Heartbreaking defeat for Iowa Central
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Colby Kratch doesn't just expect growth from his Iowa Central football players from week to week.
He expects it out of himself.
The 15th-ranked Tritons officially kicked off the Kratch era here on Saturday inside Dodger Stadium, heartbreakingly falling to No. 13 Butler, 26-24.
Kratch, in his first season as head coach of Iowa Central (0-1 overall), took the brunt of the weight of the loss on his own shoulders.
"I've got to be better," he said. "We've got to clean some things up and we will. We'll do a good job of evaluating this coming week and we'll make the proper adjustments – myself included.
"Special teams was unacceptable and that's 100 percent my fault and the fault of nobody else. I'll get that fixed."
The Tritons held a 24-23 lead late in the game when Mike Lane picked off a pass to seemingly end the game with under a minute to play. The Grizzlies (1-0), though, still had all three timeouts on the board and used them to force an Iowa Central punt.
For the second time in the game, Butler blocked the kick. Earlier, they scored off the block to take an early 7-0 lead. This time, the Tritons fell on it and were able to get the ball out of their own end zone.
Butler took over at the one with 18 seconds left and sent out kicker Yusef Iskandrani, who had an extra point blocked. The sophomore drilled it through the uprights and a Hail Mary attempt by Iowa Central's Gabe McWilliams came up short of the end zone.
Last year, the Grizzlies rallied for a win over the Tritons in the regular season finale.
"We gave up too many points and didn't do the little things needed to win a game like this," Kratch said. "Attention to detail is so important at this level – both from coaches and players. Credit Butler, though, because they played hard."
McWilliams, a transfer from Highland Community College in Kansas, found his groove in the third quarter when he tossed two touchdowns and ran in a third. After being held to just an Anderson Trejo field goal that came late in the first half, Iowa Central exploded for 21 points in the third.
The first touchdown came on a 19-yard keeper by McWilliams, who hit Kamare Williams from 26 yards out and Will Graunke from 15 to put the Tritons in front. He finished 24-for-48 for 355 yards.
Ethan Johnson, one of the top rushers back in junior college, had 41 yards rushing and 30 yards receiving. A 75-yard touchdown scamper by Johnson was called back for a hold in the second half.
Williams, a Louisville transfer, caught seven passes for 184 yards, as TyJohn Brooks had seven receptions for 69 yards.
The Tritons had 144 more yards of total offense, as both teams punted the ball nine times. Butler, though, averaged 13 more yards per punt, oftentimes pinning Iowa Central deep in its own territory.
"We still have all our goals there for us to achieve," Kratch said. "This was just one game in a long season. It was a growing experience for myself and our young team.
"This loss was no one person's fault. I feel really confident that we have the right guys to continue chasing our dreams."
Up next for the Tritons will be a home date this Saturday with ICCAC rival Ellsworth beginning at noon. From there, they play four consecutive games on the road in Kansas over five weeks.