HIGHLAND, Kan. — The 14th-ranked Iowa Central football team returns to the field after a week off, hitting the road for the first time to face Highland here Saturday.

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

This begins an interesting three-week run for the Tritons (1-0 overall), who opened the year on Aug. 30 with a 77-0 victory over Central Lakes-Brainerd.

After taking on the Scotties, they return home to host No. 1 and defending national champion Hutchinson before playing second-ranked and ICCAC rival Iowa Western in Council Bluffs to close out the month.

But ICCC head coach Jesse Montalto knows his team cannot look past Highland (0-1), who fell to No. 9 Snow in its opener.

“With just the one film on them, it’s hard to know what to expect,” Montalto said. “They typically like to do a lot of tricky stuff on offense, so we just have to come ready and prepared for it all.

“We are pretty healthy and should get a couple more weapons back this week.”

The Tritons had a fast start vs. Central Lakes, scoring four touchdowns in the opening quarter and three more in the second. They finished with 578 yards of total offense, going 6-for-6 on third-down attempts.

Tyler Smith had two passing touchdowns and 115 yards while Damarcus Creezy had one TD in the air. CJ Phillip ran six times for 42 yards and two touchdowns while Terrance Topete had 50 yards and a score on just four totes.

Kamare Williams, a Louisville transfer, caught two passes for 95 yards, with both resulting in touchdowns.

“Kamare is just an incredible talent,” Montalto said. “We’ve had some really, really good receivers here, but he has the ability to be the best ever.”

Malik Johnson had an interception on defense, as Iowa Central recorded 14.5 tackles for loss and allowed just one offensive first down.

Navi Bruzon completed 8 of 13 passes for just 36 yards for the Scotties, as Gabe McWilliams had 96 yards passing. Bruzon was the leading rusher with 59, as Landyn Moore added 57 with a touchdown.

The Highland defense surrendered 207 yards rushing and almost 200 more in the air to Snow.

Tom Minnick, the head coach of the Scotties, led the College of DuPage to a win in the 1986 RC Cola Bowl over Iowa Central as the quarterback. He is a member of the NJCAA Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

Another interesting connection is with Highland’s defensive coordinator Caleb Young, as he previously was a position coach for Montalto and the Tritons.

Highland has won five of eight against Iowa Central, including a 14-13 victory last year. Prior to that, the Tritons won three straight by a combined score of 132-33.