INDIANOLA, Iowa (September 2, 2017) - UW-Stout's Keyshawn Carpenter carried the ball 17 times for 77 yards and a score. Brian Sandifer had three receptions for 54 yards and one 26-yard TD reception and Drew Pearson kicked a 39-yard field goal to give the Blue Devils a season-opening 17-0 win at Simpson College Saturday.
But it was the sometimes-maligned Blue Devil defense that was the story today in the win. The Blue Devils held Simpson College to 321 yards of total offense, allowing only 62 yards rushing and 259 passing. And the Blue Devils weathered the Storm by keeping them out of the end zone.
Stout twice dodged Simpson scoring attempts, once with 4:54 left in the fourth quarter when Simpson fumbled on the 1-yard line into the end zone and again with 1:28 left in the game. Isaiah Hardy forced the ball loose and Michael Stewart fell on the ball in the end zone.
Simpson appeared to have taken the goose egg off the scoreboard after Austin Hronich had pulled down a 21-yard touchdown grab. But Hronich was called for illegal touching, going out of bounds and coming back in, losing a down and five yards. The Blue Devil defense stopped Simpson on fourth down to seal the shutout.
Stout's last shutout was Sept. 8, 2012 vs. Jamestown College with a 31-0, at Don and Nona Williams Stadium over the NAIA school. Stout's last shutout on the road was a 23-0 blanking Sept. 11, 2004 at DePauw University in Indiana.
While Simpson did not run roughshod over the Blue Devils in the first quarter, they did hold the upperhand, moving in a for a field goal attempt on their first drive after getting to the Stout 14-yard line. But the 32-yard attempt was blocked and recovered by Isaiah Hardy. On the final drive of the first quarter, which moved into the second quarter, Simpson got to the 35 yard line, then tried a pooch punt which rolled dead at the 21.
It took a bit for the Stout offense to get moving, but they finally did in midway through the second period when junior quarterback Jay Alston, who had been intercepted earlier in the period, engineered a 15-play, 74-yard drive the culminated in a 1-yard plunge by Carpenter for the Blue Devils first score of the season, coming at 5:27.
Senior defensive back Tony Blair put an end to a Simpson drive with four minutes remaining in the half when he picked off a Sam Sasso pass at the Stout 43 and returned it 17 yards to the Simpson 40. The Blue Devils drove to the Simpson 24, but were picked off at the 3-yard line.
Stout converted their first drive of the second half into points to take a 14-0 lead. Alston completed a pass of 29 yards to Carpenter to the Simpson 41 and a roughing the passer penalty on the play moved the ball to the 26. On the next play, Alston found Sandifer in the end zone for the score.
Stout forced a fumble on the next drive and got to the Simpson 38, but a 55-yard field goal attempt by Pearson - who last year made two field goals of 50 yards or better - was wide left. Seven minutes later, Stout went 61 yards in seven plays before the drive stalled and Pearson drilled a 39-yard field for what would prove to be the final score of the game with 5:11 left in the third period.
Stout's offense collected 417 yards of offense, 242 rushing and 175 passing.
Carpenter led all rushers with 77 yards. Rayshawn Graham, making his first appearance, ran for 52 yards on five carries, including a 35 yard scamper. Lucian Coutier finished with 41 yards rushing.
Alston completed 16-of-32 passes for 175 yards and a TD, but was picked off twice and sacked twice. Kevion McDonald hauled in seven catches for 41 yards.
Linebacker Luke Wilz finished with 12 tackles, five solo. Blair finished with nine tackles and the 17-yard interception, his third career interception. Iyen Ogbomoh and Aaron Wisecup each recorded a sack. Hardy, while not credited with a tackle, had the blocked field goal and a fumble forced.
For the Storm, Sam Sasso completed 25-of-49 passes for 259 yards and was sacked twice and intercepted once. Jackson Redmond hauled in 10 catches for 128 yards and Ricky Reeve had eight receptions for 65 yards. Braden Meints had 10 rushes that netted 25 yards.
The Blue Devils open the home portion of their schedule when they host fifth ranked St. Thomas, Saturday, Sept. 9 at 1:10 p.m. The Tommies defeated UW-Eau Claire, 47-13, Saturday.
Blue Devils record first shutout since 2012
/seasons/2017/boxscores/20170902_5yhy.xml
2017
UW-Stout
17
Simpson
0
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UW-Stout (1-0) | 0 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 17 |
| Simpson (0-1) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Sep 02, 2017