Storm lose sloppy game at Luther
DECORAH, Iowa - Ill-timed miscues doomed the Simpson football team Saturday afternoon at a wet and muddy Carlson Stadium, as Luther earned a homecoming victory over the Storm, 23-13.
Luther sophomore quarterback Chris Reynolds accounted for 252 of Luther's 254 total yards, rushing for 155 yards with three touchdowns for the Norse (2-2, 1-1 IIAC), who avenged a loss last year in Indianola.
Simpson (2-3, 1-2 IIAC) accumulated a season-low 205 yards, going to the air a season-high 43 times as the Storm is still in search of its first victory outside of Buxton Stadium.
"Mistakes were our downfall today," Simpson head coach Jim Glogowski said. "We have to do a better job of taking care of the football and doing the basic things like blocking and tackling."
Luther held the Storm under 100 rushing yards for the first time in the Glogowski era and the first time since Oct. 27, 2007, as Simpson gained 83 hard-earned yards on the ground Saturday.
"We struggled running the ball today and turned the ball over to put them in advantageous situations," Glogowksi said. "The guys played really hard today, we just have to stop beating ourselves."
Simpson won the turnover battle 2-1 on Saturday, but Simpson's lone lost fumble turned into an easy seven points for Luther.
With Luther leading 14-6 early in the third quarter, Norse punter Donny Norlander pinned Simpson at its own four-yard line. On Simpson's second play of the drive, Luther's Cody Edwards broke free into the Storm backfield and stripped quarterback Tyson Unkrich, recovering the loose ball himself at the Simpson four. Reynolds needed only one play to find the endzone, diving in to give the Norse a three-score advantage, 20-6, with 9 minutes 32 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
"Today we made the mistakes that beat every team – turnovers and penalties," Glogowksi said. "We had chances, we just didn't capitalize on the chances we had."
Luther jumped out to a 14-0 halftime advantage on 1- and 16-yard touchdown runs by Reynolds.
The Storm got out to a fast start in the third quarter, as safety John Wolfe took the opening kickoff 76 yards to the Luther 13, setting up a three-yard touchdown run by Unkrich just 2 minutes 41 seconds into the half, making the score 14-6.
After the Norse took a 20-6 lead, Simpson moved the ball to the Luther 36 mid-way through the third quarter. Facing a fourth and three, Unkrich hooked up with tight end Alex McCarty for a six-yard gain and what appeared to be a first down. However, an inelligible man downfield penalty nullified the play and forced a Simpson punt.
Simpson narrowed the gap to 20-13 after Unkrich found Taylor Rogers with 13 minutes 50 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, capping off a seven-play, 37-yard drive.
But Reynolds put a dagger in Simpson's comeback hopes when he scrambled 46-yards to the Simpson five yard line late in the fourth frame. The Storm defense held the Norse out of the endzone, but a 22-yard field goal from Seth Streeter gave the Norse an insurmountable two-score edge, 23-13.
Unkrich ended the day 12-for-43 for 122 yards and one touchdown through the air. He also rushed for a team-high 53 yards, followed by Matt Claassen with 27 yards and Renauld Shelton with 20. Josh Wardenburg, McCarty and Rogers all caught two passes for the Storm.
Defensively, Chad Onstot led the way with 10 tackles, making one tackle-for-loss. Jason Courtney added a sack and Wardell Watkins notched his first interception of the season.
Simpson returns home next Saturday, Oct. 10 when it hosts No. 8 Central at Buxton Stadium in a highly-anticipated homecoming matchup. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. All the action can be heard on 105.3 KEDB FM and www.kedb.fm.
