Storm stumble down the stretch in loss to Central

INDIANOLA, Iowa – Kyle Gritsch scored from 1-yard out with 1:49 left and Caleb Frye's desperation pass on fourth down was intercepted as Central scored 17-unanswered to beat the Simpson football team 31-24 on Saturday.

Simpson trailed by two touchdowns early, but rattled off 24 straight to take a 24-14 lead with 6:21 left in the third when Jordan Beem scored from a yard out, his second TD of the game.

Beem ran for 124 yards on 20 carries, giving the junior five-straight 100-yard games. He rattled off 90 yards in the second half after being held in check in the first.

Frye threw a second quarter TD pass to Jackson Redmond, Drew Jensen made a 41-yard field goal at the end of the first half and Beem broke loose for a 73-yard score to give the Storm (3-5, 2-3 Iowa Conference) a 10-point lead.

"It felt like we had control of the game, it just got away from us at the end," head coach Jim Glogowski said.

A 14-yard run by Adam Lindell with 1:52 left in the third bought the Dutch (5-3, 3-2) within 24-14. Aaron Marcellus tied it up with a 32-yard field goal.

Backup quarterback Nate Boland threw for 274 yards and two TDs and rushed for 73 in his first career start to lead the Central offense. Sam Markham was his favorite target, catching nine passes for 141 yards.

The Storm defense forced two fumbles, the first lost fumbles of the season for the Dtuch.

The teams exchanged five three-and-outs with the game tied in the fourth. Central ended the streak and took control of the field position battle when backup quarterback Nate Boland ran 46-yards on a keeper to setup the go-ahead score.

"We can't allow that big drive at the end. We have to figure out a way to get off the field," Glogowski said. 

Frye completed three passes to Nate Connealy and two to Beem on the final drive, getting Simpson to the 18 before a sack. Facing 4th-and-14 at the 22 with 8 seconds left, Frye tried to go deep down the middle but was intercepted by Mitch Schroeder to end it.

Connealy caught a season-high 11 passes for 98 yards and Redmond caught two passes for 97 yards.

Simpson managed just five drives of five-or-more plays and had eight, three-and-outs. The Storm gained 250 yards on its four scoring drives but just 144 in all other drives.

"We have to be more consistent on offense," Glogowski said. "We aren't scoring throughout the course of the game, we're scoring in bursts and we have to be more consistent."

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Saturday, Nov. 7 at Wartburg