Messenger photo by Britt Kudla: Iowa Central's Darrion Gilliam reaches up to make a one-handed catch on Saturday. For more photos, please visit CU.messengernews.net

For 55 minutes, Jesse Montalto loved where his Iowa Central football team was sitting.

The last five minutes, however, didn’t go according to plan.

No. 10 Butler (7-3 overall) scored two long touchdowns in a 45-second flurry to upend the eighth-ranked Tritons (7-4) by a final of 28-24 on Saturday inside Dodger Stadium.

“This was a tough loss,” Montalto said. “You feel like you’re in control, and they score on three straight plays — all big plays. We had an opportunity to go and milk the clock out up 17-7, but we couldn’t.

“It was hard to see it unravel (down the stretch).”

Iowa Central led 17-7 with 5:10 left in regulation when Butler’s Tate McNew hit Naka Poole from 23 yards out to trim the deficit to 17-14.

Iowa Central answered back immediately with a five-yard touchdown pass from Damarcus Creecy to Jacob Kania for a 24-14 lead with 2:43 remaining in the contest.

The Grizzlies used a touch of magic from there. McNew hit Nolan Chambers for a 76-yard score with 2:25 left, and with 1:40 to go, McNew found Chambers from 66 yards out for the eventual winning TD.

The Tritons had a chance in the red zone with 27 seconds left from the 17-yard line. An incomplete pass and two sacks ended the threat, though, and sealed the victory for the visitors.

Iowa Central was anchored early by two Creecy touchdowns. Earnest Goodwin kicked a 40-yard field goal first, and Creecy made it 10-0 on a 14-yard run. He then put Tritons up 17-7 on a 19-yard scoring strike to Dalen Huston.

Poole’s first TD for the Grizzlies came in the second period on a 6-yard pass from McNew.

Creecy had a strong day on the ground and through the air. He threw for 205 yards and two touchdowns, while running for 122 more on 19 carries and the one score.

McNew finished the day 8-for-12 for 187 yards and four touchdowns to propel Butler. Chambers had four grabs for 148 yards.

Markellus Bass had 110 yards on 19 carries.

Iowa Central is still in line for a bowl invitation, which should come soon.

“We are going to have to find a way to get this taste out of our mouth,” Montalto said. “Fortunately the loss doesn’t end our season. We’ll have one more chance.”

B IC

First downs 14 22

Rushes-yards 32-176 39-214

Passing yards 187 235

Comp-Att-Int 8-12-1 19-35-1

Total Yards 363 449

Punts-Avg. 5-43.2 3-41.0

Fumbles-Lost 0-0 1-1

Penalties-Yards 1-15 7-60

Butler 0 7 0 21 — 28

Iowa Central 3 7 7 7 — 24

Scoring Summary

Iowa Central — Earnest Goodwin 40-yard field goal. 7:30 left first.

Iowa Central — Damarcus Creecy (14-yard run), 4:05 left second. Goodwin kick.

Butler — Nakai Poole (6-yard pass from Tate McNew), 1:05 left second. Hunter Rioux kick.

Iowa Central — Dalen Huston (19-yard pass from Creecy), 8:58 left third. Goodwin kick.

Butler — Poole (23-yard pass from McNew), 5:19 left fourth. Rioux kick.

Iowa Central — Jacob Kania (5-yard pass from Creecy), 2:43 left fourth. Goodwin kick.

Butler — Nolan Chambers (76-yard pass from McNew), 2:25 left fourth. Rioux kick.

Butler — Chambers (66-yard pass from McNew), 1:40 left fourth. Rioux kick.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing — Butler: Markellus Bass 19-110, Jeremiah Singleton 5-25, Howard Peoples 1-16, Lucas Dickman 3-13, Tate McNew 3-11, Dalmont Mucker 1-6, Team 1-(minus-5); Iowa Central: Damarcus Creecy 19-122, Ethan Johnson 9-49, CJ Phillip 7-26, Jacob Kania 1-14, Anthony Hall 2-2, Ty Purdy 1-1.

Passing — Butler: Tate McNew 8-12-1-187; Iowa Central: Damarcus Creecy 18-27-0-205, Ty Purdy 1-4-0-30, Trevon Taylor 0-2-0-0, Jacob Kania 0-1-0-0, Marcellus Chandler 0-1-0-0.

Receiving — Butler: Nolan Chambers 4-148, Nakal Poole 2-29, Markellus Bass 2-10; Iowa Central: Darrion Gilliam 3-74, Dalen Huston 4-62, Kamare Williams 2-29, Jacob Kania 4-24, Marcellus Chandler 2-20, Ethan Johnson 2-17, Tony Terry 1-11, CJ Phillis 1(minus-2).