-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Jaden Turner of Iowa Central (16) intercept a pass from Dodge City Myles Slade on Saturday inside dodger stadium

There was a time when Iowa Central head football coach Jesse Montalto wasn’t sure if Ty Purdy returning to the team was the right decision.

But the former Don Bosco standout ultimately did, positioning himself atop the depth chart at quarterback for the 14th-ranked Tritons.

Purdy completed 9 of 15 for 106 yards and two touchdowns in less than a half of work as Iowa Central snapped a two-game losing skid with a convincing 49-0 victory over Dodge City this past Saturday for Homecoming.

It was all Tritons (3-2 overall) from the start inside Dodger Stadium, as Purdy orchestrated two quick scoring drives, hitting both Darrion Gilliam and Kamare Williams on TD strikes.

“We talked after last season and just weren’t sure if (Purdy) should come back or move on,” Montalto said. “I still wasn’t sold when he decided to, even making him a walk-on. But he showed he was committed and has turned into a leader for this football team.”

Iowa Central threw for 225 yards as a team, with both Damarcus Creecy and the returning Trevon Taylor finding the end zone. Creecy connected with Tony Terry and Taylor hit CJ Phillip, as both scores came in the second quarter.

“I felt like we really came out and set the tone,” Montalto said. “With the windy conditions, being able to get a stop and scoring on the first possession kind of demoralized (Dodge City). And coming down and scoring right away again, that really gave us all the confidence we needed moving forward.”

Dodge City (1-3) has played a similar schedule to Iowa Central in terms of difficult, battling with second-ranked Iowa Western, No. 3 Tyler and eighth-rated Garden City.

“That is a very, very good football team,” Montalto said. “We just executed and kind of wanted it a little more out there.”

Creecy, Ethan Johnson and Taylor all added rushing touchdowns in the second half as the Tritons put the game well out of reach. Iowa Central rushed for almost 200 yards, led by a career-high 73 from Johnson.

Gilliam caught four passes for 75 yards and the score, Jacob Kania had four receptions for 50 and Williams hauled in three passes for 44.

On defense, Batpiny Rink recorded two sacks as the team finished with five. Both Jaden Turner and Ahmad Grayer picked off passes.

Next up for Iowa Central will be a trip to Glen Ellyn, Ill. on Saturday to take on three-time defending NJCAA Div. III national champion College of DuPage.