Storm win thriller against Buena Vista
INDIANOLA, Iowa (Sept. 26, 2009) – The third time was a charm for Simpson freshman Kevin Morgan.
In his first field goal attempt of the season, the first-year left-footed kicker from Lee's Summit, Mo. converted a 29-yard field goal attempt on his third trip to the field after two Buena Vista attempts to ice the young kicker, giving Simpson a dramatic 30-28 victory over the Beavers at Buxton Stadium Saturday afternoon.
Renauld Shelton (Sr., Kansas City, Mo.) rushed for a career-high 179 yards and a touchdown and wide receiver Taylor Rogers (Fr., South Sioux City, Neb.) made five catches for 152 yards and three touchdowns, leading the Storm (2-2, 1-1 IIAC) to its 12th straight home victory over the Beavers, a streak dating back to 1988.
Trailing 27-7 at the half, Buena Vista (1-2, 0-1 IIAC) took advantage of two second-half turnovers by the Storm, scoring 21 points in the frame to take a 28-27 lead late in the fourth quarter. Strong safety Alan Bladt forced a fumble and intercepted a pass, both of which led to BVU touchdowns.
“We gave ourselves some tough situations with short fields on turnovers, and defensively we didn't respond the way we wanted too,” head coach Jim Glogowski said. “But, ultimately, when it's all said and done, you have to respond at the end.”
Simpson responded when they needed to, mounting an eight-play, 36-yard drive over the final three minutes 48 seconds. Shelton moved the chains on a do-or-die fourth and one, keeping the drive alive with 55 seconds left. Two plays later, Tyson Unkrich (Sr., Swedesburg, Iowa) hooked up with tight end Alex McCarty (So., Prescott, Iowa) on a 14-yard pitch-and-catch, putting the Storm in field goal range after a holding call moved the ball back to the Buena Vista 26.
“What I was most proud of was the obstacles we were able to overcome in the last minutes of the game,” Glogowski said. “We got a three-and-out on defense after a missed field goal and, offensively, we overcame a holding call to put us in position at the end.”
On Simpson's previous drive, starting placekicker James Gale, (So., Waukee, Iowa) just missed a 23-yard attempt off the left upright that would have given Simpson the lead with four minutes 44 seconds remaining in regulation.
With time running low, the Simpson defense held the Beavers to three plays on the ensuing drive, setting the stage for the dramatic finish.
“Kickers are no different than any other position in that, when the opportunity is there, you go with the guy that gives you the best chance to win,” head coach Jim Glogowski said. “I felt that Kevin gave us the best chance to win at the end. Its unfortunate it didn't work out for James earlier, but we're a team and sometimes other people need to step up. Kevin did that for us today.”
Unkrich put together another complete-game effort, going 12-of-24 for 220 yards and three touchdowns through the air while adding 70 yards rushing. Unkrich threw an interception and committed one fumble.
Shelton became the second Simpson running back this season to accumulate over 165 yards on the ground after Matt Claassen (Jr., Newhall, Iowa) enjoyed a 166-yard day against Northwestern in a 48-20 win on Sept. 12.
“This is a year when we're going to have different guys step up from week-to-week, which is what you like to see in a young team,” Glogowski said. “The success of our running backs is really a credit to our offensive line and coach Kevin Ferguson. Those guys do a great job of blocking up front.”
Both Shelton and Rogers benefitted from big plays early in the contest. Shelton scampered 71 yards for Simpson's first score on the Storm's third play from scrimmage and Rogers went 75 yards on a delivery from Unkrich on Simpson's fourth play.
Shelton's 71-yard jaunt is the fourth-longest run in school history and longest since Cory Christensen ripped off a school-record 83-yarder in 1997.
Buena Vista quarterback Brandon Phelan finished the day with two scores through the air and 103 yards off 12-of-25 passing. He also found the endzone on a quarterback sneak.
John Hill came within 11 yards of triple digit rushing yards off 18 carries, pacing the Beaver ground attack. Dean Mosher grabbed three Phelan offerings for a team-high 27 yards, leading the way in receiving.
Defensively for Simpson, the duo of Cody Jensen (Sr., Grinnell, Iowa) and Braden Everding (So., Tripoli, Iowa) led the pack for Simpson again, as Jensen made a game-high 14 tackles – one for loss – followed by Everding's 13. Everding also broke up a pass. Robert Napoli (Sr., Independence, Mo.) made the game's only sack.
Brian Bode led the BVU defense with 13 tackles, followed by Bladt's eight.
Simpson heads back on the road next week when it goes to Decorah for a matchup with Luther at 1 p.m. on Oct. 3.
