High Five! Reivers Top Highland To Solidify Fifth Straight Trip to NJCAA Playoffs

COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA

NJCAA No. 2 Iowa Western (10-1) turned a shaky start into another runaway, blasting Highland (0-11) 64–13 on Saturday afternoon at Titan Stadium in the regular season finale for both squads.

Highland landed the first punch after Iowa Western's opening series ended with an interception. Quarterback Malachi Marshall was picked off at the Reiver 41, giving the Scotties a short field at the 30. Highland converted the break into points when Kahliek Rainey found Demitrius Alexandre for a 16-yard touchdown on third-and-goal, putting the visitors up 7–0 with 10:47 left in the first quarter.

The Reivers briefly gave the ball right back — a fumble by running back Jamari Ford set Highland up again in plus territory — but the defense responded, forcing a three-and-out and after another pair of punts, the Reivers turned it on.

Tre Brown flipped the field with a 45-yard punt return to the Highland 40. On the very next snap, Marshall hit Jaivyn Moore on a 40-yard strike down the left sideline to tie the game 7–7 with 5:19 remaining in the opening quarter.

Highland answered with a methodical drive into Reiver territory, mixing in runs by Landyn Moore and quick throws to convert multiple third downs. Just as the Scotties threatened to cross midfield, the Reivers' 'Darkside' Defense flipped the script. Scotties back-up quarterback Ryeki Tuley rolled right to throw, but linebacker De'Veion McLilly-Bulo caught him before his arm could release the ball and defensive end Jeremy Lewis snatched the ball out of the air and raced 45 yards the other way for a pick-six with 39 seconds left. The defensive score gave Iowa Western its first lead, 14–7, and the Reivers never looked back.

The second quarter was all Iowa Western. After the defense forced a quick stop to open the period, the Reivers strung together a 12-play, 49-yard drive that chewed more than four minutes off the clock. Ford and Makelle Taylor combined to move the chains on the ground while Marshall spread the ball around to Cyrus Courtney and Jimmy Trilla. When the drive stalled just outside the red zone, kicker Gus Bashore drilled a season long 42-yard field goal to extend the margin to 17–7 with 8:56 left in the half.

Another Highland series fizzled out, and the Reivers went back to work from their own 25. Taylor ripped off a series of chunk runs to midfield, and Marshall found Trilla for 38 yards to the Scotties' 12. A few plays later, Marshall found DeAndre Horn behind the defense for an 11-yard touchdown, pushing the lead to 24–7 at the 3:41 mark.

The avalanche continued. Following a defensive stand and a short punt, Iowa Western took over at its own 25 with 7:00 left in the quarter. Taylor again sparked the drive on the ground before Marshall dialed in with completions to Corey Washington to work to the Highland 34 before Marshall hit Moore on a 34-yard touchdown to make it 31–7 with 1:17 before halftime.

Highland tried to steal some momentum with a quick series, but went three-and-out and punted with 45 seconds left. That proved to be just enough time for Iowa Western. Starting at its own 40, Marshall hit Ford for 11, Brown for 11 and Moore for 9 before another completion to Moore carried the Reivers inside the 5. A holding penalty wiped out what would have been a quarterback keeper, but only pushed the offense back far enough for Bashore to knock through a 31-yard field goal as time expired. Iowa Western jogged into the locker room with a 34–7 lead and a 412–115 edge in total yardage at the break.

The third quarter opened with a bizarre special-teams sequence. The kickoff to start the half turned into a live-ball scramble, and Highland's Anthony Gaito scooped it and went 35 yards for a Scotties touchdown just five seconds in. The extra point never made it to the scoreboard; Iowa Western blocked the kick, and Tim Roberson scooped it up and sprinted 92 yards for a defensive two-point conversion, turning what could have been a small Highland spark into a 36–13 Reiver advantage.

From there, the offense slammed the door. After Aamir Hill's 38-yard kickoff return set Iowa Western up near midfield, Ford burst for 12 yards, and on the next play Marshall found Cyrus Courtney for his third touchdown of the season on a 39-yard strike to make it 43–13 with 14:09 still to play in the third quarter.

The Reivers added another long scoring march later in the quarter. Starting at their own 23, they moved with completions to Brown, Ford, Johnson and Hill. On third-and-long near midfield, Marshall dropped back and found Brown across the middle for a 53-yard touchdown. Bashore's extra point extended the lead to 50–13 with 9:43 left in the third.

Highland pieced together its longest drive of the day on the ensuing possession, highlighted by a 59-yard connection from Gabe McWilliams to Alexandre down the seam. The Reivers' defense stiffened in the red zone, though, forcing three straight incompletions and a turnover on downs at the 3-yard line.

With a big lead and the game in hand, Iowa Western turned to its depth to close things out in the fourth quarter. A 9-play, 88-yard march early in the period showcased the Reivers' stable of backs and reserve quarterback Roderick Hartsfield. Kaeden Johnson carried the load on the ground before finishing the drive with a 12-yard touchdown run off right tackle, stretching the margin to 57–13 with 11:15 remaining.

Two drives later, after the defense forced yet another short field with a punt out of bounds near midfield, Hartsfield sliced through the middle for his first score of the season on a 45-yard dash up the middle. His score with 8:12 to play capped the scoring at 64–13 and gave the Reivers 621 yards of total offense on the afternoon.

Marshall finished 22 of 27 for 385 yards and five touchdowns, spreading the ball to 10 different receivers. On the day, Marshall moved into sixth place on the all-time passing yards list passing former Reivers Tay Bender ('13-14), Zack Stoudt ('10), Kai Locksley ('17) and Andre Nunez ('15-16). His 30 touchdown passes this season tie him for fourth on the career list with Bender while Jake Waters ('10-'12) and Hunter Dekkers' ('24) single season marks of 39 and 32 are within striking distance. Moore caught five passes for 120 yards and two scores and climbed to ninth on the all-time receiving yards list and a tie for third on the all-time receiving touchdowns list with 15. Brown added five grabs for 90 yards and a touchdown, and Courtney and Horn each hauled in a scoring pass. The ground game chipped in 179 yards, led by Hartsfield's 56 yards, Taylor's 52 and Johnson's 40. Defensively, Iowa Western held Highland to 219 total yards and just 2-of-16 on third down, piling up 11 tackles for loss.

The Reivers, who have now beaten the Scotties in 11 of 12 meetings, tightened their case as a perennial postseason force. Iowa Western remains the only program to reach the NJCAA Playoffs every year since the format began in fall 2021, appearing in the past four national championship games while winning titles in 2022 and 2023.

With the win, Iowa Western improves to 10–1 and carries a nine-game winning streak into the postseason. The Reivers are expected to host Tyler Junior College in the NJCAA semifinals on Friday, Dec. 5, at 6 p.m. at Titan Stadium, taking the next step in their push for a fifth straight national championship game appearance. The official announcement from the NJCAA will come Monday afternoon with the 2025 Credit Union 1 NJCAA Division I Football Championship Presented by Zurich American Insurance Company will airing on ESPNU at 6:00 PM CT on Wednesday, December 17, 2025. The championship will be held in Canyon, Texas at Bain-Schaeffer Buffalo Stadium on the campus of West Texas A&M University.

NJCAA PLAYOFF APPEARANCES | First initiated for 2021-22 NJCAA D1 Football Season

The playoff game will be aired by ESPN+ with a subscription, while the audio of the game can be heard on Iowa Western's 100,000-watt FM radio station, 89.7 The River and the 89.7 The River app which can be found in the app store on mobile devices. The game will also be carried, free of charge, on the Reiver Sports Network with the exclusive 'RSN Booth Cam', a live look inside the broadcast booth with the call of the game simulcasted. The 'Voice of the Reivers' Jake Ryan will be joined by Russ Nelsen, Josh Odson, and Tony Boone on the call. The RSN Countdown to Kickoff will begin at 6:00 PM with kickoff coming at 6:07 from Lewis Central's Titan Stadium. Live stats will also be available here.

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NOTES

• The last time IW scored 60 or more points in back-to-back contests was in 2013. Iowa Western scored 63 versus Ellsworth followed by a 60-point performance against North Dakota State College of Science. Earlier in 2013 the Reivers scored 61 vs ECC and posted 62 points against Iowa Central.
• Iowa Western scored 60 or more points seven times in 2012, with five straight games of 60 or more points and another streak of two games.
• The first time IWCC scored 60 or more points in subsequent games was in 2011 when they started the year with a 64-6 win versus Highland and followed that game with a 75-0 win over Dakota-Bottineau.