Mekhi Sargent enjoys his own Garden party in Iowa Western win

GARDEN CITY, Kan. — In the eight-plus seasons of Iowa Western football, there have been some spectacular individual performances.

But given the opponent and the stakes, it's hard to imagine a better one than redshirt freshman Mekhi Sargent registered on Saturday.

The 5-foot-11, 215-pound running back out of Key West, Florida, carried 32 times for a school-record 375 yards and three touchdowns as No. 2 Iowa Western pummeled defending NJCAA champion and No. 20 Garden City 41-14 at Broncbuster Stadium.

"I gave him a big hug after the game," Iowa Western coach Scott Strohmeier told the Reiver Sports Network. "He's just a workhorse. He's so patient. We knew he was a talented player last year and we redshirted him. He probably would have been our best back, potentially, last year as well.

"He's a great kid. He works hard. He just comes to work. He could care less if he gets 20 carries or five carries, as long as we win."

The win improved Iowa Western to 6-1 and kept alive its hopes of playing in the national championship game. The Reivers might even move to No. 1 when the ratings are released next week as top-ranked East Mississippi lost to No. 10 Northwest Mississippi 61-38 on Thursday.

"Like I told the guys, all we can do is win," Strohmeier said. "Hopefully it opened some eyes that we're a pretty good football team."

The biggest play of the game might have been an Iowa Western run, but it didn't involve Sargent.

After the Broncbusters trimmed a 28-3 deficit to 28-14 on a 30-yard field goal by James White with 9:31 left in the third quarter, a procedure penalty forced Iowa Western to face a fourth-and-6 at its 29.

Freshman punter Hunter Pinegar out of Ankeny Centennial faked out the defense and took off around the right side for 23 yards and a first down.

Strohmeier credited Pinegar and special teams coordinator Jake Crain with the trickery.

"Coach Crain does a good job of scouting," he said. "With the rugby style of punt that we have, we really had to make two blocks and it creased them.

"When he took off running, I'm like, 'No! Yeah, yeah, yeah!' It's one of those deals where if we get stopped there, people are thinking, 'What the heck? What are you doing?' But it worked out in our favor today."

After the successful fake, Sargent ran it in from the 7 eight plays later to give the Reivers some breathing room at 35-14. Sargent added the icing on the cake with 6:23 remaining, sprinting 80 yards untouched up the middle to cap his historic day. The previous school record was 260 yards by Akise Teague against Arkansas Baptist in 2013.

Iowa Western avenged a 27-17 home loss to the Broncbusters last season.

"Chancelor House came to me after the game last year when they beat us," Strohmeier said of his starting center. "He was like, 'Coach, we're going to get them next year, I promise you.' "

Strohmeier said assistants Donnie Woods, Ted Heath, Dallas Hinkhouse and Austin Stephens deserve credit for their work with the offensive line.

"They've done a really good job of jelling this group together and getting them to buy in that we're a physical team," Strohmeier said.

Sargent had 20 carries for 189 yards in the first half and 12 carries for 186 after the break. He showed a knack for yards after contact and for maneuvering his body through congested areas between the tackles.

Iowa Western rushed for 469 yards. Kai Locksley completed 15 of 27 for 187 yards, including touchdowns of 13 yards to Mike Hill and 23 to Tahj Telfair, giving the Reivers 656 total yards.

"I tell you what, you rush for 469 and you're not losing many ballgames," Strohmeier said.

Iowa Western held Garden City to 262 total yards and was led by defensive ends Chester Graves and Malcolm Lee. Graves had eight solos and two assists, while Lee, a Bellevue West product, added seven solos and one assist, including two sacks.

Strohmeier said the seven-hour bus trip home would seem a bit shorter.

"Overall, a great team performance today," he told the Reiver Sports Network. "We challenged them. I said, 'I want your best,' and they gave it."