Missed opportunities cost Storm in loss to Norse

INDIANOLA, Iowa – J Jensen III threw for 455 yards and three touchdowns but a handful of missed opportunities and miscues in the second half cost the Simpson College football team a 33-23 loss to Luther in its home opener on Saturday.

The Storm (0-4, 0-2 A-R-C) only trailed by two at the break but stumbled in the final 30 minutes. Simpson missed two field goals, had a touchdown called back due to a penalty, and committed three turnovers in Luther territory. 

Jensen completed 38 of his 56 passes for 455 yards, the most in a single game since the Storm recorded 586 passing yards in a 54-7 win against Upper Iowa on Nov. 15, 2003. Seven players were on the receiving end of Jensen's passes with five tallying seven catches. Gavin O'Steen led the squad with 112 yards, while Hunter Dahlgren and Reed Worth had 101 and 85 yards, respectively. Cameron Jones added 80 yards and Desmond Alexander had 48. 

Wyatt Schaben registered a career-high 20 tackes with 11 solo stops to lead the Storm defense, which came up with two interceptions and kept Luther (1-4, 1-2 A-R-C) in its own territory for all but five plays in the second half. Micheal Robinson Jr. had 12 tackles, Laronte Lewis chipped in 10 and Terrhyn Jacoby and Zander Wondrash each had eight. 

For the first time this season, Simpson found pay dirt first as Dahlgren hauled in an 11-yard pass from Jensen to give the hosts a 7-0 advantage midway through the first stanza. Jensen connected with four different receivers on consecutive plays to fuel the 8-play, 60-yard drive. The Norse tied the game with a Beau Cornwell rushing score with 3:40 left in the quarter, but after the Storm defense forced a three-and-out, Simpson took the lead back with a diving touchdown from Worth.

The back-and-forth action continued into the second quarter as Luther scored a pair of touchdowns around a 29-yard field goal from Parker Hansen. The Norse's second touchdown came with just 20 seconds left on the clock as the teams went into the locker room with Luther ahead 19-17.

After an offensive-heavy first half, neither team managed to score in the third. Simpson's defense limited Luther to just 38 yards on its first three possessions, but the Storm were unable to take advantage while on offense. Hansen's 38-yard field goal on the team's first drive was short of the mark, and two drives later, Simpson came up empty again after taking over at Luther's 32-yard line.

Within the first three minutes of the fourth, the Norse stretched their lead from two to 16. Cornwell threw his second touchdown of the day two plays into the frame and Matt Canada returned a fumble 51 yards on Simpson's next possession. Following a 44-yard kickoff return from Jones, the Storm answered with a touchdown of their own, but it was nullified by an illegal shift and the home team eventually turned the ball over on downs.

An interception by Mason Little set the Storm up at the Luther 47-yard line shortly after and it took just a minute and a half for Simpson to reclaim its six points as Jones scored from one yard out. Simpson's defensive unit stood tall once more and gave the ball back to the offense with 5:57 remaining, but after driving 62 yards down the field with five straight completions of eight or more yards, a fumble on the handoff at the two-yard line brought the comeback threat to an end. 

Up Next
Simpson goes back on the road to face Dubuque in a 4 p.m. contest next Saturday.