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November 08, 2005
Pipers return home with the Old Paint Bucket in hand
The last year that Hamline won a conference championship, in anything, was 1988. That year the Piper football club compiled a record of eight wins and one loss in the MIAC. The men’s cross-country team won their conference championship last weekend and officially ended that seventeen-year drought. It’s a good thing too because the football club wasn’t going to break the streak, not this year. Piper football has been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs and thus will not be winning their conference, despite an impressive victory over Macalester.
The oldest rivalry in the state of Minnesota was on display at Macalester this past Halloween weekend. Hamline traveled to the other side of Interstate 94 with a five game loosing streak on their minds, but by the end of the afternoon they had convincingly beat the Scots 54-0 and returned home with the Old Paint Bucket. “We thought we should beat them and we did,” said Piper coach Paul Miller. In the first five minutes of the game the Piper offense scored 21 points and the defense had set the tone for a long afternoon of football for Macalester. Hamline’s defense forced a total of seven turnovers, including a stretch in which they ended three consecutive Macalester possessions with a turnover. All in all, the defense compiled three fumbles and four interceptions. Defensive end Tyler Scholl scored a touchdown on a fumble recovery. Standout cornerback Tyler Schultz had two picks on the day to bring his conference-leading total to seven. With only two games left, it will be interesting to see if Schultz can become Hamline’s new single season interception leader. The record now stands at nine, set by Chris Nylund in 1993. “He’s one of our leaders,” said Coach Miller of Schultz. Miller went on to say he expects Schultz to receive some conference honor at the season’s end.
The Piper offense had a new quarterback at the helm against the Scots. Freshman James Leary got the start over incumbent Andrew Seymour. It was the first start of the Leary’s collegiate career. “He’s (Leary) done some good things for us but he’s young,” Miller said. The Piper quarterback threw three touchdowns and completed nine of 12 passes for 133 yards. Hamline also gained 199 yards on the ground as junior Ben Dahmes ran the ball for 64 yards on 14 carries and sophomore running back Ben Ganske scored two rushing touchdowns to contribute to the victory.
The Pipers lead the overall series against the Scots of Macalester College, 60-42-4. The Pipers have taken the Old Paint Bucket Trophy home 12 of the last 13 times these teams have met. With the win, the Pipers’ record is (1-5) in the MIAC and (3-5) overall. Though they have no playoff aspirations this year, there is hope for Hamline next season. The Pipers got a lot of players on the field against the Scots and their young nucleus should be intact for the 2006 season. For a glimpse of next season, show up at Klas Field on Saturday, Nov. 12 at 1 p.m. The Pipers will be playing host to St. Thomas.
Posted by msveum at November 8, 2005 12:20 PM