special teams recovered a low snap that punter Jake Calvert couldn't control and the Badgers had optimal field position for their first drive of the game.
The Badgers were pushed back on third and one and defensive coordinator Mike Blackbourn's unit then forced a turnover on downs as the line showed off why they're one of the top units in the nation as well, stopping back Seth Kaelin after a short gain on 4th and two inside the Reivers' 30.
"Our depth and our discipline within the front-seven really helped us establish early that it was going to be tough to run for Snow," said Blackbourn, "We've got a ton of respect for what they've been able to do, not only this year but historically. You know our guys are pretty good as well and I believe, especially early, that it helped set the tone for the rest of the team to follow."
The Sanpete Valley weather wasn't cooperative for either team, alternating between sun and rain for the entirety of the game and limiting what the teams were able to do against each other's staunch defenses. The opening quarter came to an end with the score still 0-0 and both teams punting yards outgaining the offenses.
The two teams traded punts to start the second and Snow took over again after the Reivers' Ty Nissen pinned them inside the 20 at their own 10-yard line. After the Reivers gave up a pair of first downs to the home squad, lineman Quientrail Travis forced the ball loose from the arms of Badger back Targhee Lambson and the ensuing fumble was recovered by linebacker Ben Radicia to even the turnover battle at one apiece.
Iowa Western couldn't convert the turnover into points however and Snow and the Reivers traded punts several more times before Snow marched and stalled out at the Reivers' 40, settling for a Stockton Lund 57-yard field goal which fell short and wide right of the south goalpost just before halftime, leaving the score 0-0 after 30 minutes of play.
The scoreless tie at halftime was the first in IWCC program history, edging out games during the 2016 season where Iowa Western led 2-0 and 3-0 that year.
Snow would start the second half with the ball and deadset on breaking the scoreless tie with their packed home stands cheering them on. Backup QB Gabriel Sweeten started the half as the Badgers hoped to utilize his legs to avoid the Reiver pressure. Snow drove 50-yards to the IWCC 12-yard line before Elijah Elmore and Tyree Hill saved the drive for Iowa Western, forcing and recovering a fumble by Sweeten for the Reivers' second takeaway.
The IW offense, ready to put their halftime adjustments to work, moved the ball on catches by Kaden Wetjen and Michael Love just outside the Snow 40-yard line. On 1st and 10 for IW, Nate Glantz scrambled away from the Badger defense, staying free long enough to find Wetjen open in a hole in the defensive coverage. The freshman receiver did the rest, sprinting down Snow's sideline for the first score of the game as a heavy rain poured down. Noah Sauberan's point-after-attempt was thwarted by the weather as a slick ball went through the hands of Glantz the holder. Sauberan scooped up the loose ball and threw to tight end Jalen Gaudet, but a Snow defender batted the ball away to keep the lead at 6-0, IWCC.
Snow would turn the ball over again on the following drive as Legend Doggett picked off his second of the year, just one play after pass interference had been called against the Reivers' cornerback.
After a three and out by the Reivers, Snow would benefit from a kick catch interference call on the ensuing punt to place the ball at the IWCC 23-yard line. The Badgers would break out the flea-flicker, quarterback Tommy McGrath finding tight end Tevita Noa for the score to knot the game at six apiece. Stockton Lund's 37th extra point of the season gave the home team a 7-6 lead with 8:31 remaining in the third quarter.
Glantz and the Reivers would go right back to work with the freshman QB finding receiver Ryan Flournoy for a first down at midfield. After a sack made it 3rd and long for IWCC, Glantz found Michael Love who turned and ran for a first down and was pulled down by his facemask to add 15 more yards to the play. Flournoy scored one play later, making an amazing catch near the turf in the corner of the endzone to put the Reivers back in front. On the PAT, Glantz found Flournoy again as the receiver went in motion to the far side, making the score, 14-7 visitors.
Sauberan's kickoff was muffed out of bounds by the Snow return man and two plays later it was Tyree Hill again, finding the football after Snow went with a direct snap that surprised tailback Seth Kaelin and tumbled to the turf. The recovery gave the Reivers first and goal with a seven-point lead.
Three straight runs by Milton Sargbah went unrewarded and Sauberan was called upon for a 22-yard field goal to make the score 17-7, where it would remain into the 4th.
Snow's defense got stingy after that as the Reivers were unable to add to the score. After missing a short field goal to start the fourth, Snow's offense found some openings halfway through the quarter. Tommy McGrath, stepping into the starting QB role after spring starter Garrison Beach injured his knee in the National Title game against Hutch, got it going. McGrath led the Badgers 73 yards to the Reivers 15 before scrambling into the endzone for the home team's second score of the day, slicing the deficit to just three points, 17-14.
On the following kickoff, Snow head coach Zak Erekson called for the onside kick with over six minutes still remaining in the game. The ball bounced next to Flournoy who covered it quickly to ensure the Reivers possession in Snow territory.
The Reivers would convert a first down three plays later as Blake Vaughn hauled in a pass from Glantz to put the Reivers at the Snow 25-yard line. IWCC would move the chains again when Love hauled in a short pass from Glantz as the Badgers watched the clock tick under 2:30 left in the game. A short run by Sargbah followed by an incomplete pass and a QB sack led to a fourth-down attempt.
"At that point of the game, the only thing that's going to win us the game is another touchdown or to be able to hang on to the ball," Strohmeier explained, "we thought we had something that would move the chains and they (Snow) came up with the stop."
The Badgers took over with 1:47 remaining at their own 17-yard line needing a touchdown to win or a field goal to send the game to overtime. McGrath found Caden Leggett for 15 and Larsen for another 15 on back-to-back plays. The Reivers defense, so staunch the entire game, saw big chunks of field disappearing as thoughts of March 31st started creeping into the minds of Reiver fans watching from the opposing stands. Snow scored with only 14 seconds remaining to beat the Reivers, 31-30, in game number one of the spring season back in March and the defense was tasked from preventing a similiar result this time around.
An incompletion preceded the longest play of the drive, a 35-yard strike to Elijah Ervin from McGrath to move the ball to the IWCC 25-yard line with still over one minute remaining in the game and the Reivers 'D' reeling.
After an offside by the defense moved Snow inside the red zone, McGrath threw to the right side of the end zone, the exact same place where Snow had gone to beat the Reivers in March. This time though, the play went the other way. Left cornerback Latrez Shelton, drifting back into coverage, picked off an overthrown ball just in front of the endzone, and the celebration commenced.
It was IWCC's 9th all-time victory in a regular-season Top 10 match-up and their first win in three all-time attempts over a team ranked at the top of the polls.
The victory keeps the Reivers path to the NJCAA playoffs alive under their own control with five regular-season games remaining. The team gets a much needed bye week before returning to play against ICCAC opponent Ellsworth on October 23rd in Iowa Falls, Iowa. Kickoff scheduled for 2:30 pm on the Reiver Sports Network with the pregame carried on Iowa Western's 100,000 watt FM station, 89.7 the River. Tune in to hear Jake Ryan and Russ Nelsen on the call as the Reivers can wrap up a share of the conference championship with a win over the Panthers.
NOTES
The victory by the Reivers gives them the all-time lead in the series versus Snow, 3-2.
Three of the last four games between Iowa Western and Snow have been decided by a total of six points (12/02/18 | IWCC 19-17 03/27/21 | Snow 31-30 10/09/21 | IWCC 17-14).
The two-point conversion by Ryan Flournoy was the Reivers' first successful attempt since 2015 when Malcolm Moore followed his late, go-ahead TD against Dodge City with a catch to give the Reivers a seven-point lead in one of the most exciting finishes in program history. The Reivers have only nine 2-point conversions in program history, with six coming in the first two seasons.
The five takeaways for IWCC matches their season-high. They also had five turnovers against Ellsworth on September 18th and are now +13 on the year in the turnover department. IWCC has had 21 games with five takeaways, one with six and two with seven takeaways (2013 vs NDSCS & 2016 vs Ft. Scott)
Milton Sargbah's 59 yards pushed him up and over the 1,000 yards rushing mark for his career. The running back from Omaha North high school is now the fourth Reiver to surpass the mark in program history. Sargbah joins Aaron Wimberley (2,037), Mekhi Sargent (1,449), and Akise Teague (1,343) as the only Reiver running backs to surpass the mark.
Quarterback Nate Glantz moved into a tie for second in career starts, equaling Tay Bender and Andre Nunez's 12 starts behind center in their career. He leaves behind fellow signal-callers Zach Stoudt, Connor Bravard, and T.J. Starks who finished with 11 career starts for IWCC at quarterback. Jake Waters is the all-time leader, starting 23 times in his Reiver career, including a start (and win) in the 2012 National Championship game.
Glantz also tossed his 30th career TD as a Reiver to move into a tie for second place with Tay Bender. Bender led the team to the 2014 National Title Game.
The 17 points scored by Iowa Western was the 7th lowest scoring output in program history. The Reivers are 2-2 when scoring 17 points and 5-8 when scoring 17 or fewer points in a game.
