Suffocating defense leads Storm to win at Chicago

CHICAGO -- Joe McNally caught two touchdown passes, Cam Bunting ran for 176 yards and the Simpson football team beat Chicago 21-0 behind a stellar defensive effort on Saturday at Amos Alonzo Stagg Field.

The Storm (1-0) held Chicago to less than 200 yards, out gaining the Maroons (0-2) 435-189 while holding them to just 1-for-14 on third down.

Tanner Krueger completed 19 of 38 passes for 236 yards, tossing a pair of first-half TDs to McNally. The 6-foot-4 sophomore opened the scoring on a 13-yarder with 9:27 left in the first quarter then went over a defender to haul in a 10-yard scoring strike late in the second quarter.

McNally enjoyed a career day with five catches for 111 yards. In addition to his touchdown catches, he caught strikes of 37 and 38 yards.

Chris Bowles led the Storm defense with nine tackles and one sack. Simpson held Chicago to just 61 rushing yards and got interceptions from Brendan Holmes and Vaughn Brasseaux.

Bunting carried 37 times on the game but did the bulk of his work in the second half. With a 14-0 lead and gusting winds making the passing game a challenge, Simpson went to the run as Bunting racked up 118 yards in the final two quarters. His 36-yard TD scamper three plays into the fourth quarter provided the final blow to Chicago's chances.

Chicago managed just 72 yards of offense through the first three quarters and didn't get a first down until midway through the second quarter.

Notes
• Cam Bunting's 176 rushing yards were one shy of tying his career-high set at Dubuque on Oct. 21, 2017.
• Brendan Holmes' interception in the first quarter gives him nine for his career, tying him with teammate Ryan Lehr for sixth all-time at Simpson.
• The shoutout is the 138th in school history and first since a 30-0 win over Loras on Oct. 22, 2016.

Up Next
Simpson hosts Nebraska Wesleyan next Saturday, Sept. 15 in the American Rivers Conference opener. Start time is set for 1 p.m. at Buxton Stadium.