Tony Boone, Senior Writer
tony.boone@nonpareilonline.com

Chilly reception

With star tailback Kevis Streeter out due to injury and starting quarterback Austin McBeth hobbled by a sore foot, Iowa Western turned to its other offensive playmakers to extend its winning streak to three games.

Dominique Corder ran for 163 yards and two scores, and he hooked up with wide receiver Shane Prater for another, as the Reivers rolled to a 41-21 homecoming win over Rock Valley on Saturday at C.B. Stadium.

Jaime Goldsmith, starting in Streeter’s place, also ran for two touchdowns as IWCC improved to 3-3 on the season and stayed in the playoff hunt in the Midwest Football Conference West Division.

“With Dominique, we opened up a little bit of the offense,” Reiver coach Scott Strohmeier said. “Obviously, he’s still run-oriented. But it was good game experience for him. Any time you can put an athlete in and let him make some plays, it puts you in a pretty good situation.”

Corder, who took nearly all of the reps at quarterback in practice this week, replaced McBeth to open the second quarter with IWCC on top 14-7. On the third play of the period, he raced 16 yards on the snow-covered field to put the Reivers up by two scores.

The Golden Eagles (1-6) pulled to within 21-13 on a TD pass from Peter Scaffidi to Chuck Mason with 2:20 left in the half before Corder answered with a highlight-reel run on the final play to make it 27-13 at the break.

On a third-and-10 play from the Rock Valley 31, the freshman from Indianapolis rolled to his right, looking to throw to the end zone. With no one open, Corder ran around the right end and headed down the sideline. As he neared the 15-yard line, he slipped but caught himself with his free hand. After regaining his balance, Corder cut back to the middle of the field and raced in untouched.

“It was a designed pass, but I didn’t see anybody open so I got out of the pocket,” he said. “I was trying to make something happen because I wanted to win this game. I just tried to the best I could to get into the end zone, and I did.”

The score remained the same until midway through the third quarter, when Corder hit a streaking Prater down the right sideline for a 65-yard score. It was the second catch of the drive for the transfer from the University of Iowa, who entered the game with only two receptions on the season.

“It feels great,” said Prater, who has been open downfield on a number of occasions in recent weeks. “We have young quarterbacks, and we’re working on it. But we won, so it’s all good.”

The touchdown, and a second one by Goldsmith in the final period, allowed the Reivers to go up 41-13. Rock Valley scored on a 54-yard tipped pass on the last play of the game to account for the final result.

The Golden Eagles, however, had a 7-0 lead early. After intercepting a McBeth pass on the first play of the game, they drove 70 yards in seven plays to move in front on an 8-yard TD by Ty Johnson.

IWCC responded with an 11-play drive of its own to tie the game on a 4-yard run by Goldsmith. The Reivers took the lead for good when safety John O’Malley returned an interception 58 yards for a score with 1:44 left in the first quarter.

Rock Valley (1-6) 7 6 0 8 – 21
Iowa Western (3-3) 14 13 7 7 – 41

RV: Ty Johnson 8 run (Errick Bradley kick)

IW: Jaime Goldsmith 4 run (Daniel Biddick)

IW: John O’Malley 58 interception (Biddick kick)

IW: Dominique Corder 16 run (Biddick kick)

RV: Chuck Mason 16 pass from Peter Scaffidi (run failed)

IW: Corder 31 run (kick failed)

IW: Shane Prater 65 pass from Corder (Biddick kick)

IW: Goldsmith 9 run (Biddick kick)

RV: Kory Vaught 54 pass from Scaffidi (Kory Williams pass from Scaffidi)

Individual Statistics

RUSHING: RV, Johnson 12-31, McGarry 7-39, Scaffidi 5-7, Davis 4-6, Brown 4-4, Wilkins 2-17. IW, Corder 26-163, Goldsmith 16-54, Schuett 4-42, Brayton 3-5, McBeth 2-1, A. Thompson 1-0, M. Thompson 1-0, Prater 1-(-4).

PASSING: RV, Scaffidi 16-38-1 243, Wilkins 0-2-0. IW, McBeth 3-8-1 31, Corder 4-10-0 113, Brayton 0-1-1 0.

RECEIVING: RV, Calvin 6-117, Mason 5-49, Vaught 2-61, Chatman 1-12, McGarry 1-2, Brown 1-2. IW, Prater 2-88, Sullivan 2-43, Schuett 1-7, Goldsmith 1-6, Campbell 1-0.