Reivers make their case for title game with 42-7 win

Kevin White 
kevin.white@nonpareilonline.com

GLEN ELLYN, Ill. – Iowa Western made its closing argument on Saturday, and it was a convincing one.

Four days after the Reivers dropped from first to third in the NJCAA national poll despite a win, quarterback Kai Locksley ran for a school-record six touchdowns and the Reivers whipped College of DuPage 42-7 in their regular-season finale at chilly Bjarne Ullsvik Stadium.

Only the top two teams in Monday's final rankings will play for the national championship.

"These guys have earned the right to play in it,'' Iowa Western coach Scott Strohmeier said. "No disrespect to anybody else, but what we've done and what we've gone through during the course of the year, to have one setback but to come back against the competition that we played and go 10-1, and none of them were really close.''

After a 21-19 loss at current No. 7 Butler in week four, Iowa Western won the rest of its games by 43, 42, 27, 24, 48, 10 and 35 points. It led Ellsworth 24-0 before winning 30-20.

On Saturday against a College of DuPage team that entered 6-2 and received votes in the national poll, the Reivers turned in a complete performance, outgaining the Chaparrals 488-179.

The long-striding Locksley, a 6-foot-4, 205-pound University of Texas transfer, scored on dashes of 13, 5, 6, 23, 1 and 4 yards. He carried 15 times for 114 yards and completed 22 of 33 passes for 173 yards.

"We took that gut-wrenching punch on Tuesday when the polls came out,'' Locksley said. "We had some really ticked off guys and coaches. We knew collectively we had to come out here and give our best final showing and presentation, and hopefully it works out for the best.''

The Reivers were bolstered by the return of redshirt freshman running back Mekhi Sargent, who had missed the previous two games because of a knee injury. The 5-11, 215-pounder out of Key West, Florida, carried 22 times for 169 yards and again showed a knack for picking up yards after contact.

"It felt great being out here with my team,'' Sargent said. "I've been missing out, and I just wanted to help contribute to get the W. I felt like we came out here and made a statement.''

The Reivers' harassing defense piled up 10 sacks, including three from Deshaun Quinn and 1.5 each by Chester Graves and Val Martin.

Iowa Western took a 21-7 halftime lead after Locksley's third touchdown, from 6 yards out, with 1:12 left before the intermission. The Reivers caught DuPage off guard with an onside kick to start the second half as kicker Eddie Ogamba recovered.

Locksley capped the drive with a 23-yard score, his fourth, to put the visitors up 28-7 at the 11:38 mark of the third. The outcome was never in doubt from that point on, as the Chaparrals managed only 31 total yards in the second half.

"Our defense, they were swarming to the ball,'' Strohmeier said. "When they're focused and ready to go, it's as good of a group as there is in the country.''

Now the Reivers await their fate. Strohmeier said his team showed some maturity in its response to the bad news earlier in the week.

"They could have just been all disappointed and not focused,'' he said. "We challenged them. … We came out Tuesday and had a good practice. Wednesday had a good practice and Thursday. We were as focused as we were on a Friday and a Friday night. To come in here and have a little bit of excitement was good to see. I'm proud of our team.''

Iowa Western (10-1) 0 21 7 14 – 42

College of DuPage (6-3) 0 7 0 0 – 7

IW: Kai Locksley 13 run (Eddie Ogamba kick)

IW: Locksley 5 run (Ogamba kick)