Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Manson NW graduate Tim Butcher of Iowa Central sacks Independence quarterback Malik Henry on Saturday in Manson. For more photos, please visit CU.messengernews.net

MANSON — Kevin Twait isn’t giving up on this season.

And he doesn’t believe his players are, either.

Iowa Central suffered its 21st consecutive defeat here Saturday, falling to No. 13 Independence, 47-7.

“The biggest thing we can do moving forward is to keep the faith,” Twait said. “We have to keep everyone in this program moving in the right direction.

“I know we are 0-5 and all of that, but I have complete confidence we will get the job done.”

Three weeks removed from a 35-28 setback in overtime to Ellsworth, the Tritons (0-5 overall) have been outscored in back-to-back games vs. Highland and the Pirates (3-1) by over 70 points.

Third-string quarterback Taylor Holston tossed a 6-yard touchdown pass to Ty Sohn in the third quarter for the lone Iowa Central points.

Holston, a freshman from Cincinnati, was making his first career starter after injuries sidelined BJ Phillips and Zach Parker.

“Taylor really did a nice job,” Twait said. “He is quick and made some good plays for us. He’s a competitor and I think once we get him some more reps, he’ll really take off.”

Holston finished 9 of 21 for 72 yards, adding 37 yards on the ground. He was picked off twice in the contest by the Independence defense.

Austin McBeth, who made his Triton debut in the fourth quarter, ran for a team-high 41 yards. Brenden Hansen had three catches for 43 yards.

“We were just too inconsistent on offense,” Twait said. “We shot ourselves in the foot with penalties and mistakes that you just cannot make when you are trying to compete with good teams.”

Independence, which had a week off following a 27-23 victory over defending national champion Garden City, scored 24 points in the second quarter behind quarterback Malik Henry.

Henry, who played at Florida State University and was a top recruit, completed 11 of 24 for 107 yards, including two touchdowns to Bryson Cannon and Carlos Thompson. The Pirates also scored on a punt return from Markiese King and an interception return by 330-pound defensive lineman Marqualin Scott.

After entering into the game on the second drive, Henry went 6-for-8 for 77 yards, hitting four different receivers. He spent one season with the Seminoles before leaving.

“Credit Independence because they are a good team,” Twait said. “They took advantage of our mistakes and hurt us. But we cannot allow teams to convert third-and-long or fourth-and-long.”

Tyrone Taylor ran for 93 yards and King added 69 as the Pirates out-rushed Iowa Central, 194-117.

Former Manson Northwest Webster standout Tim Butcher had one of three sacks for the Triton defense, with Le’Vonte Larry adding a fumble recovery.

Independence is currently being followed by the Netflix documentary series “Last Chance U.” Previously, East Mississippi was profiled for two seasons on the show, which will air next year. Members of the film crew were present at the game on Saturday.

Next up for Iowa Central is a road date with Hutchinson (4-1), who defeated Highland in double overtime, 13-10. The Pirates are at 15th-ranked Dodge City next Saturday.

ICCC ICC

First Downs 11 20

Rushes-Yards 45-117 27-194

Passing 72 150

Comp-Att-Int 9-22-2 16-31-0

Total Offense 189 344

Punts-Avg. 9-32.8 5-25.0

Fumbles-Lost 0-0 2-1

Penalties-Yards 13-105 5-50

Iowa Central 0 0 7 0– 7

Independence 7 24 0 16–47

Scoring Summary

Independence — Bryson Cannon (11-yard pass from Malik Henry), 6:16 left in first. Nino Alibegic kick.

Independence — Tyrone Taylor (50-yard run), 12:45 left in second. Alibegic kick.

Independence — Carlos Thompson (40-yard pass from Henry), 9:19 left in second. Alibegic kick.

Independence — Markiese King (39-yard punt return), 3:40 left in second. Alibegic kick.

Independence — Alibegic (41-yard field goal), :12 left in second.

Iowa Central — Ty Sohn (6-yard pass from Taylor Holston), 8:25 left in third. Jose Fuentes kick.

Independence — Alibegic (28-yard field goal), 10:34 left in fourth.

Independence — Marqualin Scott (32-yard interception return), 7:42 left in fourth. Alibegic kick.

Independence — DeShawn Applewhite (15-yard pass from Drake Smith), 3:08 left in fourth. Kick failed.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing — Iowa Central: Austin McBeth 4-41, Taylor Holston 16-37, Carter Downer 6-13, E’Quan Dorris 7-11, Stephan Olson, Jr. 4-11, Carlton Todd 1-5, TJ Tumbleson 2-2, Justin Daubaris 5-(minus-3). Independence: Tyrone Taylor 7-93, Markiese King 4-69, Donye Hopkins 8-41, Kingston Davis 2-9, Jamal Scott 2-8, Malik Henry 4-(minus-26).

Passing — Iowa Central: Taylor Holston 9-21-2-72, Josh Walshire 0-1-0-0. Independence: Malik Henry 11-24-0-107, Brandon Bea 4-6-0-28, Drake Smith 1-1-0-15.

Receiving — Iowa Central: Brenden Hansen 3-43, Roddrick Bryant 1-14, Ty Sohn 1-6, Kendrick Holland 1-4, Chris McLeod 1-1, Carlton Todd 1-4, E’Quan Dorris 1-0. Independence: Carlos Thompson 4-92, DeShawn Applewhite 3-38, Bryson Cannon 2-24, Malik Collins 1-9, Sean Carter 1-6, Markiese King 1-4, Calvin Jackson 2-3, Tyrone Taylor 1-(minus-2), Brandon Bea 1-(minus-4).