CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - Iowa Central's (7-6) quarterback Demarcus Irons Jr. propelled the Tritons to escape the Nassau Lions (7-4), 31-28 in overtime to win the 2019 The Graphic Edge Bowl on Sunday night.
The Tritons held through the entire first quarter after Irons found Tanarious Achan on a 34-yard strike.
As the first quarter wound down, Nassau tied up the game on the last play, a eight-yard run from Anton Reed. The stalemate wouldn't last long as the Tritons regained the lead on another 34-yard pass play from Irons to Terell Carey.
Iowa Central took their 14-7 lead into the half.
After Nassau tied up the game in the third, fireworks shot off in the fourth as each team exchanged touchdowns.
Nassau took the early advantage on an eight-yard run from Aaje Grayson. But on the next play from scrimmage, Irons extended a play with his legs and threw downfield to a wide open Carey who ran most of the way on a 76-yard touchdown.
Then, late in the fourth quarter, after Nassau missed their third field goal of the game, Irons marched the Tritons down and with just under two minutes to go, ran in a score from four-yards out.
But Nassau wasn't ready for the game to end. A huge run from quarterback Nathaniel Serrette put the Lions in the Iowa Central redzone, with under a minute to go.
With five seconds left, the Lions had 4th and 5 from the 10-yard line. Serrette found a wide open Chris Collier off the right side who ran in for the score. The PAT tied the game.
Iowa Central won the toss and started on defense in overtime. The Tritons held strong on the first set of downs and forced the Lions to turn the ball over on downs.
From there, the Tritons set up Colin Swygman for a 35-yard attempt and he delivered, giving the Tritons the 31-28 walkoff overtime victory.
Irons was named 2019 Offensive MVP, while Triton linebacker Daquan Cross earned Defensive MVP honors.
| 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | OT | FINAL | |
| Iowa Central | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 3 | 31 |
| Nassau | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 28 |
| Iowa Central | Nassau | |
| First Downs | 23 | 21 |
| Rushes-Yards | 45-155 | 35-159 |
| Passing Yards | 315 | 220 |
| Com-Att-INT | 17-30-2 | 21-41-1 |
| Total Offense | 470 | 379 |
| Punts - Avg. | 3-37 | 4-35 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 1-0 | 0-0 |
| Penalties-Yards | 9-74 | 12-81 |
SCORING PLAYS
1st Quarter
11:48 - Tanarious Achan 34-yard pass from Demarcus Irons (Colin Swygman PAT Good) - ICCC 7 Nassau 0
0:00 - Anton Reed 8 yard run (Andrew Cuchel PAT Good) - ICCC 7, Nassau 7
2nd Quarter
11:44 Terrell Carey 34-yard pass from Demarcus Irons (Colin Swygman PAT Good) - ICCC 14 Nassau 7
3rd Quarter
9:28 Jaelin Hood 3-yard run (Kevin Rodriguez PAT Good) - ICCC 14, Nassau 14
4th Quarter
13:33 Aaje Grayson 8 yard run (Kevin Rodriguez PAT Good) - ICCC 14 Nassau 21
13:20 Terrell Carey 76-yard pass from Demarcus Irons (Colin Swygman PAT Good) - ICCC 21, Nassau 21
1:48 - Demarcus Irons 4-yard run (Colin Swygman PAT Good) - ICCC 28, Nassau 21
0:00 - Chris Collier 10-yard pass from Nathaniel Serrette (Kevin Rodriguez PAT Good) – ICCC 28, NCC 28
Overtime
0:00 Colin Swygman 35-yard Field Goal is GOOD
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing — Iowa Central: Jadon Washington 15-59, DJ Irons 16-43, Grant Walker 6-36, Kurt Taylor 7-13, Christian Ford 1- 4.
Nassau: Jaelin Hood 8-78, Nathaniel Serrette 11-32, Aaje Grayson 3-17, Anton Reed 4-12, Chris Collier 5-12, Jordan Mclune 4-8.
Passing — Iowa Central: DJ Irons 17-30-2-315.
Nassau: Nathaniel Serrette 20-39-1-213, Jaelin Hood 1-2-0-7.
Receiving — Iowa Central: Terrell Carey 2-85, Christian Ford 5-67, Tanarious Achan 4-60, Marrio Wright 4-49, Jadon Washington 1-34, Jason Young 1-20.
Nassau: Josh Okechukwu 5-51, Maurice Teachey 3-27, Devonte Nairne 1-22, Chris Collier 2-21, Aaje Grayson 2-13, David Plocharczyk 4-11, Anton Reed 1-10, Jaelin Hood 1-9.