CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - The 2019 The Graphic Edge Bowl presented by the Cedar Valley Sports Commission introduced them matchups this season on Tuesday. Two games will take place on Sunday, Dec. 8 at the UNI Dome in Cedar Falls, Iowa with the first kick at 11:00 a.m.
The Feature Game will pair the ICCAC Champion Iowa Central Tritons up against the 19th-ranked Nassau Community College Lions out of Garden City, N.Y.
Iowa Central won its first conference title in 10 years by defeating Iowa Western back on Sept. 28 and Ellsworth on Oct. 19. After a hot start to the season, at 3-1 Tritons were ranked No. 7 in the nation heading into a game with Snow. From there, Iowa Central dropped three straight, and then finished the season 3-2 in their last five games to end the regular season with a 6-6 record.
Iowa Central returns to The Graphic Edge Bowl after beating Monroe (N.Y.) 34-20 in the Opening Game.
Their opponent Nassau is a non-scholarship team out of New York. The Lions powered their way to an impressive 7-3 season record that included a win over now 12th-ranked Georgia Military. This is the second straight season Nassau is playing in a bowl game. Last year the Lions went to Glen Ellyn, Ill. for the Red Grange Bowl and dominated Northland (Minn.), 46-6.
Iowa Central and Nassau will kick-off at 3:00 p.m. or one hour following the first game's completion.
The 2019 Opening Game features a top-10 matchup between the No. 4 Iowa Western Reivers and the No. 8 Hinds (Miss.) Eagles.
Iowa Western had a sluggish start to the 2019 season, dropping three of their first four games, including losses to Iowa Central, Hutchinson (Kan.) and Garden City (Kan.). Since their three-game losing streak, the Reivers have rattled off seven straight wins including wins over Independence (Kan.), Snow, and Butler (Kan.). Iowa Western has allowed just 9.7 points per game during that stretch while averaging nearly 35 points per game themselves.
Hinds, located in Raymond, Miss., will meet Iowa Western in Cedar Falls for the first-ever matchup between the two teams. The Eagles are 7-2 this season and carry an impressive resume coming from the MACJC.
The teams only two losses have come against Jones, now #11, and Mississippi Gulf Coast, the #1 team in the country. In the first game of the season, the defeated East Mississippi, the 2018 NJCAA Champions.
Iowa Western has a 1-2 record in their program's 11 season against teams from the MACJC. The game will kickoff at 11:00 a.m.
For more information on the 2019 The Graphic Edge Bowl, visit www.thegraphicedgebowl.com.
Game Info
Opening Game | #4 Iowa Western vs. #8 Hinds | 11:00 AM
Feature Game | Iowa Central vs. #19 Nassau | 3:00 PM
Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for students. Available at the door.