Simpson set to take on No. 13 Central inside Buxton Stadium

INDIANOLA, Iowa -- The series nears the century mark as Simpson College football takes on Central for the 99th time on Saturday.

American Rivers Conference action started last week with the Storm (0-3, 0-1 A-R-C) traveling to Coe. The Kohawks won 44-22 despite Simpson racking up 450 yards on offense. The Dutch (3-0, 1-0 A-R-C) handed Nebraska Wesleyan a 69-13 loss.

Todd Guessford and Bryan Geelan will have the call on SimpsonAthletics.com. Pregame is set to begin at 12:15 p.m. Links to live video and statistics can be found on SimpsonAthletics.com. Fans can also listen to Andrew Swadner and Rick Wilson on 94.3 FM or online at kniakrls.com.

GAME 4
No. 13 Central (3-0, 1-0 A-R-C) at Simpson (0-3, 0-1 A-R-C)
Saturday, Sept. 25 | 1 p.m.
Buxton Stadium | Indianola, Iowa
Live Stats | Live Video | Live Audio (KNIA)

FIRST AND 10
Both teams began American Rivers Conference play last weekend with Simpson falling 42-22 at Coe, and the Dutch prevailing 69-13 at Nebraska Wesleyan ... Saturday's contest is the first time since 2013 Simpson has hosted Central in its league home opener ... the Storm were able to secure a 14-10 victory on Oct. 12, 2013.

CENTRAL SERIES NOTES
The Storm and Dutch are meeting for the 99th time in the series on Saturday, with Central owning a seven-game winning streak ... the two foes last met on April 3, 2020 in the Storm's lone game during the fall-to-spring slate ... the Dutch won 49-14 on their home turf.

ABOUT THE DUTCH
Central and 18th-year head coach Jeff McMartin enter the contest ranked No. 13 in the American Football Coaches Association Division III Top-25 Poll and are No. 14 in the D3football.com Top-25 rankings ... the Dutch have started the season 3-0 with wins over St. Olaf, Kalamazoo and Nebraska Wesleyan after being picked to win the A-R-C in the league's preseason poll ... the offense is currently averaging 610.0 yards per game with 326.3 coming through the air.

AROUND THE A-R-C
Central and Coe are the last remaining unbeaten teams in the conference through three contests ... with week one of A-R-C play completed, Central, Coe, Dubuque and Loras all earned victories last Saturday with Wartburg having the week off ... the Dutch currently have the top offense with 50.7 points per game and the second-rated defense at 15.7 points allowed per outing.

TACKLING TANDEM
The pair of seniors Lanny Herzog and Boston Draper are one-two in the league rankings in total tackles ... Herzog is first with 30, while Draper is close with 29 ... Draper had a conference-best 15 takedowns in the team's game against UW-Stevens Point.

RECEIVING DUO
Senior Joe McNally paces the team with 270 yards receiving for an average of 90.0 per game ... his yards per game are third highest in the league ... junior Reed Worth is ninth in the conference with 209 yards receiving on 12 catches and his three scores are tied for second among receivers.

AIR ATTACK
Junior Brett Bobinet completed 21 of his passes for 309 yards and three TDs ... he had a long of 45 yards to McNally to set up a field goal ... Bobinet had TD throws of 37, 14 and 13 yards to pad his stats ... he's the first signal caller to throw for 300 yards since Nov. 9, 2019 and the first junior to do so since Sept. 29, 2018.

ACKERSON THE LEG
Junior punter Mason Ackerson is tied for first in the A-R-C with three punts over 50 yards, including a season-best 55-yard boot ... he paces the league with 759 yards on 20 punts for an average of 38.0 per blast.

RANKED FOES
Simpson currently has four teams on its schedule that are ranked or receiving votes in a national poll ... in the AFCA poll, Mary Hardin-Baylor is top ranked, Central is No. 13 and Wartburg and Coe are both receiving votes ... the four teams have a combined record of 10-1 through three weeks of action.

UP NEXT
The Storm travel to Loras on Oct. 2 for a 1 p.m. contest. Simpson returns home Oct. 9 for a 1 p.m. battle against Luther.