INDEPENDENCE, Kan. - The Independence Pirate Football team dropped their third straight game Sunday afternoon, falling to #2 Iowa Western 40-6. 

The three straight losses have all come at the hands of then Top-10 nationally ranked opponents, including the last two coming to the two top teams in the country. 

The Reivers got off to a hot start, as they drove the ball all the way down to the goal line on their opening possession. After a strong goal line stand by the Pirate defense, the fourth time was the charm for the Reivers as they were able to punch it in from the one yard line on fourth and goal to take the early 7-0 lead. 

After a three and out on the Pirates first possession the Reivers immediately cashed in the great field position as a 36 yard touchdown run pushed their lead to 14. 

On the ensuing kickoff, the Reivers caught the Pirates sleeping as a pooch kick down the Reivers sideline was recovered by Iowa Western and immediately set them up with great field position once again. Another strong drive from the Reivers pushed the lead to 21 as an 11 yard touchdown run capped off a seven play, 40 yard drive. 

The Pirate offense continued to struggle to string any drives together, as early in the second quarter the Reivers pushed their lead to 28, on a 16 yard touchdown pass.

Two more scoring drives rounded out the first half for the Reivers as they took a 38-0 lead  to the locker room. 

In the second half, the Indy defense answered the call as they held the Reivers at bay. The Indy offense started to build a bit of momentum and had a nice drive going deep into Iowa Western territory before an interception in the endzone ended Indy’s first scoring opportunity. 

The Pirates came up empty on another promising drive early in the fourth quarter that ended on a 39 yard field goal that missed wide right.

The Pirates offense kept pushing though as they were able to find the endzone on their next possession, as Nathan Neal found Mekhi Penix in the corner of the endzone for a 14 yard score. The Pirate offense elected to go for two, but the PAT try was intercepted and returned for two points for Iowa Western, their only score of the second half leading to the eventual 40-6 final. 

Nathan Neal, in his first full time start, finished the day 15-34 for 130 yards and the one touchdown pass. Penix led the way in the receiving game as he had four grabs for 36 yards. 

Defensively, Kenneth Ford Jr had a nice day as he led the Pirates with seven tackles, and also had a sack. Dahlan Peoples and Emmanuel Peter each notched their first sacks of the year. 

The loss moves the Pirates to 3-5 on the season and they will return to KJCCC play next weekend as they will square off with Dodge City on Saturday at 1:00 pm.