Iowa Western led the way after a 10-1 regular season and winning the ICCAC regular season title, going 2-0 against Ellsworth and Iowa Central. The Reivers garnered 12 of the 26 All-Conference selections.

 

Leading the way this season was the Reivers defense. As a unit, Iowa Western was fifth in the country in yards allowed per game at 237.8 per game and had the fifth-best rushing defense as well giving up just 77.5 yards per game on the ground.

 

They tied for the nation's lead in sacks with 55 and led the country in takeaways with 34 total, 20 interceptions and 14 fumble recoveries.

 

Individually, Joshua Pierre-Louis was named the 2023 ICCAC Defensive Player of the Year. The sophomore corner was a blanket, covering the opposing team's best receivers every week. He excelled doing so, racking up six interceptions, second-most in the country. One of those he returned for a touchdown. Pierre-Louis had 35 tackles as well. 

 

The Reivers took up all four roster spots on the defensive line after another dominant season. The Reivers front four has produced the ICCAC Defensive Player of the Year each of the previous two seasons, and if it weren't for Pierre-Louis, Clev Lubin likely would have taken the award. 

 

Lubin finished second on the team in tackles, and was third in the nation in sacks with 10. He added three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries and had 19.5 tackles for a loss -- third-most in the country. 

 

Lubin was joined by Jaylen Pettus, Walt Gray and Kamari Copeland on the line. Pettus had 12.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks. Copeland had 9 TFL and 4.5 sacks, and Gray has eight sacks, which was tied for eighth-most in NJCAA Division I football. 

 

On offense the Reivers locked up the three backfield spots. Hunter Watson was the quarterback of the All-Conference team, with tailbacks Bryant Williams and Jonathan Humpal taking the RB slots. 

 

Watson made the team go offensively. Passing, he threw for 1524 yards and 16 touchdowns with just three interceptions. On the ground, he led the team in carries (142) and was second on the team in yards (602). He punched in six scores rushing. 

 

Williams is the only returner from last year's All-Conference team. The sophomore running back led the Reivers with 616 yards rushing and four touchdowns in nine games played. He also had 120 yards receiving and two touchdowns through the air. 

 

Humpal came on strong at the end of the season. The Council Bluffs native freshman had back-to-back games of 130 or more yards rushing, including a 183-yard game against Iowa Central. He ended with 568 yards on the season and six touchdowns. 

 

LJ Fitzpatrick was the team's top wideout in 2023 -- although he only played five games, was third on the team in receptions with 16, and had 186 yards. He caught two touchdowns --- and had he had been available, would have opened up the passing game more for IWCC. 

Luke Eckhardt and Nick Pruitt were named All-Conference offensive lineman. Iowa Western was sixth in rushing yards per game at 193.5.

 

Rounding out Iowa Western's All-Conference selections was kicker Max Bartachek. The freshman made seven field goals this season with a long of 45 yards. He netted 35 PATs and had 56 points - ninth-most in the country. Three times this season he made two field goals in a game. Bartachek handled the kickoff duties as well. 

 

Iowa Central placed nine players into 11 spots on All-Conference this season. Their group was highlighted by one of the nation's leading receivers, and the 2023 ICCAC Offensive Player of the Year. 

 

Mario Sanders broke out this season for the pass-happy Tritons. He was top three in the country in yards (926), yards per game (92.6) and touchdowns (12). He had five games of 100 or more yards receiving. Four times he had multiple touchdowns including three-touchdown games against Garden City and Dodge City.

 

He had a season-high 13 catches against DuPage and had 181 yards against Ellsworth. 

 

The Tritons used Sanders as a weapon elsewhere. He had 12 carries for 76 yards and a touchdown and he was the All-Conference return specialist with two kick returns for a touchdown. He averaged 24.1 yards per return.

 

In the punter return game, Sanders was limited to just five returns, but had an average of 19.2. 

 

Michael Bartolotta was named to the All-Conference team at receiver. Bartolotta was second on the team in catches with 22. He had 189 yards and a touchdown. 

 

On the line, Jonathan Young and Dodge Sauser were the All-Conference performers for the Tritons. 

 

Defensively, Kolben Miller and Dan Knudsen took two of the three linebacker spots. Miller, who was also the All-Conference punter, was third on the team in tackles with 49. He had three forced fumbles and a recovery along with four tackles for a loss. 

 

Punting, he led the conference in average at 38.8 per kick in 33 attempts. Thirteen times he pinned the opponent inside their own 20 yard line. 

 

Knudsen had 24 tackles, the same fumble stats as Miller, and added an interception. He collected 4.5 sacks as well. 

 

Elijah West and Jamal Spiyee were named to the defensive backfield. 

 

Spiyee had four interceptions and 31 tackles. West had 1 pick and was second on the team with 50 tackles. 

 

Rounding out the Tritons on All-Conference was Ethan Bartlett at the long snapper position. Bartlett snapped for every kick the Tritons had this season. 

 

Ellsworth saw four names on the All-Conference list this year. Most notably was their linebacker Adrian Palos. The freshman led the conference in tackles with 74. He had a season-high 21 tackles against Garden City and had a 19-tackle game against Dodge City. 

 

Two of his tackles resulted in sacks. 

 

Joining Palos on defense was Sean Martin. Martin was second on the team with 46 tackles and had two fumble recoveries from his DB position. 

 

Offensively, Dominic McCarren was selected as a wide receiver and Isaiah Maumalanga was named to the o-line. McCarren led the team with 232 receiving yards and 20 catches. 

 

Rounding out the annual awards was Scott Strohmeier as the Coach of the Year. Iowa Western's head coach powered the Reivers to a 10-1 regular season record and their third straight NJCAA Playoff appearance. Before dropping the last game of the year to No. 1 Hutchinson, the Reivers had amounted a 12-game winning streak dating back to the NJCAA Playoff last season. Iowa Western is looking to defend the NJCAA Championship title after winning it all last season. 

 

On top of the All-Conference team, each school is alloted All-Region selections each year based on their finish in the conference. 

 

For a complete breakdown of All-Conference, All-Region & awards, click HERE.