The Ironmen clinched a share of the Big 12 conference title with a 50-0 victory over the Peoria Notre Dame Irish on Friday, Sept. 13, improving to 8-0 on the season 

The win puts the 3rd ranked Community 7-0 in league play heading into this week’s contest against Peoria Manual Rams (1-7, 1-6).  

A win Friday would put the Ironmen at 8-0 in conference action and mean an outright Big 12 Championship for the Iron– a goal head coach Mr. Jason Drengwitz set at the start of the season.

In the eyes of the IHSA, the Iron already are Big 12 champs regardless of the outcome of Friday’s matchup, as Community owns the tie-breaker against Peoria High (6-1 in conference play), defeating the Lions 63-42 in Week 4.

The IHSA is “going to have us as the outright Big 12 because of the tie-breaker,” Drengwitz said. “But we don’t talk about that.” 

Tie-breaker? That isn’t in the coach’s vocabulary and so in Drengwitz’s eyes, the outright Big 12 title isn’t Community’s  quite yet. 

“How we look at it,” the coach said, “is that we’ve clinched a share of the Big 12. We don’t want to share anything with anybody. Especially a Conference Championship.”

“Our goal is to be 9-0 and to go 8-0 in the Conference,” Drengwitz said. 

Facing a Peoria Manual team with just one win on the season, that goal looks within reach.

Heading into the final week of the regular season, quarterback Kyle Beaty is just one passing touchdown short of 20, with junior receiver Mar’Quan Gary on the receiving end of 10 of Beaty’s 19 TD tosses

The duo, Drengwitz said, can connect for scoring chances anywhere on the field. 

Gary has 14 total scores on the season, with three rushing and a punt return touchdown.

Beaty has five rushing touchdowns of his own after eight weeks. 

The Iron, Drengwitz said, would rather have Tommy Davis running the ball. 

Take one look at the stats of the “dynamic playmaker” and it’s clear why. 

13 of the senior tailback’s scores have come on the ground, with Davis tallying two rushing touchdowns in each of his last  three games.

And when Davis hasn’t been running the ball it’s been Calen Taylor, who has five scores of his own this season.

It’s no coincidence the Iron have outscored opponents by a margin of 409-72 this season, with Community’s offense averaging 51 points a game.

Protection has been a key to Beaty’s success this season, as the junior has been sacked just one time this season. Beaty has one interception on the season, coming when his intended receiver slipped and fell on a muddy rain-soaked field in Week 5. 

Three “outstanding” seniors–Quinn Butler, Mac Brennan and Tyler Rustemeyer–have been essential in giving Beaty time in the pocket.

Butler, the center, has “done a tremendous job,” Drengwitz said, identifying opponents’ defensive fronts this season. 

This week, the quarterback will be without the protection of 6-foot-2 255-pound Mac Brennan, as the senior tackle suffered a dislocated knee in practice last week and will not return until the postseason.

But back in action for the Ironmen is defensive end Kaden Maas, the senior missed four games after suffering a high ankle sprain in Week 4.

Defense has been a key to the Iron’s undefeated streak this season. The Community defense has held four opponents scoreless, including holding Bloomington to negative yards in Week 5.  

Defensive Coordinator Derek Logue, the head coach said, puts together “a really sound and excellent game plan” that builds on the Iron’s execution of base concepts.

Building on those “base fundamentals, things that we did starting back in June,” Drengwitz said, by putting in “some wrinkles and throwing some different things here” has allowed the defense to excel.

“Our defensive position coaches,” Drengwitz said, “have done a great job installing that defensive gameplan and curtailing their practices to work on the skills we’ll need to execute that plan… Our players are dialed in to what we’re trying to do and play really hard.”

That defense has allowed a mere 10 touchdowns this season, scoring over half as many themselves. 

Dexter Niekamp has found the end-zone three times on defense: recording two scoop-and-scores and a pick six this season. 

Linebacker Brady Augstin has two defensive touchdowns of his own, turning two interceptions into points (and nearly adding a third before getting tripped up at the goal line)

The Iron will learn who they host in the first round of postseason play Saturday during the IHSA Playoff Pairing show. 

Regardless of who the Iron face, making the postseason, something Community has done for 27 straight seasons, is something Drengwitz doesn’t take for granted.

“Lots of people don’t get the experience of playing postseason football,” said. 

In fact, it is an experience Drengwitz himself never had playing high school football in Pontiac. 

And it is a challenge. 

“You’re going to play really good teams when you are In  7A in Illinois,” the coach said. “You get some big time powerhouses in the state of Illinois. 

“We know when you play in the playoffs, you’re going to play good teams,” Drengwitz said. “No matter who we get,” or “whether we are playing at home or on the road, we’re going to have to play well and play our best version of football when we get there.”

The Iron kickoff on the road, taking the field at Peoria Stadium against the Manual Rams tonight at 7 p.m. Community learns who they will host in the first-round of the playoffs Saturday at 8 p.m.