Messenger photo by Britt Kudla: Bishop Garrigan football coach Marty Wadle stands with his seniors in Cedar Falls after the Golden Bears captured the 8-player state championship.

The UNI-Dome became championship central for our area this fall, as a pair of successful coaches guided their teams to memorable victories in Cedar Falls under completely different circumstances.

For Iowa Central’s Jesse Montalto, it was business as usual. The Tritons faced traditional national power and No. 5 Snow College of Utah as the lower-ranked “underdog” on paper. In what has become an annual tradition this time of year, his team showed up hungrier and more prepared in a dominant 44-9 victory.

The program’s incredible postseason win streak — now spanning 13 games and dating all the way back to 2004 — is arguably the NJCAA’s best ongoing football story. It is also a testament to the commitment level of both Montalto and his predecessor, Hall of Famer Kevin Twait.

By and large, bowl games are mostly a crapshoot. The motivation and focus of players — who are distracted for a wide variety of reasons by the end of the season — always seems to make these matchups so unpredictable.

Was Iowa Central — ranked 11th before last Sunday’s Game One Bowl showdown with Snow — 35 points better than the Badgers overall? Of course not. On this day, though, the Tritons were locked in. And Snow simply wasn’t ready for the onslaught.

The Tritons are now 6-0 in the postseason under Montalto, who is a perfect 10-0 as a head coach in bowl contests dating back to his Ellsworth days. Remarkably, Iowa Central was the lower-rated squad every single time. In fact, dating back to the Twait era — he won his final seven bowl games as the program’s head coach — the Tritons have been an “underdog” on paper in every Game One (formerly the Graphic Edge and RC Cola Bowl) tilt dating back to 2011.

The consistency in both the theme and performance on the gridiron has been nothing short of exceptional at Iowa Central, which is poised to close the year ranked in the Top-10 for a fourth consecutive season. Montalto and Twait — now the school’s athletic director — have led their teams to elite levels of success, but more importantly, focused on a bigger picture in preparing their student-athletes for both the next level and the real world. For 57 consecutive semesters under both Montalto and Twait, the football program has sported a higher cumulative grade point average than the general student body on campus.

If there’s a more impressive number than the bowl win streak, that would certainly qualify.

Meanwhile, Marty Wadle experienced a long-awaited first when his Bishop Garrigan football team captured the eight-player state title on the UNI-Dome turf last month.

This marked Wadle’s inaugural championship in 32 seasons at the helm. It hasn’t been for lack of trying or coming close; the Golden Bears piled up over 225 victories during that period of time, with 10 district crowns, 20 playoff appearances and four state runner-up finishes.

Wadle came to Garrigan in 1992, and has been a pillar of consistency in our area ever since. His program has been painfully close to the mountain top so many times. It’s great to see Wadle — an Iowa Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame inductee last March — finally experience his breakthrough moment at the school and in the community he has devoted his personal and professional life to for over three decades.

A MARK OF CONSISTENCY: Speaking of successful coaches with sustained success, how about Sara Horn and the Iowa Central volleyball program?

The Tritons turned in their third Top-5 national performance over the last four seasons at the NJCAA Div. II tournament two weeks ago in Cedar Rapids.

Like Montalto’s 2023 squad, Horn had to replace basically her entire lineup at Iowa Central from a year ago. She did so with pinpoint accuracy, using area players like Emily Goodner (Manson Northwest Webster), Olivia Sturgis (Manson Northwest Webster), Mya McClain (St. Edmond) and Alexis Hiracheta (Fort Dodge) to go from rebuilding to reloading in a hurry.

The Tritons have now secured four consecutive Region XI championships, and eight national tourney bids overall since 2011. Under Horn, Iowa Central has an incredible 209-38 overall record over the last six years combined.

Competing with the likes of Kirkwood, DMACC and other ICCAC schools is no small feat. The conference is often considered the best in the country for NJCAA programs.

Horn doesn’t just have her Tritons in the running with elite midwest teams year in and year out. Iowa Central has become the standard bearer.

SO LONG, COACH BREF: The Fort Dodge community lost another staunch, long-time advocate a little over a month ago with the passing of Bob Breffle at the age of 83.

Breffle was a Dodger through and through. He taught and coached football and track in the FDCSD for over 30 years, while also serving as a driver’s education instructor, umpire, official, and the long-time public address announcer for FDSH basketball games and wrestling meets.

Breffle was known for being fair and caring toward all of his students. The memories shared on social media were filled with respect, admiration and love.

During their formative years, loyal Dodgers learned to wear a Red and Black heart on their sleeve from people like Bob Breffle. It was great to see the outpouring of condolences and support from across the country, which undoubtedly helped his family heal and find a semblance of closure during their time of mourning.

Eric Pratt is Sports Editor at The Messenger. Contact him via email at sports@messengernews.net, or on Twitter @ByEricPratt