GAME PREVIEW: Reigning National Champion No. 2 Iowa Western Travels to El Dorado for Top-10 Clash With No. 7 Butler

BRICE VIGNERY PREGAME INTERVIEW

The Teams: No. 7 Butler Grizzlies (4-2, 2-2 KJCCC) vs. No. 2 Iowa Western Reivers (7-0, 1-0)
Where: El Dorado, KS
Stadium: BG Products Veterans Sports Complex (6,000)
Time: 7 p.m. CT
Streaming Platform: BCTV+ app, ButlerGrizzlies.com/WatchLive, kjcccsports.net
Radio: KNSS 98.7 FM and 1330 AM (www.audacy.com/stations/knss) (Dennis Higgins, Fayne Henson on the call.) Pregame show begins at 6:30 p.m.

The 7th-ranked Butler Grizzlies are back in El Dorado for another top-10 matchup at BG Products Veterans Sports Complex, this time the No. 2-ranked and reining national champion Iowa Western Reivers await the Grizzlies at 7 p.m. CT.

HOW TO WATCH AND LISTEN

The game will be streamed on ButlerGrizzlies.com/WatchLive, the BCTV+ app or at kjcccsports.net. The Butler radio broadcast will air on KNSS 98.7 FM and 1330 AM (www.audacy.com/stations/knss) with Dennis Higgins and Fayne Henson on the call. The pregame show begins at 6:30 p.m.

SERIES HISTORY

Saturday will be the 10th all-time meeting for the Grizzlies and Reivers. Iowa Western leads the series, 7-2. The first game between the two schools was in 2012 with Iowa Western winning 27-7. Butler lost the first three meetings and has lost the previous three meetings. Butler is 2-1 vs. Iowa Western at home, 0-4 on the road and 0-2 at neutral sites (both bowl games). The last game played in El Dorado wad a 19-14 Reiver win in 2018.

THE LAST TIME THEY MET

OCTOBER 22, 2022 – COUNCIL BLUFFS, IA – Iowa Western 33, Butler 14

The Butler Grizzlies could not get past their early first quarter woes as they were defeated by the second-ranked Iowa Western Reivers, 33-14, in Council Bluffs, Iowa. It was the first quarter that did the Grizzlies in as Iowa Western scored 21 points to start the game. The Reivers came into the game with the best defense in the country, holding opponents to just 4.7 points per game. After the first quarter, the Grizzlies settled in giving up just 12-points through the next three frames, but it wasn't enough as the early woes were too deep to climb out of. Jaelon Travis ruined the shutout with a 15-yard touchdown reception from Jacobi Meyers late in the second quarter. Azhauhn Dingle scored the other touchdown from one yard out, set up by Patrick Mooney who intercepted a pass in the third quarter. The Grizzlies finished with 155 yards of offense. Iowa Western won the field position battle all game, pinning the Grizzlies within their own five-yard line four separate times. Azhuan Dingle led the team on the ground, adding to his touchdown with 90 yards on 23 carries. Jaisean McMillian was next in line with 20 yards on six carries. Jacobi Myers led the three quarterbacks, going 6-16 with a touchdown and 81 yards. Mason Thrash led defensively for Butler totaling 11 tackles on the day, two and half for a loss of 15-yards. Butler did not record a sack in the game compared to Iowa Western's nine sack.

LAST TIME OUT FOR BUTLER

Butler football faced a stiff road test on Saturday afternoon at Dodger Stadium, but ultimately imposed their will on the No. 3 team in the nation, clobbering the Iowa Central Tritons 45-10.

The 12th-ranked Grizzlies (4-2, 2-2 KJCCC) rolled up 454 total yards of offense while forcing five Triton (5-2, 1-0 ICCAC) turnovers. It was their first win over a top-five opponent dating back to Nov. 9, 2019, in the last game of the regular season when the Grizzlies defeated No. 3 Garden City 34-27. Butler won its third straight game over Iowa Central and moved to 7-2 all-time vs. the Tritons.

Tanner Murray finished 11-of-19 through the air for a season-high 251 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for 41 yards on six carries. Receiver P.J. Caldwell paced the Grizzly pass catchers with three receptions for 73 yards and a touchdown. Eight different Grizzlies caught a pass. KJ Shankle led the way on the ground with 12 carries for 44 yards. Running back Seth McGowan had three rushing touchdowns, finishing with seven rushes for 29 yards.

The middle quarters proved to be big for the Grizzlies as they scored 14 points each in both the second and third quarters, outscoring the Tritons 28-7 in that span. They capped off a long drive with a McGowan one-yard touchdown scamper to go ahead 14-10 with nine minutes left in the second quarter. The Grizzlies held Iowa Central off the scoreboard for the remainder of the game, going on a 31-0 unanswered scoring run.

LAST TIME OUT FOR IOWA WESTERN

Iowa Western traveled to Utah for a clash with the Snow Badgers and came out on top, 20-13. Snow led 13-10 at half but the Reivers blanked the Badgers 10-0 in the second half to come out with the win. Snow College had 21 first downs to Iowa Western's 11 and outgained the Reivers 291-221 in total yards. Iowa Western quarterback Hunter Watson was 9-of-19 through the air for 115 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Watson led the way rushing with 57 yards on 10 attempts. Latrell Bonner had four receptions for 61 yards, pacing the Reiver pass catchers.

PREVIEW

Saturday's game vs. the second-ranked Iowa Western Reivers completes Butler's three week stretch of playing the No. 1, No. 3 and now No. 2 teams in the NJCA rankings. The Grizzlies fell 43-16 to No. 1 Hutch at home, throttled No. 3 Iowa Central 45-10 on the road and are now looking for a second straight statement win over the reigning nation champion Iowa Western Reivers.

The Reivers come in with a stout defensive unit, allowing just 15.1 points per game (sixth lowest in NJCAA D1) and 213 total yards per game (fifth lowest in NJCAA D1). The defensive unit plays hard and suffocates opposing offenses as they have 79 tackles for loss and 37 sacks this season (leads NJCAA D1). Iowa Western has played in close games all season, with three one possession wins to their name. They defeated KJCCC foe Dodge City 27-20 at the Conqs place in week one, slipped by Highland at home, 21-16 in week four, and just came off a 20-13 road win over Snow College. Other wins include a 28-13 win over Independence, 44-27 over Garden City at Garden City and 42-7 over Ellsworth on the road.

Hunter Watson is the Reiver quarterback and he completes 55.8% of his passes and is careful with the football holding a 10/2 touchdown-to-interception ratio. He uses his legs often, sitting in second on the team with 315 rushing yards this season as well as leading the team with four rushing touchdowns. The defense is led by linebacker Ahmad Johnson who has a team-high 27 tackles. Defensive lineman Walt Gray leads the team with six sacks and defensive lineman Clev Lubin leads with 11 tackles for loss.

Butler quarterback Tanner Murray is coming off his season-high of passing yards with 251 in the win over Iowa Central as he picked up KJCCC Offensive Player of the Week honors. The Grizzlies will look to keep improving the run game and get complementary football going.

Defensively, Butler created havoc in Iowa Central's backfield last week and will need to do the same this week. Marlin Dean had 2.5 sacks while James Smith had 1.5 sacks. Each of the two defensive lineman had a forced fumble. Butler also had two interceptions as safety Patrick Mooney and defensive back Kaden White each pulled down their second interceptions of the season.

"Iowa Western has been a formidable opponent every year for us," said Butler head coach Brice Vignery. "Coach Strohmeier (Reivers head coach) does such a great job. They don't hurt themselves, they're in the right spots and they play hard."

"We're going to have to be good on first down offensively," said Vignery. "They take away a lot of things so we have to live in the world of taking what they give us. There will be opportunities to be greedy, but we have to take them as they come and take care of the ball to be successful."

"Iowa Western's quarterback is a dual threat guy, he loves to create if that first read isn't there so we have to make sure we cover all our gaps and we have to be able to get him on the ground. We have to take care of business on first down and force them to throw the ball."

WHAT HAPPENED IN THE RANKINGS?

The Grizzlies went on the road and easily handled the No. 3 ranked team in the nation, Iowa Central, 45-10. They were rewarded for the performance with their highest ranking this season, coming in at seventh in the NJCAA D1 Week Eight Football Poll after being slotted in at 12th last week.

The No. 7 ranking for Butler is its highest-ranking since week eight of the 2022 season when they were ranked sixth after moving to 5-2 with a win over Iowa Central.

Hutchinson remains No. 1 and the Grizzlies opponent this week, Iowa Western, sits at No. 2. Butler is at No. 7 and the opponent they took down, last week's third ranked team in Iowa Central, is at No. 9. Dodge City found itself ranked 14th, the second time this season they have been ranked.

2023 NJCAA DI Football Poll | Week Eight - 10-16-23

2023 KJCCC Football Standings

Receiving Votes: Northwest Mississippi, Georgia Military