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Iowa Central hits the road

DODGE CITY, Kan. — The Iowa Central football team returns to the road here Saturday as they look to snap a three-game skid at Dodge City.

Kickoff is set for 11 a.m.

Coming off back-to-back-to-back one possession losses to No. 13 Highland, top-ranked Hutchinson and second-rated Iowa Western, the Tritons (1-3 overall) understand just how close they are to flipping the script.

“The kids still feel like they can play with anybody, we just have to figure out a way to get these games to go in our favor,” ICCC head coach Jesse Montalto said. “We haven’t had a turnover since the first play of the season so we aren’t beating ourselves.

“You would think it would start to lead to wins eventually.”

Making his first collegiate start, Tyler Smith shined at quarterback vs. the Reivers, throwing for 354 yards and four touchdowns to four different receivers. Smith, replacing Trevon Taylor under center, hit on 22 of 31 passes and did not throw an interception.

A total of 10 different players caught passes from Smith, including a pair of 60-plus yard connections with Austin Ayobamidele and Cyncir Bowers. Bowers, who had a receiving TD, also returned a kickoff back.

Anthony Hall, Bryce Anderson and Tyreik Thorpe all had touchdown catches on the day.

“Tyler played a great game,” Montalto said. “He had maybe a couple reads he missed on the day, threw for over 350 yards, had four touchdowns and didn’t turn the ball over.

He really took advantage of his opportunity.”

Iowa Central averages over 380 yards and 33 points per contest as Smith now has 51 pass attempts without an interception while throwing six touchdowns. The redshirt freshman is also second on the team in rushing while Bowers leads the way in receiving yards and rushing yards.

“We have some guys banged up so we’ll see who can step in,” Montalto said. “If we can get this one and head into October with some confidence, that will be a step in the right direction.”

Dodge City also fell out of the rankings this past week like the Tritons despite picking up a 9-6 victory over Highland. They topped Tyler in the opener before falling to Garden City and Iowa Western.

Bryce Conover has thrown for 272 yards while Stone Wilson has 139 yards rushing. Akim Lanieux is the leading receiver for an offense averaging under 200 yards per game and 13.5 points.

“They are similar to Highland in that they play extremely hard and try not to give up the big play,” Montalto said. “They have a couple of tall receivers but have had some inconsistent play at quarterback this year.”

Last year, Dodge City picked up a 34-30 victory over the Tritons here, scoring the final 14 points of the game.

This marks the final road trip for Iowa Central until November, as they play three straight inside Dodger Stadium next month.

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