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INDIANOLA, Iowa – The No. 10-ranked Wartburg football team (3-0, 1-0 A-R-C) rushed for 265 yards, led by senior Joey Anderson's career-high 147-yard effort, as the Knights earned their 27th consecutive conference victory—and sixth straight over the Simpson Storm—with a 27-13 triumph.
Anderson carried 12 times for a career high 147 yards and two touchdowns, while sophomore Carson Bruns added 81 yards and a score on 12 carries. Simpson managed just six rushing yards—its highest total in three seasons against Wartburg (2023: -20, 2024: 2, 2025: 6). Defensively, Mac Watts tied his career-high with 14 tackles, and Keenan Tyler recorded a season-best 13 tackles, marking his second double-digit effort in three games thus far.
Both defenses were dominant early. Wartburg and Simpson traded stops and punts in the first quarter, leaving the game scoreless after 15 minutes.
Specialist Jaxson Hoppes flipped the field with an 84-yard boot downed at Simpson's one-yard line, a school record – bests a 64-yarder held back in 2013 against Buena Vista. Despite this, Simpson struck first with a 96-yard touchdown pass to take a 7-0 lead with 12:11 remaining in the second quarter. Wartburg responded quickly after recovering a muffed punt, as Anderson took a 23-yard run to the house to tie it.
The Knights tallied 138 total yards in the first half, including 113 on the ground. Simpson leaned on the passing game, amassing 216 yards through the air but no rushing yards.
Wartburg's defense made an impact after the break. Tyler Gayer intercepted a deflected pass and returned it for a touchdown on Simpson's opening drive of the third quarter, putting the Knights up 14-7. The Storm countered with a 17-play, eight-minute drive capped by a 19-yard field goal to make it 14-10.
Early in the fourth, Anderson scored his second touchdown from one yard out, though the PAT was blocked, giving Wartburg a 20-10 lead. Simpson added a 32-yard field goal to pull within a score at 20-13. Bruns sealed the victory with a 23-yard touchdown run with just over four minutes left, extending the lead to 27-13.
Wartburg forced a turnover on downs with under a minute to play, then ran out the clock to secure the win. The victory marks the Knights' 27th straight A-R-C triumph and sixth consecutive over Simpson.
UP NEXT
Wartburg returns home next weekend to host (RV) Coe College at Walston-Hoover Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.