The Iowa Central defense hit plenty of marks in the season opener. Now, they know the pressure goes up with Iowa Western coming to Dodger Stadium.

The Top-10 matchup between the fifth-ranked Tritons (1-0 overall) and No. 9 Reivers (0-1) will begin the ICCAC season on Saturday at noon.

In a 52-0 win over Southern-Shreveport, Iowa Central allowed just 76 yards of total offense, recording five turnovers and eight sacks. Bryant Barrier was among those in on the action, picking up two sacks among his five tackles.

"As a unit, the defense played really well in our season opener," Barrier said. "Coach (Jeremy) Conley is always big on limiting the explosive big plays and creating turnovers, and we were able to do that and give our offense the opportunity to put some points up.

"There's a lot of depth and talent in our defense and I feel that we are just scratching the surface of what this unit is capable of as we get into conference play."

Deonte Bryant had three sacks with Tristin Waugh recording 1.5 and Malik Occiur, Garret Ollendieck and Noah Epley each recording a half. 

After having the season shifted from the fall to spring, the Tritons spent plenty of time working against teammates. 

"It was a great feeling getting the opportunity to face another offense other than our own," Barrier said. "It's been a tough year with many of us arriving in July ready to play in the fall and having our season taken from us. With everything going on, we still never quit working through fall practices and in the weight room. 

"This team is extremely hungry and was definitely ready to go out and face someone other than each other. I feel that it showed against Shreveport and will continue to show throughout the season."

Last year, Iowa Central topped Iowa Western on its way to claiming the conference title. The two teams will play home-and-away this season.

"This is a big-time game for us with the goal of another conference title," Barrier said. "With a great week of game prep and practice ahead of us, I feel we'll be ready to go Saturday at Dodger Stadium."

-By Dana Becker