The Coffeyville Red Ravens football team dropped a back-and-forth non-conference matchup with the Iowa Central Tritons 31-27 Saturday at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
Iowa Central opened the scoring with a three-yard scoop-and-score after recovering a fumble near the Coffeyville end zone. The Red Ravens responded later in the first quarter when John Nicholas connected with Tyler Jackson for a highlight-reel, one-handed touchdown catch on third-and-goal from the nine.
After the extra point was unsuccessful, Coffeyville trailed 7-6. The teams traded scores from there, with Nicholas finding Jayden Howard for a 37-yard touchdown just before halftime to give the Red Ravens a 12-10 lead.
The Tritons scored on their first possession of the second half before returning a Nicholas interception 43 yards for a touchdown to build a 24-12 advantage.
Coffeyville answered in the fourth quarter after backup quarterback Marco Rodriguez connected with tight end Keith Jones for a touchdown, Jones’ first catch and touchdown of the season. TJ Ward then scored on a two-yard run, and a successful two-point conversion put the Red Ravens ahead 27-24 with 5:24 remaining.
Iowa Central drove down the field late in the fourth quarter and faced fourth-and-goal from the three-yard line with just over a minute remaining, but a defensive holding penalty at the end of the play on Coffeyville gave the Tritons a first down, and they scored on the next play with 52 seconds left to reclaim the lead.
An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the touchdown celebration forced Iowa Central to kick off from its own 15, and Jayden Howard returned the ball to the Tritons’ 41-yard line to give Coffeyville one final opportunity.
Rodriguez and the Red Ravens moved the ball to the 12-yard line with two seconds remaining, but a cross-field throw to Jackson in the back of the end zone fell incomplete as Iowa Central held on for the 4 point victory.
The loss moves Coffeyville to 1-3 on the season and 1-0 in conference play. The Red Ravens will host Garden City next week at Veterans Memorial Stadium, with pregame coverage beginning at 12:30 p.m. and kickoff set for 1 p.m. on US 98.
