The stakes will be at an all-time high this Saturday when No. 5 Iowa Central welcomes in ninth-ranked Iowa Western to Dodger Stadium.
Kickoff is set for noon with members of past Triton teams to be honored during halftime.
Last year, Iowa Central (1-0 overall) scored a victory over the Reivers (0-1) to claim the conference title before securing a second consecutive win in the Graphic Edge Bowl. Third-year Triton head coach Jesse Montalto knows a hungry Iowa Western squad will be stepping on the gridiron.
"We are going to get their best," Montalto said. "They have been thinking about this one for over 18 months now and they are going to be hungry coming off a loss. They are well-coached and are not going to be flat, that's for sure."
While Iowa Central opened the spring season with a convincing 52-0 victory over Southern-Shreveport, Iowa Western fell to No. 4 Snow, 31-30 at home. The Reivers were just 3-for-14 on third-down conversions, allowing a touchdown with just 14 seconds left.
Nate Glantz threw for 201 yards and four touchdowns, including two scoring strikes to Donovan Moorer. Matt Byrnes and Blake Vaughan also caught TDs with Milton Sargbah rushing for a team-high 59 yards.
"Glantz is a good, young quarterback who won a state title in high school," Montalto said. "He has come in and done a nice job for them. We've got to confuse him with some of our coverages and force him into making mistakes."
Iowa Central did just that in Week 1, taking advantage of five turnovers while recording eight sacks on defense. Deonte Bryant had three sacks and forced two fumbles while Bryant Barrier had two.
On offense, Brady Pope threw for 133 yards with two total touchdowns and Byron Jarrett Jr. passed for 108 with two scores. Madison Ridgeway caught five passes for 63 yards and two touchdowns and Jadon Washington ran for 68 yards and a score.
"We had a lot to improve on (after the opener), which is a good thing when you get a win and can still get better," Montalto said. "Not having live action for so long kind of showed up. But our kids are ready and hungry, and they know this is going to be a battle."
Iowa Central and Iowa Western will play for a second time on April 24 in Council Bluffs.
-By Dana Becker