IOWA FALLS, IOWA -- The 2021 spring season came to a close for the Ellsworth Panthers Friday night when they lost 40-6 to Iowa Western at Cadet Field.

The highlight for the Panthers happened in the first quarter when, after Iowa Western scored their second TD in the opening period, Darrius Jackson took the ensuing kickoff and raced 85 yards for a score.  However, that was the lone TD of the evening for ECC as IWCC added a long field goal in the second quarter and tacked on a trio of touchdowns and a safety in the second half.

The ECC offense was bottled up by a strong Iowa Western defense, the Panthers managing only six first downs and 96 yards of total offense.

Ryan Justice completed 9-of-25 passes for Ellsworth, with three of the completions to Ja'Ron Early, who was also the leading rusher with 51 yards on 17 carries.  Dianta Huffman and Malcolm Gillie each caught two passes and Trent Lane and Dominique Ford had one catch.

The Panthers' defense amassed 11 tackles for loss, including a pair of sacks by Keyshon Thomas.  Andrew Behm racked up 8 tackles, three of them behind the line of scrimmage.  Michael Moore had two tackles for loss.

Ellsworth ends the spring with a 2 and 6 record.