No. 4 Iowa Western defeats Hinds in Graphic Edge opener
In a battle of top-10 teams, the Reivers never trailed en route to collecting its eighth straight victory.
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
0 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 19 |
|
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6 | 0 | 14 | 14 | 34 |
Team Stats
| Game Statistics | #8 Hinds | #4 Iowa Western |
|---|---|---|
| Passing Yards | 99 | 189 |
| Rushing Yards | 100 | 174 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 2 |
| Time of Poss. | 26:32 | 32:14 |
Cedar Falls, IA – No. 4 Iowa Western defeated No. 8 Hinds in the Opening Game of the Graphic Edge Bowl.
Iowa Western opened the scoring with a pair of first-quarter Chase Contreraz field goals from 22 and 31 yards out. Hinds' DeMario Nichols intercepted the Reivers' second play of the second quarter, returning it 14 yards for a touchdown to even the score.
After taking the game to 6-6 halftime score, Iowa Western wasted little time getting on the scoreboard in the second half. Braydon Aker found Marcell Barbee for a 31-yard touchdown reception to cap off a three-play, 55-yard drive in under a minute. Nearly 10 minutes later, ZaQuandre White scored his 10th touchdown of the year to put the Reivers up 20-6.
Hinds answered quickly with a 6-play, 65-yard drive capped with a Joe'Vontae Shorter 13-yard run to pull the game to 20-12 heading into the final quarter of play.
Sheldon Cage would score his first of two fourth-quarter touchdowns with 9:15 to play to extend the Reiver lead back to two scores. With Iowa Western looking in complete control of the game, Hinds' Artavious Washington picked off a Reiver pass and returned it 69 yards for the Eagles' second interception returned for a touchdown of the game.
The Reivers would chew away most of the remaining time on their final drive of the game, capped off by Cage's second of the night with just over a minute to play.
- Iowa Western made its NJCAA-best 10th consecutive bowl appearance Sunday. The Reivers move to 7-3 all-time in NJCAA bowl games, just 11 years into the program's existence.
- Reiver running back Sheldon Cage entered the bowl game with just 176 rushing yards on the entire season. On Sunday, Cage ran the ball 27 times for 153 yards and two touchdowns en route to Offensive MVP honors.
- Hinds' Demario Nichols took home Defensive MVP honors after finishing the game with five tackles, a forced fumble, and an interception returned for a touchdown.
- Iowa Western opened the season with a 1-3 record – the worst start to a season since the Reivers' inaugural 2009 campaign. The Reivers would finish the year by winning eight consecutive games, including five against teams in the final regular season NJCAA football rankings to close with a 9-3 record.
- Hinds became the fourth team from the MACJC that Iowa Western has faced in program history. The Reivers own bowl victories against the Eagles, along with Northwest Mississippi. The Reivers fell to East Mississippi in the 2014 NJCAA championship and Holmes in 2016.
- The Eagles close out the season with a 7-3 record. The three losses came against the current No. 1 Mississippi Gulf Coast, No. 4 Iowa Western, and No. 11 Jones.
