Turnovers cost Storm against Wartburg

INDIANOLA - Connor Dahlstrom ran for 73 yards and a touchdown, the Wartburg defense forced four turnovers and the No. 13 Knights beat Simpson 27-14 in the season finale on Saturday at Buxton Stadium.

Simpson out-gained Wartburg 358-279, picked up 10 more first downs and held the ball for nearly five more minutes than the undefeated Iowa Conference Champion. But two fumbles, two interceptions and two turnovers on downs inside the Wartburg 30 yard line proved the difference in the game.

Taylor Nelson accounted for 295 total yards for the Storm (2-8, 2-6 IIAC), throwing for 245 and running for a team-high 50. The freshman went 23 of 40 through the air with two fourth-quarter touchdown passes, finding Taylor Rogers and Jake McCulley for scores.

Dahlstrom led a balanced rushing attack for the undefeated Knights (10-0, 8-0 IIAC), as five ball carriers ran for 132 yards. Quarterback Dan Stiefel went 9 of 18 passing for 147 with a touchdown and Wartburg built a 27-0 lead in the first three quarters.

An opportunistic Wartburg defense ended three promising Simpson drives inside its own 30 yard line. Wartburg forced a turnover on downs at its own 28 in the first quarter, Brandon Moeller intercepted a Taylor Nelson pass in the endzone in the third quarter and the Knights stopped Simpson short on a fourth and goal from the two in the fourth. With 9:38 remaining in the third quarter, Blake Suckow returned an interception 46 yards for a score.

Defensively, Garrett McGrane made a game-high 13 tackles and forced a fumble for Wartburg. Braden Everding had 10 tackles and a tackle for loss for Simpson.

Wartburg scored 27 unanswered points before Simpson got on the board with less than five minutes remaining in the game. Matt Gustafson caught a 40 yard pass from Steifel to open the scoring in the first quarter, while Levi Helbing and Dahlstrom had touchdown runs in the second quarter.

Nelson found McCulley from nine yards out for Simpson's first score with four minutes, 23 seconds to go in the contest. Rogers came back and wrestled away an underthrown fade pass for a 13-yard touchdown grab with 13 seconds left.