Krueger tosses three TDs in win at Dubuque

DUBUQUE, Iowa -- Tanner Krueger tossed three touchdown passes to guide Simpson football to a 21-14 victory at Dubuque Saturday night to begin American Rivers Conference play.

All three of the Storm's (2-1, 1-0 A-R-C) scores came through the air as Krueger passed for 153 yards. In total, Simpson tallied 354 yards while Joe Meyer raced for 154-yards on the ground.

The Storm started the scoring at Chalmers Field near the end of the first quarter to go up 7-0. The duo of Sam Bartlett and Krueger struck again, this time on a 7-yard completion.

Bartlett and Krueger teamed up once more for a 12-yard touchdown with seven minutes remaining in the first half to make it 14-0. The play was setup after Cam Callion picked off the Spartans' (1-2, 0-1 A-R-C) quarterback at Simpson's 17-yard line and ran it back 44 yards to give the Storm a nice place to start the five-play drive.

Coming out of halftime, Dubuque forced the Storm to a four-and-out to regain possession. The Spartans then drove 45 yards to cut the deficit in half and make it a one-score game at 14-7.

The rest of the quarter was scoreless for both teams before Dubuque tallied another touchdown, this time tying the game at 14-14. The Spartans got on the board with a 41-yard catch in the fourth.

On the ensuing drive, Simpson chalked up the winning play, this time calling on Joe McNally. Krueger and McNally connected on a 28-yard score to give the team a 21-14 lead with less than eight minutes remaining. On the drive, the Storm were looking at 4th-and-2, so Krueger dumped a pass to Meyer, who picked up 3 yards to move the chains, allowing the team to score on the next play.

The defense had to answer the call in the remaining minutes of the game as it was faced with the Spartans having a 1st-and-10 at Simpson's 16-yard line. Dubuque would gain 4 yards on the first play, but the Storm would force three incompletions to get the ball back and end the threat.

Barlett ended with 69 yards and McNally hauled in 59 yards through the air. This cut Bartlett's stretch of consecutive games to start the season with 100-yards receiving to two.

Mason Ackerson played a big role from his punter spot and kicked for 209 yards in five attempts, while placing one ball inside the 20 to flip the field.

Cam Callion, Brendan Holmes and Parker Schenk each had seven tackles to pace the defense. Schenk had two pass breakups and a tackle for loss.

Notes
• Bartlett and Krueger have accounted for five touchdowns over the last two games.
• The win snapped a five-game losing streak to Dubuque and have now won two games in the last 11 meetings in the series.
• Meyer's 154 rushing yards are a career high for the junior, surpassing 70 yards set last week against Chicago.
• This is the second year in a row Simpson has started 1-0 in conference play.

Up Next
The Storm take on Buena Vista inside Buxton Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 28. Game time is set for 1 p.m.