Defense, Special Teams Prevent Reivers From Being Sunk In Bluffs

Council Bluffs, Iowa

A tropical like day to close out the month of September wasn't on the bingo card for this year's football season, but it was appropriate given the nicknames of the two teams facing off at Titan Stadium.  The Pirates of Independence gave the 'River Pirates' of Iowa Western all they could handle on a day that reached the mid 90's during the game, but in the end it was the Reivers that stayed undefeated with a 28-13 victory and with their goals of postseason treasure still attainable on the horizon.

Independence (2-3) limited the Iowa Western (6-0) offense to just 89 yards of total offense on the day, a number aided by seven Pirate quarterback sacks and 16 tackles for loss.  The Reivers 'Darkside' defense returned the favor however, cashing in four sacks of their own, while forcing five ICC turnovers.

Legend Doggett finally opened the scoring in the second quarter, notching the Reivers first defensive score of the year on a 30-yard pick-six, just the second interception of the season thrown by Pirates' QB Kai Kunz.  

The special teams added to the margin two series later, tackling Indy punter Jaylen Paynes for a safety in the north endzone.

Despite excellent field position for the offense, the Reivers could only muster one offensive score in the first half, but it took only one play.  Wide receiver Louis Brooks took a reverse 43-yards to the endzone for his first score on the very first play of the team's eighth possession of the game as Coach Scott Strohmeier's team took a 16-0 lead into the halftime break.

"They've got a lot of good players and they're making plays, fortunately for us, our guys on defense and special teams are too," said Strohmeier at halftime, "We need to make blocks on the offense and figure out how to run the ball."

Independence nearly broke through on the scoreboard on their first drive of the second half, but a fourth down pass for a touchdown was overturned on review to keep the Pirates off of the scoreboard and turned the ball back over to Iowa Western.  Indy wasn't going to be denied, forcing a three and out and scoring on their next drive.  Kunz and the Indy 'O' quickly converted on two plays, with Malik Cooper finding an opening over the middle for a touchdown catch to cut the lead to 16-7.

Tobias Burrell was next to score for the Pirates on a 25-yard strike from Kunz.  Tanner Steenbock's point after was missed and lead for IWCC stood at 16-13 midway through the third quarter.

Indy's defense continued to find penetration against the Reivers' line to pressure Hunter Watson and the Reivers running game, forcing their third three-and-out of the quarter to give Kunz a chance to give the Pirates the lead.  It appeared the Visitors were headed in that direction, but on 3rd and Goal, Zyon Clark picked off Kunz at the goal line to turn the tide.  The interception was the 'Darksides' third takeaway of the day and seventh interception in the last seven quarter of football.

While the Reivers couldn't convert the ensuing set of downs, they were able to finally turn the field position while kicking with the wind, a 20+ mph breeze that blew out of the south for the duration of the game.

Max Bartachek's 53-yard punt pinned the Pirates deep and the defense was able to force a punt out of the Pirates own endzone.  This time, a high snap sailed over Steenbock's head for the second safety of the day on an ICC punt and finally helped swing the momentum.  

With an 18-13 lead, the Reivers traded possessions before adding a 36-yard Bartachek field goal.

Clev Lubin then pressured back-up quarterback Greg Jones into the Pirates' third interception of the game, a ball that was returned 12-yards to the Indy three-yard line by Javonnee Szymanski before Watson punched it in for his fourth touchdown of the year for the final score.

The touchdown run was one of the only positives on the day for Watson as he was pressured repeatedly and sacked seven times, leading to -55 yards on 15 carries.  Despite the Reivers' woes on offense, they did not turn the ball over against a team that was plus three in turnover margin coming into the matchup.

Pirates QBs Kunz and Jones combined for four total interceptions, the last by the Reivers' Josh Pierre-Louis, with Kunz 1st quarter fumble adding the fifth turnover of the day.  Indy's run game generated -44 total rushing yards in the game, dropping the Reivers' last three games total to -41 yards of rushing.

The offense will have to figure out their issues immediately as a trip to Ephraim, Utah is on the horizon.  The 5th ranked Badgers of Snow College were 36-33 winners in overtime against Georgia Military to set-up a Top 5 showdown Saturday night.  

The Reivers' games with the Badgers have largely been instant classics with each team trading a blowout win in the series.  Four of the last six games have been decided by a total of just seven points, including a three-point Reiver win in Ephraim in 2021 over then #1 Snow and a one-point win in a rematch in that season's NJCAA Playoffs.

All the action can be heard, free of charge, on the Reiver Sports Network.  The game, with Jake Ryan, Russ Nelsen, Josh Odson, and Tony Boone 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 7:30 PM on the radio side with the video stream starting just before kickoff at 8:00 PM Central from Terry Foote Stadium in Utah.

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