By Marissa VanWingen, The Times Citizen
Iowa Community College Athletic Conference rivals, Iowa Central Community College and Ellsworth Community College, had a combined two wins heading into Saturday. The Tritons, with former Panther head coach Jesse Montalto, had dropped six of their last seven contests. ECC on the other hand has been searching for their first victory under head coach Matt White.
Though the contest looked to be up for grabs early, Iowa Central ended up running away with a 59-7 decision. The rivalry has been one sided in recent years with the Tritons (3-5) winning the last seven meetings since Montalto took over the program after the 2017 season.
Trailing 21-0 in the second quarter, ECC (0-7) was able to get on the board. Only, it was their defense that found the end zone. Adrian Palos had a 53 yard pick six for the visitors. The Panthers offense was once again stifled. ECC recorded just six first downs and had 143 yards of total offense. Leading the way, was Kellen Cockrell at quarterback. He was one of three Panther signal callers to record snaps behind center and finished 8 of 14 for 55 yards. He was the only one that did not have an interception. Ryan Sinnott led in yardage with two catches for 28 yards. Kacen Boyer had the biggest offensive play of the game. He caught a pass for 23 yards, but then had one for negative yards and finished with 22 yards on the day.
ECC's offensive line continues to struggle. The Panthers are averaging just 96.7 yards on the ground this season and turned in 60 net rushing yards on 40 attempts. They averaged just 1.5 yards per try. Calvin Swinney led the rushing attack with 44 yards on 27 carries. The Triton defense was able to get to the quarterbacks four times for -20 yards in sacks.
Other than the interception returned for a touchdown, ECC could not slow down Iowa Central's offensive attack. The Panthers have allowed on average 57 points this season with four games giving up 50 points or more and two over 60. Though the Tritons record has not always reflected it, they do have decent offensive numbers. Iowa Central is averaging just under 34 points per game and putting up 390 yards a game. The hosts were able to really bump that up on Saturday with 635 yards of total offense.
After being on the road for four games and a having a bye, the Panthers finally return to Cadet Field. They will host No. 12 Coffeyville on Saturday with kick slated for 1 p.m. ECC ends the regular season with three of their final four games in Iowa Falls.
Iowa Central 58, Ellsworth 7
Saturday at Fort Dodge
ECC: 0| 7| 0| 0| 0 – 7
ICCC: 21| 9| 14| 14 – 58
Scoring Summary not available
ECC Stats:
Passing: Kellen Cockrell 8-14 55 yds; Steven Werking 2-6 16 yds, INT; Gabriel Robinson 2-3 12 yds, INT.
Rushing: Calvin Swinney 27-44 yds; Cockrell 4-22 yds; Jamari Brown 3-18 yds; Nigel Cheeks 1-0 yds; Ryan Sinnot 1-(-4) yds; Werking 4-(-20) yds.
Receiving: Sinnot 2-28 yds; Kacen Boyer 2-22 yds; Swinney 3-14 yds; Amir Nixon 2-12 yds; RJ Dent 1-4 yds; Brown 1-2 yds; Shane Helmick 1-1 yds.
Defense: Symon Stukes 7, FF; Adrian Palos 6, INT; Jaheed Markus 6; Jalen Riley 6; Josh Eberhart 6.