Football Preview: Wartburg

INDIANOLA, Iowa -- Simpson hosts Wartburg this Saturday in the 75th meeting between the two programs. The Storm will be celebrating Homecoming this weekend during the contest. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.

The Storm are back in action after a week away from competition, while the Knights head into this week's game after a 61-7 victory over Nebraska Wesleyan. Simpson and Wartburg are the last remaining unbeaten teams in the American Rivers Conference and the Knights are the lone team with a perfect overall record among league schools.

The game will be streamed live through SimpsonAthletics.com. Todd Guessford will have the call with Ethan Humble as pregame begins at 12:15 p.m.

GAME INFO
Wartburg (6-0, 4-0 A-R-C) at Simpson (4-1, 3-0 A-R-C)
Saturday, Oct. 19, 2019
Kickoff: 1 p.m.
Buxton Stadium | Indianola, Iowa
Live Video | Live Audio | Live Stats

LISTEN TO THE STORM: For the fifth straight season, KNIA is the radio home of Storm football. The team of Andrew Swadner and Rick Wilson will have the call on 94.3 FM and 1320 AM or online at kniakrls.com. Fans can also download the KNIA app, available on iTunes and Google Play. Pregame coverage begins at 12:35 p.m.

FIRST AND 10: Simpson and Wartburg come into the matchup as the last two American Rivers Conference teams without a blemish to their conference records ... the Storm had last weekend off in a much-needed bye week after a tough battle at Nebraska Wesleyan on Sept. 28 that went in favor of Simpson 29-21 ... the Knights handled business last Saturday with a 61-7 victory over the Prairie Wolves during Wartburg's Homecoming.

WARTBURG SERIES NOTES: Simpson and Wartburg square off for the 75th time in a series that dates back to 1944 ... the Knights own the series with a 45-27-2 mark, with five wins in the last six meetings ... the Storm won 37-36 in thrilling fashion last season in Waverly, Iowa ... the game was forced into overtime after Simpson scored with 15 seconds left to make it 29-29 ... Wartburg came out in the extra period and scored to move the game to 36-29 and forced the Storm to score a touchdown to keep the game going ... Simpson scored on a 25-yard pass from Tanner Krueger to Cam Bunting and the team elected to go for two to win the game ... the Storm stole a play out of the Philadelphia Eagles' playbook and ran the "Philly Special" as Krueger hauled in the two-point conversation to lift Simpson to its first win against the Knights since 2012.

ABOUT THE KNIGHTS: Wartburg comes into the game sitting as the lone undefeated team left in the conference and is first in the A-R-C in scoring with 51.8 points a game and in scoring defense by allowing just 16.5 points a contest ... Wartburg's 51.8 points a game is fifth in the nation ... the offense is led by wide receiver Kolin Schulte, who leads the league with 11 TD receptions ... the quarterback play for the Knights has been split evenly between Noah Dodd and Jace Moore ... Dodd has thrown for 11 TDs and 769 yards, while Moore has passed for nine scores and 754 yards ... Eli Barrett paces the defense with 49 tackles, while 30 of those are solo takedowns.

STORM IN THE RANKINGS: Sam Bartlett and Joe Meyer are near the top in several statistical categories among all NCAA Division III programs and rank in the top two in those same categories among A-R-C schools ... the duo dropped a couple places after not playing last week in the national standings, but still stand in the top-two in the conference.  

Sam Bartlett:
Receiving yards per game (143.8) – 1st in A-R-C, 3rd in nation
Receiving yards (719) – 1st in A-R-C, 4th in nation
Touchdowns (10) – 2nd in A-R-C, 5th in nation
Receptions per game (7.0) – 1st in A-R-C, 26th in nation

Joe Meyer:
Rushing yards per game (119.4) – 1st in A-R-C, 20th in nation
Rushing yards (597) – 1st in A-R-C, 21st in nation

SPECIAL TEAMS PLAY: The Simpson special team units have proven their worth so far this season in a multitude of areas ... kicker Zach Kreider is 7-for-8 on field goals attempts with a career long of 40 yards and has connected on 14 extra point tries, putting the senior at eighth in the conference in scoring with 35 points ... his 87.5 field goal percentage is first in the league and 13th across the country ... freshman punter Mason Ackerson is third in the conference with a yards per punt average of 37.2 and is tied for second with a season-long 62-yard boot among conference punters ... on kickoffs, the defense is fifth in the nation by only allowing 11.0 yards per return.

JOE ON THE GO: Since rushing for less than 120-yards combined in the first two games of the season, Joe Meyer has come on strong through conference play and has ran for over 100 yards in three-straight games with one 200-yard contest ... Meyer is first in the league with 597 yards rushing with a league-leading 119.4 average ... through the first three league games, the junior is averaging 160.0 yards per game with a long of 35 yards.

HOMECOMING WEEKEND: This weekend's game will serve as a focal point for Homecoming festivities as Simpson College alumni, fans and friends return to campus ... the Storm are 50-49-5 all-time on Homecoming and won 29-7 against Coe in last year's contest.

HALFTIME CEREMONIES: At halftime of the football game, this year's inductees into the Simpson College Athletic Hall of Fame and other award winners will be recognized ... the 2019 "S" Club Hall of Fame Class includes All-American track and field thrower Nick Andersen '99, All-American women's basketball player Carrie Larson Kuhlmann '09, two-sport star in women's basketball and soccer, Whitney Franker Lawler '09 and two-time all-region men's golfer Michael Martin '05 ... Keith Ellingson is being inducted in the Coaches Hall of Fame for his service from 1986-2001 as the head coach of the cross country and track and field programs ... Ric Coy '88 will receive the Double "S" Award and Jan Everhart is the Dick Buxton Award recipient.

MINERAL WATER BOWL ANNIVERSARY: The 1969 Simpson football team will be introduced prior to kickoff at Saturday's game to celebrate the team's 50th anniversary for playing in the Mineral Water bowl ... the team received a bid to play in the contest held at Roosevelt Field in Excelsior Springs, Mo. on Nov. 29, 1969 ... Simpson went 8-1 for the year with a conference championship, the program's first since 1949 ... head coach John Sullivan guided the team during the bowl game against St. John's University.

AROUND THE A-R-C: As American Rivers Conference play is in full swing, four teams have one loss or less in league competition as Simpson and Wartburg remain as the last two unbeatens ... Central and Coe are lurking with one loss each, while Dubuque, Loras and Nebraska Wesleyan each have two ... aside from the key matchup right here in Indianola on Saturday, the Kohawks and Prairie Wolves square up for a meeting, the Dutch take aim at the Beavers and the Duhawks play the Spartans.