No. 10 Butler Stuns No. 8 Iowa Central With Late Rally, 28-24

FORT DODGE, Iowa – The No. 10 Butler Grizzlies closed the regular season in dramatic fashion, rallying from a 10-point deficit in the final minutes to defeat No. 8 Iowa Central 28-24. The win improves Butler to 7-3 and extends their streak over the Tritons to five straight victories dating back to 2019.

Saturday's performance was vintage Grizzly football—quick strikes on offense paired with clutch defensive stops.

The comeback began with 6:45 left in the fourth quarter, when Ozzy Poage recovered a fumble at the Iowa Central 28-yard line. Three plays later, quarterback Tate McNew connected with Nakai Poole for a 23-yard touchdown, cutting the deficit to 17-14.

After Iowa Central answered with a score to make it 24-14 with just 2:43 remaining, Butler's hopes looked slim. But McNew struck immediately, finding Nolan Chambers streaking down the middle for a 77-yard touchdown on the first play of the drive, pulling the Grizzlies within 24-21.

The Butler defense then forced a punt, setting up another quick strike. McNew hit Chambers again—this time on a wheel route down the sideline—for a 66-yard go-ahead touchdown with 1:40 left.

Iowa Central, armed with three timeouts, drove inside Butler's 20-yard line. But the Grizzly defense rose to the occasion, forcing two incompletions before sacking quarterback Demarcus Creecy on both third and fourth down to seal the victory.

Running back Markellus Bass delivered his eighth 100-yard game of the season, finishing with 19 carries for 110 yards and a touchdown. Bass ends the year as the NJCAA Division I rushing leader, averaging 123.7 yards per game and totaling 1,237 yards—the 11th-best single-season mark in Butler history.

McNew, a true freshman, completed 8-of-12 passes for 187 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception. Chambers had a career day with four catches for 148 yards and two scores, both coming in the final 2:25.

Linebacker Justyce Betts capped his season as the Jayhawk Conference leader in tackles with 96, 26 more than second place. Against Iowa Central, he recorded 13 tackles, three tackles for loss, and 2.5 sacks.

The Grizzly defense finished with six sacks for 32 yards lost and 12 tackles for loss totaling 42 yards. Butler's offense posted 363 total yards—187 through the air and 176 on the ground.