CEDAR FALLS, Iowa, December 5, 2021 – Making their second appearance at The Graphic Edge Bowl, and third straight trip to an NJCAA bowl game, the No. 6-ranked Monroe College Mustangs football team showed significant improvement from their last trip to Cedar Falls, but fell just short in a back-and-forth battle with No. 10 Iowa Central Community College, dropping a 35-27 final to the Tritons Sunday afternoon at the UNI Dome.
 
Sophomore defensive end Nick Evans was a force to be reckoned with all day on Sunday. He finished the game with three sacks, 4.5 tackles for loss, 10 total tackles and a forced fumble, earning him The Graphic Edge Bowl Defensive Most Valuable Player honors. Iowa Central running back Daylen Boddie took home the Offensive MVP award after rushing for 96 yards with two touchdowns.
 
Shelton Applewhite Jr. completed 17-of-34 passes for four touchdowns and an interception on Sunday. Four different pass-catchers hauled in a touchdown in the game. LaMarcus Brand caught three passes for 61 yards and a score. Jalen Rose-Hannah brought in two receptions for 16 yards and a touchdown. Rashann Tompkins hit pay dirt on a 14-yard catch, while Jamarii Robinson hauled one in in the back of the end zone for a seven-yard score. Halim Dixon-King led the Mustang receiver corps with four receptions for 96 yards. Tavon Granison added 31 yards on three catches.
 
Troy Booker was the team's leading rusher with 63 yards on 12 carries. Kimon O'Sullivan picked up 19 yards on four totes. O'Sullivan also had a 40-yard kickoff return for the Mustangs.
 
Defensively, Zharell Walker led the team in tackles with 11 on the day, including 1.5 tackles for loss. Andrew Hardin made eight tackles and recovered a fumble. Michael Lufile made Monroe's only interception, while also finishing five tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss. Tyee Martin Jr. also recovered a fumble, made five tackles and one tackle for loss. Tyree Martin made three stops and picked up a fumble as well. Jonah Kurker made three tackles and a sack.
 
The Tritons grabbed the early advantage in the game. They received the opening kickoff and went on a 13-play, 69-yard drive to take a 7-0 lead. Byron Jarrett connected with Cal Weidemann for a nine-yard score to finish the drive.
 
After that opening score, neither team was able to sustain a drive for the remainder of the first quarter. The first turnover of the game came on Monroe's second possession of the second quarter. With Monroe on Iowa Central's 31-yard line, Booker had the ball punched out from behind, with Tristin Waugh picking it up for the Tritons.
 
The Mustangs then took the ball right back from the Tritons. On third-and-13, Jarrett was picked up by Lufile at Monroe's 20, and he returned it 29 yards just short of midfield to set the Mustangs up with great field position. But Monroe was unable to move the ball and punted it back to Iowa Central four plays later.
 
One play later, Jarrett fumbled the ball in the backfield, and Tyree Martin fell on it to take over on the 11-yard line. Applewhite wasted no time after that, finding Rose-Hannah in the corner of the end zone for an 11-yard touchdown, tying the game at 7-7.
 
Late in the half, the Tritons took over with 3:14 on the clock at Monroe's 40-yard line. On third down, Jarrett lost the ball on a rush that was recovered by Tyee Martin Jr. to end another Triton threat. The Mustangs were unable to capitalize from deep in their own territory and punted the ball back with less than a minute to go in the half. The Tritons ran one play to have the clock expire, sending the game to halftime knotted up at 7-7.
 
The Mustangs got off to a rough start in the second half after only taking the kickoff to their own nine-yard line. After being forced to punt, the snap fell short of Bailey Marzola and got behind him, where Iowa Central's Perry Slater fell on it at the two-yard line. Two plays later, Boddie scored from a yard out to put the Tritons up, 14-7.
 
Two possessions later, Andrew Hardin punched the ball out from Levon Bellemy and recovered the ball, returning it to Iowa Central's 29-yard line to set up the offense in prime position. After losing two yards on first down, Applewhite found Brand, who got around the defense for a 31-yard touchdown, tying the game at 14-14 with 9:35 left in the third.
 
Jarrett completed a 35-yard pass to Jordan Kumm on first down on the next drive to quickly get the Tritons in plus position. A few plays later, Boddie hit the hole and burst through for an 11-yard touchdown, putting the Tritons back on top, 21-14.
 
On Monroe's next drive, Applewhite got picked off near midfield to give the Tritons an opportunity to go up by two scores. That's just what they did, as Jarrett hit Izaiah Haslett, who broke a few tackles and got around the secondary to score a 27-yard touchdown, making it a 28-14 game just before the end of the third.
 
The Mustangs got the ball back early in the fourth at their own 16-yard line. Applewhite immediately found Dixon-King for a 46-yard gain down the right sideline. A holding penalty on the Tritons put the Mustangs on Iowa Central's 27-yard line. Kimon O'Sullivan picked up a first down after two runs, and then Applewhite connected with Tompkins for a 14-yard touchdown, getting the Mustangs back within one score at 28-21.
 
The Tritons were pinned deep in their own territory on the next possession. On third-and-9, Jarrett saw Weidemann streaking open down the right sideline and hit him just before a defender could get there, gaining 54 yards down to Monroe's 30. That helped the possession become an 11-play, 85-yard drive, capped off with a one-yard touchdown run by Jarrett, making it a 35-21 game with just 2:54 left.
 
Not counting themselves out, the Mustangs fought on with time running thin. Applewhite converted a fourth down with a three-yard run. A pass interference penalty helped Monroe move the ball, and then a 15-yard completion to Granison got the Mustangs up to the 26. Granison made another catch for 19 yards down to Iowa Central's seven. On third down, Applewhite found Robinson cutting across the back of the end zone for a seven-yard touchdown, but a missed extra point left the Mustangs down by eight at 35-27.
 
The Mustangs attempted an onside kick, but the Tritons were able to hang on. Two kneel-downs later, the clock expired.
 
The Mustangs finish the 2021 campaign with a 10-1 record. 2021 was Monroe's first-ever 10-win season and first-ever undefeated regular season. Monroe reached a bowl game for the third straight season despite having to take a hiatus in 2020.
 
ABOUT THE ATHLETIC PROGRAM AT MONROE COLLEGE
The athletic program at Monroe College encompasses a total of 39 teams competing across nine sports. There are 21 varsity and junior varsity programs, as well as club men's and women's rugby, the Monroe College marching band, and the newly added esports and men's volleyball programs, competing on the New Rochelle campus as the Mustangs (NJCAA Division I). The Monroe Express, based out of the Bronx campus, has 18 teams competing at the NJCAA Division III level.
 
For more information about the Monroe Mustangs, please visit us at www.MonroeCollegeMustangs.com or follow us on social media: Facebook (Monroe Mustangs Athletics), Twitter (@Monroe_Mustangs) and Instagram (@monroemustangs).