Storm look to spoil homecoming at Loras

INDIANOLA, Iowa -- Simpson College football looks to hand Loras its first American Rivers Conference blemish of the season during homecoming for the Duhawks on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. inside the Rock Bowl in Dubuque.

The Storm (0-4, 2-2 A-R-C) could not slow down No. 12 Central's (4-0, 2-0) high-powered offense last week to drop an 84-16 contest. Loras (2-2, 2-0 A-R-C) connected on a 37-yard field goal in the final seconds to win 31-30 over Nebraska Wesleyan (2-2, 0-2 A-R-C) last Saturday to remain perfect in league play.

Andrew Swadner and Rick Wilson will have the call on 94.3 FM or online at kniakrls.com. Links to live audio, video and statistics can be found on SimpsonAthletics.com.

GAME 5
Simpson (0-4, 0-2 A-R-C) at Loras (2-2, 2-0 A-R-C)
Saturday, Oct. 2 | 1 p.m.
Rock Bowl | Dubuque, Iowa
Live Stats | Live Video | Live Audio (KNIA)

FIRST AND 10
Simpson comes into the contest after suffering an 84-16 defeat to No. 12 Central last week and Loras left Lincoln, Nebraska with a one-point victory of 31-30 against Nebraska Wesleyan ... the Duhawks were down by nine with seven minutes left in the fourth before scoring a TD with 4:38 left to come within three ... the offense executed a six-play, 42-yard drive to setup a 37-yard field goal for the victory.

LORAS SERIES NOTES
For the 42nd time since 1925, the Storm and Duhawks meet on the gridiron ... since 2010, the series has been in favor of Simpson as the squad has produced seven victories in that span and had a three-game winning streak before it was snapped in the last meeting in 2019 ... Loras scored 31-unanswered points in the last battle to win 38-20 on Oct. 9, 2019 after the Storm went up 20-7 midway through the second quarter.

ABOUT THE DUHAWKS
Loras and eighth-year head coach Steve Helminiak are currently tied for first in the league's standings with a 2-0 start after earning wins against Buena Vista and Nebraska Wesleyan ... the Duhawks have produced two A-R-C Player of the Weeks in Noah Sigwarth (offensive) and Jack Foley (defensive) ... Sigwarth is averaging 231 yards per game through the air with 10 TDs. ... in nonconference action, Loras dropped contests to St. Norbert and UW-Eau Claire.

AROUND THE A-R-C
The game circled on everyone's calendar will be the showdown in Pella between No. 13 Central and RV Wartburg on Saturday ... both squads have conference title aspirations after they shared the A-R-C crown in 2019 ... other contests going on in the league are Buena Vista at Dubuque and Nebraska Wesleyan at Luther ... each game is set to begin at 1 p.m.

TACKLING TRIO
Senior Lanny Herzog and junior Wyatt Schaben are tied for first in the league with 38 tackles and are averaging 9.5 per outing ... Schaben's 21 solo takedowns lead the conference and Herzog is second with 20 ... senior Boston Draper is close by in third with 35 tackles.

100-YARD RUSHER
Freshman Hunter Ogle had a breakout game last week as he rushed for 128 yards to become the first rookie running back to eclipse the 100-yard mark since Oct. 19, 2013 for the Storm ... Ogle sprinted for a 37-yard gain to highlight his afternoon ... in the league's rankings, he's seventh with 6.1 yards per carry and ninth with 201 yards rushing.

RETURN SPECIALISTS
Junior Gavin O'Steen and sophomore Cameron Jones averaged over 23 yards per kick return last week as the duo each had five attempts ... O'Steen racked up 122 yards with a long of 45 for fourth best in the A-R-C this fall.

ALEXANDER THE GREAT
Junior Desmond Alexander has been busy for Simpson this year by amassing over 330 all-purpose yards ... he's rushed for 164 and tallied 142 on seven kick returns ... Alexander is averaging 83.0 yards per game for 15th best in the conference.

RANKED FOES
Two teams are currently inside the top 12 in the AFCA Top-25 Poll that are scribbled in Simpson's calendar ... Mary Hardin-Baylor still carries the No. 1 next to its name and Central moved up a spot to No. 12 after last week's performance in Indianola ... Wartburg holds six votes to sit in the receiving votes section in the AFCA rankings ... in the D3football.com poll, Mary Hardin-Baylor is No. 2 and the Dutch are No. 13 after climbing a spot, and the Knights are receiving votes again.

UP NEXT
Simpson returns home for a 1 p.m. game against Luther (0-4, 0-2 A-R-C) next Saturday, Oct. 9. Links to live video, statistics and audio can be found on SimpsonAthletics.com.