DUBUQUE – Deep breaths. Simpson football’s balloon may be deflating but not without floating in the air for a long while.

First it was the Kohawks that blew up the Storm, and now, the Dubuque Spartans put the Storm in a dire need for a win with two games to go.

Dubuque takes care of Simpson Saturday afternoon, but not without a 27-plus-minute stand, by a final of 45-40 up in northeast Iowa.

The first half could not have gone worse for the Storm. They went into the middle portion of the 3rd quarter down 38-6, but Simpson is that team this year that refuses to back down.

Dubuque is that team who lets teams back in, however. Last week, they blew a lead against Wartburg on the road, but even though the Storm inched back to a deficit of five points, the Spartans get their second IIAC win of the season.

Simpson (5-3, 3-2 IIAC) relied on their quarterback to try and make the long comeback. Brad Vogel caught a touchdown pass at the 5:57 mark in the third quarter to start the rally.

Simpson ran 62 plays in the second half before running only 38 in the first 20 minutes. Nelson used three of those plays to run in it from inside the 10-yard line each time to find the end zone.

After Simpson scored on the opening drive, Dubuque scored six unanswered times that included five touchdowns and a field goal making that score 38-6 with 9:31 remaining in the 3rd.

Overall on the evening, Simpson tallied 581 yards of total offense.

Simpson will head west to face the Buena Vista Beavers next Saturday afternoon in Storm Lake at 1 p.m.