-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla Cyncir Bowers of Iowa Central runs for a touchdown against Garden City on Saturday inside Dodgers Stadium

The Iowa Central football squad is past just believing.

They are now at a proving point.

The Tritons (5-5 overall) pulled to .500 on the season, prevailing in a scorefest with Garden City (1-9) on Saturday inside Dodger Stadium, 49-45.

“We’ve been talking all year about believing and continuing to believe,” said ICCC head coach Jesse Montalto. “Last week, we got that evidence. We continued that belief and got that evidence again (against Garden City).”

The teams combined for 94 points, 31 points in the first quarter and 63 in the first half.

It turned into a track meet between two of the top two running backs in the country.

Garden City’s Dejaun Lacy came in with the fourth most yards in all of NJCAA (1,073), while Iowa Central’s Cyncir Bowers (826) was seventh in the nation.

“We knew what was at stake if we lost,” Bowers said. “We also had to prove to ourselves. We can play with the best of them. All week, we were practicing hard, stacking days and it showed.”

Both backs put on a show for the Hall of Fame Weekend crowd on a misty afternoon.

Lacy went for 193 yards and two touchdowns, while Bowers broke the 200-plateau with 202 yards and three end-zone trips.

“The gameplan going in was go fast and tough and show discipline,” Bowers said. “The biggest thing was we didn’t beat ourselves in this game and fought hard to the end.

“This win was everything. We were on a losing streak for a while, so to be winning again (recently) feels good. I couldn’t be happier for the team, especially our O-line — the sled dawgs who work hard everyday.”

With the output, Bowers went over 1,000 yards for the season at 1,028.

“I think he (Bowers) took (facing the team featuring Lacy) as a challenge,” Montalto said. “They’re both good backs, and we believe in Cyncir. He was able to prove it and have a huge game.”

Both backs went over 100 yards in the first quarter, as Lacy did it on touchdown runs of 51 yards and 54 yards.

Iowa Central’s Jaquez Hall trimmed the Garden City lead to 17-14 with a 21-yard TD late in the first.

The Broncbusters added two late scores in the second quarter, spearheaded by a Michael Thomas pick-six for a 28-21 lead. Gene Sledge had a six-yard scoring run for the 35-21 lead.

Iowa Central wouldn’t go into the locker room quietly, though. The Tritons began a scoring streak, reeling off 28 unanswered for a 49-35 lead by the third quarter.

“It was important for us to score before the half, knowing we were going to get the ball to start the second half,” Montalto said. “We felt that in that eight-minute span we needed to go out there and compete and move the ball.”

The Tritons cut the deficit to seven points with an 18-yard touchdown pass from Ty Purdy to Hall. Iowa Central opened the third with touchdown runs of five and 35 yards from Bowers for a 42-35 lead.

Anthony Hall capped the scoring with a two-yard plunge for the two-touchdown advantage. Hall’s TD came after the Broncbusters fumbled.

Garden City marched down the field and punched in a one-yard touchdown from Gene Sledge Jr. to get back within 49-42. With a little over six minutes remaining, Tanner Rinker nailed a 45-yard field goal to make it a four-point contest.

The Triton offense was spectacular on the day, but the defense may have come up with the biggest play of the game.

With the ball at midfield late in regulation, Garden City had the ball on fourth-and-inches. Quarterback Tyler Nelson tried a quarterback sneak, but the Tritons formed an iron wall and turned the Broncbusters away.

Garden City had one more chance after an Iowa Central three-and-out. The Broncbuster moved the ball to their own 47-yard line, but the drive stalled on fourth down.

Nelson joined Lacy and Bowers over the 100-yard mark with 144 on the ground.

The Tritons had a strong running attack, mixed with a solid passing game. They ran for 246 and threw for 156.

Iowa Central’s Tyler Smith threw for 103 yards before leaving the game with an injury. Smith had one touchdown pass to Hall in the first quarter.

Purdy threw for 53 yards, a TD to Hall and a nine-yard scoring strike to Bryce Anderson. Anderson caught six balls for 89 yards.

The Tritons will conclude the regular season this weekend at Butler.

“We’re now at .500,” Montalto said. “We have one more to finish above that mark.

“We have to stay hungry and get after it.”