CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – Last time Simpson and Coe met at Clark Field in Cedar Rapids, head coach Jim Glogowski’s youngest child was on its way and the Storm won 41-38 in double overtime – their first win in the series since 2003.

While no children were being born and no overtime was played, the excitement was there once again as Simpson staved off a last second hail mary to win 18-15 in a critical matchup with the Kohawks. 

“Yeah, this place [has been special] the last two times we’ve been here,” Glogowski said. “Two years ago we won that game double overtime and that was just about as much of a heart stopper as it gets. That was a great memory…but more importantly we are 3-3 and 2-1 in the league.”

Simpson (3-3, 2-1) led for much of the game but a 21-yard touchdown run on a halfback draw with 9:24 remaining in the fourth quarter which eventually proved to be the difference, extending Simpson’s lead to 18-7 at the time. 

The Kohawks (2-4, 1-2) didn’t keel over though.

Just under 90 seconds later, running back Colton Storla got loose in the flat and cut the lead to 18-13 on a 14-yard touchdown reception from Josh Rekers. 

A successful two-point conversion brought the Kohawks within three points, giving Simpson possession with roughly eight minutes remaining.

Simpson needed to milk the clock and get a few first downs, and they did just that. 

A personal foul penalty against Coe and two third down conversions allowed Simpson to cut the clock below one minute with the Kohawks having to go 88 yards with no timeouts after a Storm punt. 

Under the no-huddle offense, Rekers completed three consecutive passes including a beautiful fade to Elijah Phillips that put Coe on Simpson’s 30-yard line.

On the next play though, defensive end Isaac Frazier came off the edge to sack Rekers from behind, forcing Coe to spike the ball for one last play. 

Rekers would loft a hail mary attempt to the end zone but Simpson’s secondary snuffed it out, batting the ball harmlessly as Simpson escaped with the win.

“I was a little nervous at the end when they had the first two passes on us,” Glogowski said. “But when they were out of timeouts I knew our defensive line would come through. I had faith in them.”

It’s hard to point to any single factor as the most important in Simpson’s win, but its hard to ignore the time of possession disparity. Simpson had the ball for a staggering 41:42 minutes to just 18:18 for Coe, helping the Storm keep the 11th best passing attack to just 261 yards.

The Storm had 11 more first downs than Coe and Jordan Beem turned his third straight game of over 200 yards of total offense, rushing for 193 yards on 34 carries for two touchdowns. 

“Give credit to our offensive line and running backs,” Glogowski said. “My goodness, Jordan Beem, 200 yards on 34 carries. That guy is tougher than nails.”

Despite throwing an interception on the first possession, quarterback Caleb Frye managed the game well, going 14 of 25 for 135 yards, 56 on the ground, and one passing touchdown.

The Storm defense got to Rekers four times, with Adrean Johnson leading all defenders with 10 tackles for the Storm. 

Simpson will remain in the conversation as a contender in the Iowa Conference after Saturday, standing at 2-1 behind Dubuque who knocked off No. 8 Wartburg to improve to 3-0 in the league.

“It [Coe] is a good football team and they’ve got a lot of wins left in them but today was our day,” Glogowski said. “A win today keeps us in the race for another week,” Glogowski said. “But, we are not worried about a conference championship today or tomorrow. We are worried about getting better.” 

The next hurdle for Simpson will come next Saturday when the Storm head to Dubuque to take on Loras – another passing laden offense that took down Central 55-48 on Saturday. 

Scoring Summary:

2nd Quarter, 00:18 (SIM) – Nathan Russell 3-yard TD pass from Caleb Frye, 6-0

3rd Quarter, 05:48 (COE) – Josh Rekers 2-yard TD run, 6-7

3rd Quarter, 03:31 (SIM) – Jordan Beem 35-yard TD run, 12-7

4th Quarter, 9:24 (SIM) – Jordan Beem 21-yard TD run, 18-7

4th Quarter, 8:02 (COE) – Colton Storla 14-yard TD pass from Josh Rekers, 18-15