Simpson outlasts Eagles 9-6

Box Score

ST. PAUL (Sep. 13, 2008) -- Northwestern College faced stiff competition in stiff weather, but it was Simpson College who left Reynolds Field with a 9-6 win on Saturday. The Eagles recorded more first downs and passing yards than their opponents, but missed opportunities along with a strong Simpson running attack propelled the Storm to victory.

NWC marched the ball 81 yards downfield on their first drive of the game, only to run into a brick wall after having first and ten at the Simpson 11. Following a two-yard rush and two incomplete passes, Cody Crum (Rushville, Ill./Rushville Industry)'s (Rushville, Ill./Rushville-Industry) 25-yard field goal attempt missed wide left.

Simpson ensued with a nine-play drive that travelled 80 yards and resulted in a 19-yard touchdown run by quarterback Travis Dietz. After a failed PAT-attempt, the Storm led 6-0.

The Eagles, starting at their own 37 yard line, mirrored their initial drive on the next attempt, only to have another field goal attempt go wide left from 23 yards out. It was a change of pace from last Saturday's win over Wisconsin Lutheran College, when Crum successfully kicked three field goals in the game.

Following Simpson's 6-0 halftime lead, the Storm struck again with 4:08 remaining in the third quarter, as James Gale's 18-yard field goal capped a 16 play, 76-yard drive to give the opponents a 9-0 advantage.

Fast forward to the fourth quarter, when Northwestern found the end zone with just under seven minutes to play in the game, as Zach Tarter (Crystal Falls, Mich./Forest Park High School) (Crystal Falls, Mich./Forest Park) found tight end Nathan Clanton (Minnetonka, MN/Minnetonka High School) (Minnetonka, Minn./Minnetonka) in the end zone, keeping the Eagles in the game at 9-6.

Simpson went three-and-out on the following drive, giving Northwestern another chance on offense with just over two minutes to play. Tarter's pass to Kyle Thomforde (Northfield, Minn./Northfield High School) (Northfield, Minn./Northfield) on fourth and 11 from the NWC 40 went incomplete, and the Storm ran out the clock inside Northwestern's five yard line to claim their second consecutive victory at 9-6.

Despite the sometimes-horizontal segments of rain, Tarter amassed 248 yards and a score on 22 for 31 passing for Northwestern. Thomforde caught 12 passes for 125 yards, while Clanton tallied 64 yards and the touchdown.

Ryan Long (Dassel, Minn./Dassel-Cokato) (Dassel, Minn./Dassel-Cokato) led the Eagles running game with 54 yards on nine carries, including a 25-yard scamper.

Simpson's Dietz had 138 passing yards to go with his 62 yards on the ground for a grand total of 200 for the day. Adam Reutzel had 108 yards on 26 carries for the Storm, who out-rushed Northwestern 174-58.

Defensively, David Kleiner (Lakeville, Minn./Bethany Academy) led the Eagles for the second straight game with 11 tackles, two of which were for a loss. Kleiner also recovered a Simpson fumble in the game.

Andrew Magaard (Ogilvie, Minn./Ogilvie High School) (Ogilvie, Minn./Ogilvie) tallied nine tackles in the game, while Jake Stroud (Basehor, KN/Hillcrest Academy) (Basehor, Kan./Hillcrest Lutheran Academy), Ty Crabtree (Fergus Falls, MN/Hillcrest Academy) (Fergus Falls, Minn./Hillcrest Lutheran Academy) and Matt Kramer (Stratford, Wis./Stratford High School) (Stratford, Wis./Stratford) each had seven tackes.

After shaking the loss off, Northwestern will prepare for another fierce opponent in the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. The Falcons will welcome NWC to River Falls, Wis. for a 1 p.m. game on Saturday, Sept. 20.

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Simpson outlasts Eagles 9-6