Storm roll to big win over Luther

DECORAH, Iowa – Behind five touchdown passes from J Jensen III, season-high rushing and suffocating defense, the Simpson College football team rolled to a 56-14 win over Luther.

The Storm (3-4, 2-3 A-R-C) racked up over 560 yards of offense, while holding Luther (0-7, 0-6 A-R-C) to 137, including just 40 yards in the first three quarters. Reed Worth and Cameron Jones both scored twice, while Desmond Alexander, Briley Hayes and Jerad Fischer all added rushing touchdowns and Nyle Pascasio found the endzone for the first time in Simpson uniform.

BREAKING DOWN THE ACTION

• The Storm started the game with back-to-back touchdowns on their first two drives. J Jensen III threw the first of five touchdown passes to Reed Worth on the opening drive and Briley Hayes scored from two yards out a few minutes later to make the score 14-0.
• Simpson's offense quieted down after the early scores, but the defense continued to wreak havoc, holding the Norse to minus-14 yards over their next five possessions. An interception by Nathaniel Bishop put the Storm in prime position to add more points to the scoreboard, and they did just that as Desmond Alexander crossed the goal line to give Simpson a 21-0 advantage headed into halftime.
• Simpson continued to roll in the second half, scoring on all five of its possessions while proceeding to stifle Luther's offense.
• Cameron Jones was on the receiving end of two more touchdown passes by Jensen as the duo connected from nine and 36 yards out to extend the lead to 35-0.
• A 43-yard completion from Jensen to Worth added an sixth touchdown for the visitors with 48 seconds left in the third quarter.
• Nyle Pascasio scored his first touchdown of the year early in the fourth on an 8-play, 79-yard drive fueled by a 54-yard rush by Danny Rankins Jr.
• Less than a minute later, Joey Goins recovered a fumble forced by CJ Hangartner to give the Storm the ball back deep in Norse territory. The visitors capitalized on the Luther miscue soon after as Jerad Fischer ran it in from three yards out on the quarterback keeper.
• Luther scored a pair of touchdowns in the final two minutes.

TOP CONTRIBUTORS

• J Jensen III: 25-38, 308 yards, 5 TD
• Reed Worth: 8 rec, 126 yards, 2 TD
• Cameron Jones: 3 rec, 81 yards, 2 TD
• Desmond Alexander: 18 carries, 86 yards, 1 TD
• Briley Hayes: 10 carries, 60 yards, 1 TD
• Wyatt Schaben: 8 tackles (1.5 TFL)
• Zach Truitt: 6 tackles
• Mason Little: 5 tackles (2.0 TFL), 4 PBU, 1 sack
• Micah Baumhoefener: 8-8 PAT, 5 touchbacks

OF NOTE

• Simpson improves to 3-1 on the road.
• The Storm produced a season-high 255 rushing yards, while passing for more than 300 yards for the fourth time this season.
• Simpson's defense held Luther to 137 total yards, including just 40 in the first three quarters. The Norse did not obtain a first down until late in the third quarter.
• The Storm were 10 of 13 on third down, while the Norse were 4 of 18.
• Along with paving the way for season-high rushing yards, the Storm offensive line did not allow a sack for the second time this season. 

MILESTONES

• J Jensen III became the sixth quarterback in program history to surpass 5,000 career passing yards. Today's game was his eighth time throwing for over 300 yards and fourth career game with five passing touchdowns.
• Reed Worth surpassed Jim Henderson (2,860, 1965-68) for second all-time on the career receiving yards leaderboard. Worth currently has 2,936 career receiving yards and can become the program's all-time leader with 275 more.
• With his two touchdown scores, Worth now has 10 on the season. He's the second receiver in team history to record double-digit touchdowns in two separate seasons, joining Taylor Rogers who scored 10 in 2012 and 11 in 2009. Worth hauled in 13 touchdowns in 2022 and trails Rogers (31, 2009-12) by one on the career touchdowns leaderboard.

UP NEXT
Simpson returns to Buxton Stadium to host Dubuque on Oct. 28. The Spartans (3-4, 3-2 A-R-C) shut out Buena Vista 41-0 on Saturday.