IWCC upsets No. 11 Panthers
By Tony Boone, Senior Writer
tony.boone@nonpareilonline.com

IOWA FALLS – Midway through the third quarter at Cadet Field Saturday, Iowa Western trailed by 14 points, had no rushing yards and was inconsistent in its passing game.

Then coach Scott Strohmeier turned to his most electrifying player for an offensive spark.
Dominique Corder led the Reivers to 17 unanswered points in a stunning 20-17 come-from-behind victory over No. 11 Ellsworth that was capped by a Dan Biddick field goal with 13.8 seconds remaining.

The win allowed Iowa Western (5-4) to finish in a three-way tie with Iowa Central and North Dakota State College of Science for second place in the Midwest Football Conference’s West Division. It also capped a 5-1 run to end the season by the Reivers after an 0-3 start.

“What a way for the kids (to end the season),” Strohmeier said. “All the credit goes to them. They battled through. It’s a great, great way to end.”

Ellsworth (6-3) still won the West despite the loss. But it enters postseason play on a down note after watching Iowa Western’s second-string quarterback take over a game that its defense was dominating.

Starter Austin McBeth completed only 7 of his 21 pass attempts while IWCC struggled to only 110 total yards in the first half. After the Panthers kicked a field goal on the first series of the third quarter to extend their lead to 17-3, Corder entered the game and changed the Reivers’ outlook in one play.

The freshman, known as Iowa Western’s “running” quarterback, launched a 45-yard pass down the right sideline to Shane Prater, who finished with a season-high seven catches for 153 yards. The play broke the Reivers out of their offensive funk and ignited their comeback.

Corder ended that drive with a 5-yard touchdown run, and then added a 41-yard scramble for a score with 10:09 remaining to tie the game at 17-17. He finished with 228 yards of total offense, all in the second half.

“When coach puts me in the game, he expects me to make plays,” he said. “I expect me to make plays too, not only for myself but for the offense. I just wanted to get in there and do my job, and everything took care of itself.”

IWCC had the ball in Panther territory in a tie game with 1:49 to play, but Corder came up inches short on a fourth-down sneak. Ellsworth quarterback Tirrell Rennie, the national leader in total offense, threw deep on the next play. But John O’Malley jumped in front of Panther receiver Andre Thomas to intercept the pass and set up the game-winning drive.

“They were kind of picking on me all day,” the St. Albert graduate said. “I had a feeling I’d have to step up and make a play. Soon enough, they threw it out of there. I saw the ball and made a play on it. Luckily, I caught it.”

Corder completed passes to Anthony Thompson, Prater and Willie Baughman to get the Reivers into field-goal range. Biddick then drilled the game-winner from 34 yards out.

“I felt it go through,” he said. “It was perfect.”

Aided by a 15-yard penalty on the Reivers for an excessive celebration, Ellsworth had a chance to tie the game as time expired.

Rennie, who threw a pair of TD pass to Andre Thomas in the first half to put the Panthers in front, scrambled from near midfield into IWCC territory and lateraled the ball out of bounds purposely to stop the clock with .9 seconds remaining. Jamison Desalvo’s field-goal try from 47 yards fell short on the final play.

In the victory, the Reivers held Ellsworth’s high-powered offense to 25 points below its season average. And the Panthers managed only a field goal in the second half, even though they were in the red zone three times.

Iowa Western (5-4) 0 3 7 10 – 20

Ellsworth (6-3) 0 14 3 0 – 17

IW: Dan Biddick 32 FG

E: Jonathon Aiken 30 pass from Tirrell Rennie (Jamison Disalvo kick)

E: Aiken 16 pass from Rennie (Disalvo kick)

E: Disalvo 31 FG

IW: Dominique Corder 5 run (Biddick kick)

IW: Corder 41 run (Biddick kick)

IW: Biddick 34 FG

Individual Statistics

RUSHING: IW, Corder 13-52, Streeter 10-23, Goldsmith 3-4, McBeth 1-(-1), Team 1-(-2). E, Rennie 16-100, Wallace 9-32, Austin 5-33, Thomas 1-5.

PASSING: IW, McBeth 7-21-1 110, Corder 11-21-0 177. E, Rennie 22-37-2 208.

RECEIVING: IW, Prater 7-153, Sullivan 4-49, Thompson 3-47, Baughman 1-13, Thayer 1-10, Kos 1-9, Streeter 1-6. E, Robinson 5-48, Wallace 5-35, Thomas 5-31, Austin 3-31, Aiken 2-46, Rabe 2-17.