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No. 10 Tritons head to Kansas

HIGHLAND, Kan. — After a bye week, the Iowa Central football team returns to action here Saturday against Highland.

Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. from Porter Family Stadium.

For Jesse Montalto and the 10th-ranked Tritons (5-1 overall), this is a pivotal game with a rematch at No. 2 Iowa Western on the horizon.

“We know what’s at stake,” Montalto said. “And we also know that for Highland, this is a big game. It’s their homecoming and sophomore day, so they are going to be excited to go.

“We’ve had a good week of practice and I feel like the kids understand what we are getting into. The season is winding down and it’s important that we play our best football on offense, defense and special teams each week.”

The Iowa Central offense has been clicking all year, averaging 500 yards per game, which ranks third in the country. The Tritons second in scoring at 47 points per game and rank third in first downs per game.

Byron Jarrett directs things on that side of the ball, as the former Des Moines Hoover standout has 1,529 yards passing and 19 touchdowns, adding another 255 and five scores on the ground. Daylen Boddie leads the team with 363 yards and Levon Bellemy has 245, with both averaging over six yards per carry.

“We’ve were able to get our ground game going before the bye and Byron has just continued to be strong all year,” Montalto said. “We’re getting great production out of our receivers and the offensive line continues to improve with each week.”

Desna Washington has a team-high 24 catches for 506 yards with eight TDs, Jordna Kumm has 238 yard receiving and Cal Weidemann 241. Ten different players have caught touchdown passes.

The defense is led by Noah Epley’s 33 tackles with CJ Christian recording 31. Decari Randle has six tackles for loss and the unit has forced 16 turnovers, including 10 interceptions.

Highland (1-5) has lost its last five since a season opening 21-13 win over Fort Scott. However, that stretch includes games with Garden City, Coffeyville, Independence, Butler and Hutchinson. Of those five losses, two have been by 13 points or less.

“They are good on defense and have some guys that can hurt you on offense,” Montalto said. “They had some chances against some very good teams this year, so they are definitely one of the toughest teams we’ve faced.”

Ken Gay has thrown for 303 yards with two touchdowns, Andrew Burnette leads the ground attack with 291 yards and a pair of scores, and Deontay Campbell has almost 200 yards receiving and three touchdowns.

On defense, Highland has 76 tackles for loss, 24.5 sacks and 12 turnovers, including eight interceptions. Warren Peeples has a team-high eight sacks and Jalen Angelle leads the way with 62 tackles, including seven for loss.

In four meetings between the two schools, Highland is 4-0, winning in 2019, 20-14.

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