Nelson, Klein earn IIAC honors
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – Simpson football player Taylor Nelson earned Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Athlete of the Week honors and teammate Logan Klein took home Special Teams Player of the Week recognition for the week ending Sunday, Oct. 13.
Nelson, a senior quarterback from West Des Moines, Iowa, also earned Offensive Player of the Week honors as he piloted Simpson's game-winning drive early in the fourth quarter of the Storm's 14-10 Homecoming win over rival Central on Saturday, Oct. 12. He went 3-for-4 for 33 yards passing and rushed six times for 35 yards on the drive, including a 9-yard scramble to set up with winning score. He completed 17 of 27 passes for 171 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions on the day and extended his streak of consecutive games with a passing touchdown to 23.
With 64 career touchdown passes, Nelson is just two shy of the school record 66 set by Mike Donnenwerth from 2000-03. The accolade marks the fourth Athlete of the Week honor and fifth Offensive Player of the Week honor of Nelson's career.
Klein, a junior punter from Sigourney, Iowa, averaged 35.4 yards on five punts with a long of 44 in the win. In the fourth quarter, he punted twice for 75 yards, a crucial factor in Central's poor field position of its own 23 in the final 15 minutes. He landed two punts inside the 20-yard line on the day.
Nelson, Klein and the Storm (3-2, 1-1 Iowa Conference) travel to Dubuque for an Iowa Conference matchup against Loras on Saturday, Oct. 19. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
