The final stretch of the regular season begins here Saturday for the Iowa Central football team.

Following a week off, the No. 12 Tritons return home for the first time since Oct. 4, hosting Independence inside Dodger Stadium.

Kickoff is set for noon.

Back on Oct. 25, Iowa Central (5-3 overall) closed out the month with a 55-23 victory at ICCAC rival Ellsworth. They finished 2-1 over a three-game road stretch that included trips to Illinois and Kansas.

In the win vs. the Panthers, Trevon Taylor, Damarcus Creecy and Ty Purdy combined to complete 13 of 23 passes for 254 yards and four touchdowns. CJ Phillip rushed for 101 yards, Creecy added 71 with a score and Sejhe Jackson had 100 yards receiving with a touchdown.

The Tritons piled up 550 yards of total offense and recorded three interceptions and three sacks on defense.

On the year, Creecy has 708 yards passing and nine TDs, adding 399 yards rushing with seven more scores. Ethan Johnson leads the team with 535 yards rushing while Jacob Kania has caught 31 passes for 437 yards and seven touchdowns, all which lead the way.

“The offense has been playing very well these last five weeks,” ICCC head coach Jesse Montalto said. “We’re averaging around 550 yards per game after kind of going back to the basics. The kids have done a great job executing and our offensive line has been playing much better.”

Taylor Schaefer anchors the defense with 75 tackles including eight for loss, as Mason Chandler has 51 tackles and Ahmad Grayer 42. Grayer has three interceptions, as the unit has forced 16 turnovers.

Independence (4-5) is coming off a 6-3 win over Dodge City, which snapped a three-game losing skid. Keegan Anderson has thrown for 1,278 yards and 12 touchdowns, but has not played since early in October.

Nathan Neal and Reeves Taylor have stepped in, throwing a combined 15 interceptions and just five touchdowns. Ejani Shakir leads the with 602 yards receiving and six TDs.

“They are on their backup QB and still trying to figure things out on offense,” Montalto said. “But they really made strides in the right direction on defense, including a great showing against Dodge City last week.”

Iowa Central closes out the regular season at No. 14 Garden City next weekend before hosting 11th-ranked Butler on Nov. 22. All three losses this year have come at the hands of teams currently in the Top-8 in No. 1 Hutchinson, second-ranked Iowa Western and No. 8 Coffeyville — with two of those being on the road.