Photo by Paul DeCoursey: Iowa Central’s Mark Masters breaks free for a 41-yard catch on Saturday at Dodger Stadium against Southern-Shreveport.

Jesse Montalto knew there would be moments where his Iowa Central football team was going to look like it had been 500 days since they last played.

But all things considered, Montalto walked out of Dodger Stadium here Saturday feeling good with everything.

The sixth-ranked Tritons rolled past Southern-Shreveport, 52-0, to start the makeshift spring season.

Byron Jarrett Jr., who last visited Fort Dodge as the starting quarterback for Ellsworth in 2018, accounted for three touchdowns. Brady Pope added two as the pair split time under center. Jarrett completed 8 of 15 passes for 108 yards, with Pope going 7-for-13 for 133.

“It felt good,” Iowa Central Jesse Montalto said. “It’s been a long time and we needed to hit somebody else, play somebody else, so it was great to come out with the win.

“Obviously we have plenty to work on before our next game, but now we have film that we can show the kids and break down as coaches.”

Jarrett finished off a 10-play drive early in the first quarter for the opening points of the game. Jadon Washington, who ran for 68 yards, added the second score.

Desna Washington was on the receiving end of a perfectly thrown pass by Jarrett to make it 21-0 in favor of Iowa Central. Colin Swygman, who made all seven of his extra-point attempts, knocked through a 31-yard field goal.

Pope finished off the first half with a 3-yard run of his own.

“I thought both Byron and Brady both looked solid,” Montalto said. “It’s been even longer for those guys since they’ve seen live game action, so they had to knock the rust off.

“Once we kind of settled in, we were able to do some positive things.”

With the Triton offense rolling, the defense did their part. Deonte Bryant had three of the seven sacks for Iowa Central, which also forced six turnovers.

“We have a lot of really good athletes on the defensive side and they stepped up and made big plays,” Montalto said. “Again, now we have a game under our belts that we can use to get better.

“Teams make their biggest improvements from Week 1 to Week 2, and we’ll have to do that (going up against Iowa Western this) Saturday.”

The Tritons play their second of three consecutive games at home on Saturday, welcoming rival Iowa Western. The second-ranked Reivers fell to No. 10 Snow, 31-30, on Saturday.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing – Iowa Central: Jadon Washington 21-68, Daylen Boddie 9-20, Zach Marker 1-7, Alex Gully 6-6, Isaac Cechota 2-6, Aniik McKenzie 1-4, Brady Pope 1-3, Jaace Weidemann 3-(minus-2), Byron Jarrett 9-(minus-8). Southern-Shreveport: Dedrick Talbert 11-47, Eric London 17-39, Dandre Fowler 1-2, Cleveland Farmer 4-(minus-33), Willie Taylor-Green 5-(minus-53).

Passing – Iowa Central: Brady Pope 7-13-0-133, Byron Jarrett 8-15-0-108, Zach Marker 0-2-0-0. Southern-Shreveport: Cleveland Farmer 3-8-1-52, Willie Taylor-Green 4-14-0-22.

Receiving – Iowa Central: Madison Ridgeway 5-63, Mark Masters 1-41, Jalen Harris 2-39, Desna Washington 1-31, Chance Gibbons 2-25, Cal Weidemann 1-20, Jadon Washington 1-19, Daylen Boddie 1-5. Southern-Shreveport: Tristan Sweeney 2-35, Khyrie Poole 2-20, Davidyione Bias 1-16, Eric London 2-2.