The 14th-ranked Iowa Central football team returns home looking to right the ship this Saturday, hosting Dodge City for Homecoming.

Kickoff is set for noon inside Dodger Stadium.

Following back-to-back games against No. 1 Hutchinson and second-ranked Iowa Western, the Tritons (2-2 overall) have a long road ahead with three consecutive road dates after this week.

The month of October will feature trips to Illinois, Kansas and Iowa Falls before being back home on November 8 vs. Independence.

But before all of that, ICCC head coach Jesse Montalto knows the focus needs to be on the present.

“We got through that first four-game part of our schedule, now we have a crucial one ahead of us,” Montalto said. “We’ll see where we are after these next four games and how the season is going to end up.”

Ty Purdy and Damarcus Creecy are slated to handle the quarterback position after fellow sophomore Tyler Smith suffered an injury that will force him to the sidelines for the remainder of the year.

Smith had played in all four games, throwing for 181 yards and two touchdowns. Purdy has a team-high 357 yards passing and is tied with Creecy with four passing TDs. Creecy leads the team in rushing yards with 165.

“Tyler suffered a broken ankle and has had surgery,” Montalto said. “We do get (2024 starter) Trevon (Taylor) back, so we’ll work him in on a limited reps run. Hopefully after this week we’ll have a starter moving forward at quarterback.”

Taylor played in six games last year, completing over 69 percent of his passes for 396 yards with a touchdown.

Louisville transfer Kamare Williams has 217 yards receiving while Jacob Kania has five receiving touchdowns.

On defense, Taylor Schaefer has 34 tackles with 4.5 for loss, Batpiny Riak has five tackles for loss and both Mason Chandler and Ahmad Grayer both have recorded 15 tackles. Schaefer recently picked up offers from Western Michigan and Sacramento State to go along with offers from Coastal Carolina, Toledo and Kennesaw State.

Dodge City (1-3) is coming off a 35-6 victory over Highland after losses to third-ranked Tyler, No. 8 Garden City and Iowa Western.

Braxton Clark has thrown for 467 yards with three touchdowns, Derick Shanks Jr. leads with 277 yards rushing and Santana Fleming has a team-high 19 receptions for 277 yards.

“They are a tough, hard-nosed team,” Montalto said of Dodge City. “They are going to give us multiple looks on defense and have a couple really good playmakers on offense.”

Each of the last two meetings have been one possession battles, with Dodge City winning 25-24 last year and 34-30 in 2023. Iowa Central has won four of nine in the series, with the last win being the last time they played in Fort Dodge in 2022.