—Photo by Paul DeCoursey Iowa Central’s Rashad Witty grabs a pass from quarterback DJ Irons inside Dodger Stadium on Saturday.

The Iowa Central football team experienced all the emotions of their up-and-down season in one game here Saturday inside Dodger Stadium.

After spotting No. 19 Independence a 21-0 lead, the Tritons rallied back, only to come up short, 31-20.

Iowa Central (5-5 overall) started the year strong, winning three of its first four including a 28-26 victory over 13th-ranked Iowa Western. Three consecutive road games, though, left them at 3-3 to begin October.

They dropped a game below the .500 mark with a loss to No. 7 Garden City, but bounced back away from home with wins over Dodge City and Ellsworth, the latter of which clinched the ICCAC title.

The Pirates (5-3) earned their first win streak of the season after alternating wins and losses through seven games. They have also won three of the last four in the series between schools.

“We let the momentum swing back to them,” ICCC head coach Jesse Montalto said. “We had the chance to tie it at 21-all and we didn’t execute basic stuff. We don’t capitalize on what we have going and we let them take the momentum right back.”

DJ Irons hit Tanarious Achan on a pair of third quarter touchdown passes, as the Tritons took advantage of five Independence turnovers. Irons found Achan on a 12-yard TD strike for the first score and from four yards out on the second.

Early in the fourth, Irons powered his way to the end zone from two yards out, but the extra-point missed and the Pirates remained ahead, 21-20.

“The kids were feeling good,” Montalto said. “We had been trailing for three quarters, but we had the chance to tie it up. Right there, we lost some momentum and we couldn’t get it back.

“We had plenty of other opportunities and we didn’t take advantage of them.”

Irons finished the day 16-for-29 passing for 182 yards, but was also sacked eight times. Dre Butler, a 6-foot-5, 290-pound freshman out of Georgia, recorded four of those sacks.

Butler holds offers from Oklahoma, Oregon and Baylor among other schools.

Achan had five receptions to lead the team for 48 yards, with Terrell Carey, Jatoviay Hill and Rashad Witty all catching three passes each.

“The kids played hard,” Montalto said. “We felt good with our plan. They played hard out there and were well coached, we just didn’t execute when we needed to.”

Independence, which was featured on the past two seasons of the Netflix produced series “Last Chance U,” ran for 371 yards. Teon Dollard had 135 and Stephon Brown 111, with Brown also throwing for 96 yards.

Brown had two rushing touchdowns, with Dollard and Shermari Jones each recording one.

The Iowa Central defense recovered four fumbles and picked off a pass, as Jarran Barber, EJ Brown, Rocky Schoenfelder and Marquis Burks picked up loose balls. Stanley Cross had the interception, as Schoenfelder, Elijah Freking and Kalen Burt registered sacks.

Next action for the Tritons will be their final road game of the season, as they head to 17th-ranked Fort Scott. Iowa Central closes out the year with No. 3 Hutchinson back here on Nov. 9 before playing in the Graphic Edge Bowl on Dec. 8 in Cedar Falls.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing — Iowa Central: DJ Irons 24-12, Kurt Taylor 9-15, Arthur Brantley 1-6, Jatoviay Hill 2-4. Independence: Teon Dollard 16-135, Stephon Brown 17-111, Morgan Ellison 9-53, Quentin Moore 1-31, Shermari Jones 9-28, Craig Wells 4-13.

Passing — Iowa Central: DJ Irons 16-29-0-182, Arthur Brantley 0-0-0-0. Independence: Stephon Brown 10-18-1-96, Craig Wells 4-7-0-53.

Receiving — Iowa Central: Tanarious Achan 5-48, Terrell Carey 3-44, Jatoviay Hill 3-36, Rashad Witty 3-27, Christian Ford 1-16, Kurt Taylor 1-11. Independence: Nathaniel Dell 8-74, Raekwon Heath 3-60, Willie Brantley 1-7, Shermari Jones 1-5, Nyier Clark 1-3.