Preview: Storm look to slow down high-flying Duhawks

The Simpson Storm football team will try to take down the league's top offense when it travels to Dubuque to take on the Loras Duhawks on Saturday, Oct. 7 at the Rock Bowl. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.

The Storm (2-3, 1-2 Iowa Conference) are looking to get back on track after a 35-17 loss to Central last week while the Duhawks (3-2, 2-1) are on a two-game winning streak after beating Nebraska Wesleyan 49-42 last week in Lincoln.

Gameday Coverage
Video Stream: Duhawks.com
Live Stats: Duhawks.com
Radio: KNIA 1320 AM/95.3 FM and KNIAKRLS.com
Radio Talent: Andrew Swadner (play-by-play), Rick Wilson (analyst)

Quick Hits
• Simpson is looking for its second win in a row over Loras.
• QB Sam Sasso leads the Iowa Conference and ranks 20th in Division III with 13 passing TDs. He also figures highly into the national rankings in passing yards (14th, 1,422), completions per game (9th, 25.6) and points responsible for (26th, 84).
• Senior WR Jackson Redmond ranks second in the IIAC and 24th in Division III in receiving yards (491). He was held to his lowest output of the season last week against Central, making five catches for 63 yards. He was held without a receiving TD for the first time in three games.
• Senior placekicker Drew Jensen extended his school record for made field goals in career when he made his 28th in last week's loss to Central. He is 4 of 6 on the year, all four coming from 40-45 yards. He is also a perfect 17-for-17 on extra point attempts.
• Junior RB Cam Bunting surpassed 100 yards rushing for the second week in a row with 106 against Central. He is the first Simpson running back to post back-to-back 100-yard games since Jordan Beem did it in seven consecutive games to close the 2015 season.
• Despite being held without a sack for the first time this season in the loss to Central, the Storm still lead the Iowa Conference with 13 sacks through five games. Defensive end Jake Stearns is tied for the conference lead with 4.5 sacks while the other end, Trey Chumbley, is tied for second with 4.0.
• The Storm defense has 11 takeaways in 2017, 38th in Division III and fourth in the IIAC. The Storm now have at least one takeaway in 14 of 15 games since Matt Jeter took over as head coach in 2016.
• Simpson has had a number of standout performers in the defensive backfield in 2017. Cornerback Prince Krah ranks third in the IIAC and 11th in Division III with 2.2 passes defended per game while safeties Ryan Lehr and Brendan Holmes are tied for third in the league with three INTs apiece.

A Look at the Duhawks
Loras owns the highest-scoring offense in the Iowa Conference, putting up 42.6 points per game, good for 13th-best in Division III. The Duhawks are averaging 61 points per game during their current two-game winning streak, which included a 73-34 win over Buena Vista on Sept. 23. Loras has gotten it done on the ground and in the air, with Ike Cloward running for a league-best 487 yards and Bob Kelly completing better than 64 percent of his passes. Defensively, the Duhawks pressure the quarterback as well as any team in the league, tallying 13 sacks on the season, tied with Simpson for the conference lead.

The Series
Saturday marks the 39th meeting between Simpson and Loras in a series that began in 1925. Simpson leads the all-time series 28-10, including a 12-7 mark in Dubuque. Simpson won last year's meeting 30-0 after Loras won 27-24 in 2014 and 27-9 in 2015. The teams have met annually since 1986. Prior to the 1986 meeting, the teams last met in 1940.

Watch the Storm in HD
Storm video streaming has gone high-definition! A new addition in the spring of 2017, Storm football fans can experience all six home game in HD for the first time this season. Veteran broadcaster Todd Guessford has the call alongside analyst Paul Davis, former defensive line coach for the Storm. Pregame begins at 12:30 p.m.

On the Air
Back again this season, all Simpson football games can be heard on KNIA 1320 AM/95.3 FM and online at KNIAKRLS.com. You can also download the KNIA app on iTunes and Google's Play Store. Andrew Swadner will have the call with Rick Wilson providing the color commentary.