Football | 9/26/2019 4:21:00 PM

STORM LAKE - The Buena Vista football team goes back on the road following back-to-back home games and will look to even its American Rivers Conference record at 1-1 with a win Saturday afternoon inside of Buxton Stadium at Indianola against Simpson College.

BVU has dropped four straight contests against the Storm, including a season-ending 56-7 home loss a year ago.  It will not only be going after its first win against Simpson since 2015, it will also look to bounce back after dropping its first game of this season, a 37-16 Homecoming setback against Nebraska Wesleyan one week ago.  BVU jumped out to a 16-0 lead and was in front 16-7 at the half, but the Prairie Wolves rallied back, using a 23-point fourth quarter to put the game out of reach.

Simpson, meanwhile, has won back-to-back games following a 21-14 road win at Dubuque on Saturday.  It began the year with a season-opening loss at Bethel (42-10).  

Kick-off between the Beavers and Storm is set for 1:00 p.m.  A local radio broadcast of the game can be heard on 97.5FM KBVU.  Live video and links also available at bvuathletics.com

GAME INFO
Buena Vista (2-1, 0-1 A-R-C) at Simpson (2-1, 1-0 A-R-C)
Saturday, Sept. 28 | 1 p.m.
Buxton Stadium | Indianola, Iowa
Live Video & Stats: bvuathletics.com
Radio (local): 97.5FM KBVU

STATISTICAL BREAKDOWN

Team Statistics
*2019 national rank in parentheses

Simpson
Offensive PPG: 19.3 (172nd)
Defensive PPG: 26.3 (134th)
Total Offense: 348.3 (128th)
Pass Offense: 221.7 (104th)
Rush Offense: 126.7 (134th)
Total Defense: 427.3 (193rd)
Pass Defense: 206.7 (116th)
Rush Defense: 220.7 (208th)
Turnover +/-: +0 (112th) 

Buena Vista
Offensive PPG: 31.3 (70th)
Defensive PPG: 22.7 (106th)
Total Offense: 458.0 (31st)
Pass Offense: 266.7 (56th)
Rush Offense: 191.3 (59th)
Total Defense: 289.3 (61st)
Pass Defense: 239.7 (169th)
Rush Defense: 49.7 (16th)
Turnover +/-: +0 (112th) 

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

Simpson
Head Coach: Matt Jeter (15-15, 12-12 A-R-C; 4th season)
Passing: Tanner Kruger – 54/96 (.563), 665 yards, 6 td, 4 int, 126.7 effic.
Rushing: Joe Meyer – 68 rushes, 271 yards, 4.0 avg, 1 td; 7 catches, 37 yards
Receiving: Sam Bartlett – 19 catches, 376 yards, 19.8 avg, 5 td
Defense: Brendan Holmes – 27 tackles, 1.0 tfl's, 1 sack 

Buena Vista
Head Coach: Grant Mollring (6-17, 3rd season)
Passing: Reyes Lara III – 23/43 (.534), 420 yards, 3 td, 2 int, 149.3 effic.
Rushing: Adrian Griffin – 25 rushes, 168 yards, 6.7 avg, 2 td
Receiving: Eric Pacheco – 18 catches, 414 yards, 23.0 avg, 2 td
Defense: Tanner Frost – 14 tackles, 3.5 tfl's, 2.0 sacks | Morris Arranda - 14 tackles, 0.5 tfl's, 1 int, 3 bu

GAME NOTES

TD Machine
Eric Pacheco has made a career of catching touchdown passes thus far, sitting one TD catch away from fourth on the program's all-time list (Gunner Gilland,18). Here's the top-5 list for BVU:
1. Jesse Schmidt (2002-05) 33
2. Jalen Henningsen (2012-16) 25
3. John Peterson 20
4. Gunner Gilland (2011-14) 18
5. Eric Pacheco (2017-pres.) 17

Running for the Century Mark
Adrian Griffin surpassed 100 yards against Neb. Wesleyan last week for the first time in his young collegiate career. His 118 rushing yards were the most by a BVU running back since Cody Mowery (123 vs. Dubuque, Oct. 22, 2016). Below are the last 5 100+ rushing performances for BVU:
1. Adiran Griffin 118 vs. NWU on Sept. 21, 2019
2. Tariq Thomas 117 vs. Luther on Sept. 30, 2017
3. Cody Mowery 154 vs. Luther on Oct. 15, 2016
4. Cody Mowery 123 vs. Dubuque on Oct. 22, 2016
5. Cody Mowery 143 vs. NWU on Nov. 5, 2016

Running Wild
Buena Vista has a pair of 200-plus rushing games through its first three games of 2019. The team did not reach the 200-yard mark as a team in any game of 2018. The last time it reached the plat-eau multiple times in a season was 2016 (twice) vs. Luther (238) and vs. Mayville St. (200).
Only Luther, and its triple-option offense , averages more yards rushing per game in the A-R-C this season than Buena Vista:
1. Luther 215.0
2. Buena Vista 191.3
3. Wartburg 171.7
4. Central 163.0
5. Simpson 126.7

Finding the End-zone with the legs
BVU already has seven rushing touchdowns this season, match-ing the total from all of last season. The team's highest single-season total over the last five years, including 2019 is 13.
Rushing TD's Last 5 seasons:
2019   7
2018   7
2017   13
2016   8
2015   10

Finding the Winning Ways
With two wins already under their belt this season, the Beavers have surpassed last season's overall win total. It has not won at least three games in a season since 2017 (3). In addition, it is looking for its second road win of the year—a feat that hasn't been accomplished since 2014, when it won at Waldorf, Loras and Dubuque.