Iowa Western Football advances to the national title game with a chance to make history | sport

(Council Bluffs) – Iowa Western football has a chance to do something no junior college program has ever done on Wednesday night.

To achieve that, the Reivers must avenge their only loss of the year when they face Hutchinson Community College in the NJCAA title game on Wednesday night in Canyon, Texas.

The Reivers’ latest trip to the title game is their fourth straight and sixth in coach Scott Strohmeier’s 16-year tenure. A win would make them the first program to ever score three goals.

“These opportunities are not easy to come by,” said Strohmeier. “We are enjoying the moment, but we will still try to make history. Our boys are excited. Every year is different, but these guys have answered the bell every week to get themselves in position.”

Iowa Western posted a 10-1 regular season and finished with an eight-game winning streak. They returned to the finals with a 42-21 semifinal win over Northwest Mississippi Community College and 21 unanswered points in the final 30 minutes.

“The game started as badly as it could, with the team losing the ball in particular,” said Strohmeier. “We made a few adjustments in the second half. I felt like we could weaken them. I felt like we had a good chance of finishing things off if we were two points ahead. When we were two points ahead you could see it deflated the North West.

Hunter Dekkers has led the Iowa Western offense this season. Dekkers, a former star at West Sioux, started at Iowa State in 2022 before leaving the program amid controversy surrounding alleged sports betting. Dekkers found his second opportunity at Iowa Western and made the most of it with 3,413 yards and 30 touchdowns.

“Everyone knows what talent he has,” said Strohmeier. “It was an unfortunate situation but he feels humiliated. Hunter just wants to play football. Whenever you hire a man of his nature, what matters is how he reacts. He did it better than anyone else.”

Fresh Walters (69 catches, 811 yards, 7 TDs) and Titus Myers (51 catches, 830 yards, 8 TDs) were Dekkers’ favorite targets, while Daniel Swinney led the game on the ground with 878 yards and 12 touchdowns

Iowa Western’s defense has held opponents to 19.3 points per game. Lucas Struck accounted for 68 tackles, while Ahmad Johnson, Jerome Baker, Walt Gray, Cameron Done, De’Veion McLilly-Bulo, Tim Roberson and Dominic Wiseman also had over 30 tackles.

Hutchinson found success against Iowa Western’s defense in the first meeting, scoring 38 points to win a 38-37 shootout.

The Blue Dragons (10-1) reached the final with a commanding 63-21 victory over Georgia Military College. Their offense is led by running back Waymond Jordan. The stint at Central Florida included 1,533 yards and 20 touchdowns while averaging 7.9 yards per carry.

“They are extremely well trained,” said Strohmeier. “When you take part in games like this, it depends on who gets promoted. We know them and they know us. We cannot reinvent the wheel. You do what got you there. You run the wheel.” Football. We know they will get their yards. You just can’t get large pieces.

Containing Hutchinson’s ground game will determine whether the Reivers make history or not.

“Keep their running game in check and limit their explosiveness,” Strohmeier said. “If we can do that, we have a chance. It will be a tough battle for 60 minutes. If we can protect the football and slow down his running game, we have a good chance of being there at the end.”

Iowa Western/Hutchinson Community College takes place Wednesday night at 7:30 p.m. and can be viewed on ESPN.

Click below to hear the full interview with Coach Strohmeier.