Storm football first win

The+Storm+has+been+historically+bad%2C+with+three+of+the+four+worst+games+in+program+history+played+in+the+last+two+years

Photos by Caleb Geer

The Storm has been historically bad, with three of the four worst games in program history played in the last two years

by Noah Harkness, Staff Reporter

Simpson football beat Nebraska Wesleyan 74-41 on Oct. 29 to record their first win of the season. The win is a consolation for what has been another poor season.

The Storm started this season losing seven straight games and endured an 11-game losing streak dating back to last season. Simpson had not scored more than 23 points in a game this season before facing Wesleyan. The offense was on fire and sophomore quarterback J Jensen III was the main spark.

Jensen III threw for 371 yards and six touchdowns while rushing for a seventh on the ground. He said the entire team was responsible for the win despite his standout performance.

“The receivers played a hell of a game and the offensive line did their job. The halfbacks ran hard so they made it easy on me to do everything that I did in the game.”

One of those receivers is senior Reed Worth, who finished with six receptions for 122 yards and two touchdowns. Worth said it had been a while since he had seen that from the team.

“It was awesome to see guys stepping into big time roles. We’ve been battling injuries, a lot of receivers had to step up and we ended up having two other guys score touchdowns. It was all around a great team effort and it was fun to be a part of,” he said.

Simpson has two wins in the past two seasons resulting in a record of 2-17 overall. The Storm suffered their worst loss of the season on Saturday losing to nationally-ranked Wartburg 81-9. Worth said the season hasn’t been what the team expected.

“You never expect to go 1-7 going into the last two games of the season. You look back on all of our games and it comes down to key situations. After the game it was a big relief to finally get that one win.”

After falling to Wartburg, Simpson has suffered three of its four worst losses in program history over the past two seasons. The Storm lost 84-6 to Mary-Hardin Baylor and 84-16 to Central last season. Simpson hosts Buena Vista this Saturday for Senior Day hoping to end their season on a positive note.

Worth said the team has been putting an emphasis on focus and attention to detail the past 4-5 weeks.

“We’ve been making sure not to let little things during the week turn into big things on Saturday. Timing of snaps, missed kicks, and missed blocks are things that add up. You don’t do it during practice and it shows up on Saturday.”

The Simpson home crowd also showed up against Wesleyan and it was special for the team to win in front of their supporters. Worth said it was awesome being able to put on a show in front of the home crowd.

“That was a bigger boost for us to be able to do it here. It’s a big boost in confidence and hopefully we can finish the next two weeks on a high as well.”

While last week did not end on a high, the Storm will have one more chance on Saturday at Buxton Stadium against Buena Vista.