INDIANOLA, Iowa – The Elmhurst football team closed out the non-conference portion of its schedule with a 31-12 road victory over Simpson College.

Elmhurst's defense came away with three turnovers and stopped Simpson five times on fourth down, including four times in Bluejay territory.

Simpson struck first, taking the opening kickoff and driving 68 yards and capping the drive with a 12-yard touchdown pass from Caleb Frye to Devin Norman. The extra point was missed, giving Simpson an early 6-0 lead. It would prove to be Simpsons' only lead of the contest.  

After an Elmhurst punt, the Bluejays' defense came up with a big play. Sean Wetherell picked off Frye and returned the interception 19 yards for a touchdown, putting the Bluejays up 7-6.
 

Elmhurst cashed in on another Simpson mistake on the Storm's following possession. The Bluejays recovered a fumble at the Elmhurst 46-yard line for their second turnover of the day. Elmhurst's offense drove down to the Simpson 13-yard line before settling for a 31-yard field goal from Brett Bayer to take a 10-6 lead.

The score remained 10-6 at halftime but the Bluejays quickly expanded their lead on the opening drive of the third quarter. Josh Williams capped a 71-yard drive with an eight yard touchdown run to put the Bluejays in front 17-6

Simpson had a chance to cut into the Bluejays' lead on its next possession, driving down to the Elmhurst seven-yard line before Chris Eberhart stuffed Davey Jergens for no gain on a fourth-and-two play. The Bluejays went three-and-out on their next possession and Simpson took advantage of the short field, taking over at their own 43-yard line. The Storm drove 57 yards capped by a 30-yard touchdown pass from Frye to Jackson Redmond. Simpsons's two-point conversion attempt failed, making the score 17-12 in favor of the Bluejays midway through the third quarter.

Elmhurst (3-0) answered the Simpson score with a 77-yard, 10-play touchdown drive. Facing a third-and-two from the Simpson 31-yard line, Garrett Claxon broke off a 31-yard touchdown run to extend Elmhurst's lead to 24-12 early in the fourth quarter.
 

After a Simpson fumble, Williams accounted for the game's final touchdown by capping a 30-yard drive with a two-yard plunge, making the final score 31-12 in favor of the Bluejays.

Elmhurst finished the contest with 330 yards of total offense while limiting Simpson to just 275 yards. The Bluejays were very effective on third down, converting 58.8 percent of its chances (10-of-17). The Bluejays also converted on 2-of-3 fourth-down chances.  Elmhurst's did not allow Simpson (1-2) to convert a fourth down (0-for-5) and the Storm converted only 5-of-11 chances on third down.

For the first time this season, the Bluejays moved the ball through the air more than on the ground. Elmhurst rushed for 146 yards while passing for 184. Simpson finished with 108 yards on the ground and 167 through the air.

Drew Domino made his first collegiate start at quarterback and completed 19-of-35 attempts for 184 yard and an interception. Williams led the Bluejays on the ground, carrying 28 times for 122 yards and two touchdowns. Claxon caught a game-high nine passes for 73 yards while also rushing for the 31-yard touchdown in the second half.

Frye finished 9-of-20 for 126 yards with two touchdowns and an interception before giving way to Sammy Sasso in the fourth quarter (5-of-6 for 41 yards). Jergens led the Storm on the ground with 67 yards on 15 carries while Nate Connealy was Simpson's top-receiver, hauling in five passes for 43 yards.

Wetherell, Eddie Beyer and Andy Warsen paced Elmhurst's defense with seven tackles apiece in the win. Wetherell had the touchdown return while Beyer recovered a fumble for the Bluejays. Perode Charles added five tackles for the Bluejays.

Elmhurst opens CCIW play next Saturday, October 2, by traveling to Augustana College.