Storm shut out Buena Vista

INDIANOLA, Iowa - Held in check for more than three quarters, Taylor Rogers needed only 13 seconds to leave his stamp on the game.

Rogers scored the only touchdown on a breezy afternoon at Buxton Stadium and Simpson extended its winning streak to four games with 14-0 shutout of Buena Vista.

"To shut somebody out in this league is an accomplishment," head coach Jim Glogowski said. "It's a credit to our kids and our coaches."

On 1st and 10 from his own 12 and Simpson clinging to a 6-0 lead, Taylor Nelson found Rogers open on the visitor's sideline. He hauled in the pass and raced 88 yards to paydirt, a one-play, 13-second drive.

"I didn't see it because I was meeting with the defense," Glogowski said. "But there is nothing better than hearing the crowd roar so you know something good is happening."

Seconds before, Buena Vista saw a 14-play, 6-minute, 32-second drive come to a close when Eric Addy knocked down a Bo Darrow pass in the endzone.

"Our kids understand that if you keep chipping away, eventually you will hit one of those plays and it becomes a backbreaker," Glogowski said.

The Storm (5-4, 5-2 Iowa Conference) gave Darrow fits all day, sacking the quarterback nine times. Ty Larsen led the charge with 2 1/2 sacks and 3 1/2 tackles for loss as the Simpson defense pitched its first shutout since a 55-0 blanking of Cornell in 2003.

"We did a great job of attacking their protections," Glogowski said. "Bo Darrow is a good, mobile quarterback and our kids did a good job of tracking him down."

Mark Cronin had a game-high 13 tackles and Braden Everding made 12, giving him the program record for tackles in a career with 258. Fittingly, his record-setting tackle came on a sack.

Rogers finished with seven catches for 127 yards. Nelson threw for 184 yards on 17 of 28 passing and Michael Chia led the ground attack with 58 yards on 13 carries.

Darrow finished 12-for-34 for 141 yards for the Beavers (1-8, 1-6), who haven't won in Indianola since 1987. John Hill ran 19 times for 76 yards and Danny Pattee made eight tackles from his cornerback position.

James Gale provided the only points in the first half, hitting field goals of 22 and 27 yards.

Simpson missed two golden scoring opportunities on the day. In the first quarter, Brandon Abernathy blocked a Nathan Schumann punt, giving Simpson the ball at the 12. Two plays later, a Chia funble gave the ball back to BVU.

Then, in the third quarter, Simpson drove inside the Buena Vista 10 before an interception by Pattee stalled the drive.

The Storm host Central next week in the season finale. The Dutch (6-3, 5-2) had a bye on Saturday.