Last year, the Iowa Central football team caught fire down the stretch, winning six in a row to finish 8-4.

Jesse Montalto is hoping that late season rush happens against.

The Tritons return home to Dodger Stadium Saturday, hosting Independence. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.

After dropping three straight to Snow, Highland and Garden City, Iowa Central (5-4 overall) has climbed above the .500 mark on the heels of victories over Dodge City and Ellsworth. The latter of which clinched the ICCAC regular season title for the first time since 2007 for the program.

The schedule is set up exactly like it was a year ago, with the Tritons posting wins over Dodge City, Ellsworth, Independence, Fort Scott and Hutchinson to conclude the regular season. They downed Monroe in the Graphic Edge Bowl to complete the season.

“It was a good win for us to get two in a row, move above .500 and win the conference title,” Montalto said. “Now, we get a big one at home and can work to continue building momentum.”

DJ Irons returned to form in the 51-6 win over Ellsworth, completing 15 of 19 passes for 297 yards with three touchdowns. He also had 37 yards rushing as the Tritons racked up a season-high 517 yards from scrimmage.

Christian Ford had three catches for 99 yards, Jason Young caught two touchdown passes and Terrell Carey had three receptions for 96 yards and a score.

On the year, Irons is completing 63 percent of his passes for 1,371 yards and a 14-to-3 touchdown-to-interception ratio. He also has 218 yards on the ground and three scores.

Irons is second in the nation with a quarterback rating of 191.2.

Kurt Taylor leads the ground attack with 666 yards and three touchdowns, with Tanarious Achan having reeled in a team-high 41 passes for 625 yards. Achan ranks eighth in the nation in receptions.

“DJ really had a great game,” Montalto said. “He was playing chess while everybody else was playing checkers out on the field. He’s getting closer to 100 percent and has just been great all season.”

Daquan Cross, Jarran Barber, Mailk Adams and Eugene Brown have all recorded over 50 tackles, with both Brandt Casey and Nathan Proctor registering three sacks each.

As a unit, the Iowa Central defense has 16 sacks and forced 14 turnovers.

“I think our defense really gained a lot of confident after last week,” Montalto said. “We’re getting more guys back healthy and they are really coming together.”

Iowa Central paid Independence (4-3) a visit last year for the special Neewollah game, which kicked off late into the night. The Tritons scored a 20-19 victory.

The Pirates have alternated wins and losses in all seven games, downing Coffeyville last Saturday, 62-23.

Stephon Brown has thrown for 970 yards and 11 touchdowns, with former Indiana running back Morgan Ellison running for a team-high 373 yards and four scores. Brown also has 284 yards and three TDs on the ground.

Nathaniel Dell, Raekwon Heath and Isaac Beverly are the top receivers, with Dell leading the way with 31 receptions and 374 yards. The three have a combined nine touchdowns.

“We know Independence is going to come in with a lot of weapons,” Montalto said. “They are a very talented team.”

Independence was featured for the past two seasons on the Netflix series “Last Chance U.” The program fired head coach Jason Brown after last year, replacing him with assistant Kiyoshi Harris.

Jesse Ornelas, who spent the 2018 season on the Triton coaching staff, is the running backs coach and recruiting coordinator for the Pirates.

Independence scored victories in the series in 2017 and ’16, with Iowa Central posting a 37-34 win in overtime in 2015 and shutting out the Pirates in 2015, 28-0.

Weather forecast calls for highs in the upper 50s.

with winds out of the west at 16 mph and no chance of precipitation.