The second meeting of the football season between Iowa Western Community College and Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College was no contest. The Iowa Western Reivers dominated from the start Wednesday night at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock, taking a 31-0 victory and the NJCAA Division I championship.
The Reivers (10-2) won their first national title since 2012, less than five weeks after losing 29-28 to the Hutchinson Blue Dragons (11-1).
It wasn’t really close.
Iowa Western scored on their fifth play Wednesday night and had a two-score lead after their second touchdown. Then they let the defense do the rest.
Hutchinson only made its way into Iowa Western territory five times, but they never got closer than the Reivers’ 28, where they were twice stopped on downs.
Hutchinson finished with just 159 yards of total offense, 12 of that on the ground on 29 tries. Iowa Western had 11 tackles for a loss, creating negative 64 yards.
“We took everything personal,” said Iowa Western defensive lineman Quientrail Jamison-Travis, who had 2.5 sacks, a forced fumble and two fumble recoveries. “We were not giving them nothing. We had to take advantage of why we were here and why the first game we shouldn’t have lost. We just took it very personal.”
Andre Goodman, who ran for 102 yards and passed for 116, hit LJ Fitzpatrick on a screen pass just six plays into the game, and the freshman flashed past two defenders down the sideline for a 68-yard score. Sam Wilber's extra point made it 7-0 less than two minutes into the game.
Jaden Kroger scored on a 3-yard run with 6:14 left in the first quarter to cap a 59-yard drive. Wilber made it 14-0.
The Reivers' third drive put the team up 17-0 after Wilber hit a 31-yard field goal.
“We controlled the first quarter, and scoring on the first three drives kinda set the tone a little bit,” said Iowa Western Coach Scott Strohmeier. “And until that clock hits zero, they have so many explosive players, you better play all four quarters.”
Bryant Williams, who ran for 74 yards on 22 carries, had a pair of touchdowns in the second half as the Reivers methodically controlled the game. He scored on a 3-yard run with 6:19 left in the third quarter and added a 1-yard score with 110:8 left.
Hutchinson showed more life in the second half when the Blue Dragons managed to reach Iowa Western territory four times, but two of those drives were halted by turnovers, and two more were stopped on downs.
Iowa Western finished with 404 yards offense, 288 of that on the ground. The Reivers also had no turnovers.
“We save our best for the last two games of the year,” said Strohmeier. “We got into the playoffs, and the two best games we played in the playoffs, and that is why we are so thankful we have a four-team playoff because I thought we were one of the best.”
Iowa Western lost 31-13 to New Mexico Military last season in the title game, also in Little Rock.