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“It has been awesome to be a part of Hamline football. It’s a family here. You have ups and downs, but I wouldn’t trade anything in the world for the moments I’ve had with these guys. I’ve loved every minute,” said senior offensive lineman Ricky Dimon.

Despite a great effort, the Pipers were unable to bring home a victory Saturday against St. Thomas at Klas Field. The Tommies, who have had a quality season in the MIAC and overall, put together nearly 400 yards of total offense. St. Thomas gashed the Pipers' normally sturdy pass defense for 273 yards. Fortunately, few of these yards were part of breakaway gains. This meant, though, that St. Thomas had their way in moving the ball consistently. Small gains were made larger by missed tackles. On one such play, Tommies quarterback David Sauer connected with running back Scott Brink on a screen pass, who then proceeded to juke his way in and out of arm tackles and make his way down field for a 50-yard touchdown reception.

“We probably didn’t play as fundamentally sound as we should have. Any of the players would be the first to tell you that. I also think part of it is that our players get a little worn out as the game and season goes on,” said recruiting coordinator and linebackers coach Mark Kruse.

Early on, St. Thomas put together quick and effective scoring drives and took a 14-0 lead in the first quarter.

Halfway through the second quarter, Hamline put together a 73-yard scoring drive that represented their only points of the afternoon. Sophomore quarerback James Leary connected with sophomore wide receiver Brent Nelson on a 45-yard completion to move into the Tommies’ territory. A few plays later, senior Ben Ganske used quickness to run downfield and eventually powered over the goalline for a 30-yard touchdown run.

St. Thomas answered back before the end of the first half on a 14-yard pass. At this point, the game was still in reach, but the second half provided only close opportunities with no points. Twice in the second half, questionable ball placing by the ref took away what appeared to be Hamline safeties. Late in the fourth quarter, a Hamline fade into the endzone resulted in an incomplete pass, while much of the crowd screamed that the receiver was pushed out of bounds.

Clearly, the score did not reflect the closeness of the game. If a few calls and opportunities went differently, this would have been a two-score game.

With the offense again failing to put up a healthy amount of points, one might foresee a division between the offensive and defensive players. Junior defensive tackle Chris Cushenbery squelched that notion.

“We win as a team and a we lose as a team. You’re going to have good things happen on both sides of the ball. If either side does something good or bad, we let each other know. We feed off each other.”

Cushenbery’s experiences this year make him an authority on teamwork. Having missed several games earlier in the season due to Lyme Disease, Cushenbery did what he could to contribute from the sidelines. Only a junior, Cushenbery was still one of the most revered and experience lineman on the team. The experience reinforced his leadership role on the team in addition to changing his outlook.

“It just boils down to the fact that it [sickness] is out of your hands. When you work so hard, you put in time in the offseason, and then something happens and it’s out of your control, it really puts things in perspective. You can’t take anything for granted,” said Cushenberry.

Hamline coaches preach this idea of team first, and one can see the embodiment of team-centered ideals in many players. One such notable player is Tyler Schultz.

“I would trade them [personal accolades] in for us being the top team in the MIAC. Football isn’t about individual achievements, its about the team.” said Schultz. Since his arrival at Hamline, the Pipers have marginally improved from 1-9, to 3-7 the last two seasons.

Schultz has been a marquee player on the Piper defense for four years now. The All-American safety has been recognized several times for his success at Hamline.

When asked what it felt like to have played his last game at Hamline, Schultz responded, “It hurts a bit. A lot of good things have happened here. I’m going to miss it.” Hamline will loose integral players on both sides of the ball after this season, though.

“It’s going to be a struggle. How do you replace a Tyler Schultz or a Brody Anderson? There will have to be a tremendous amount of stepping up. Russ Flaten has been our defense’s unsung hero. Tom Schadegg has played in as many games as any Piper,” said Kruse. “It will be a tall order for the youth on the team, but they are capable of stepping up.”

Ultimately, the players feel that there were a lot of great plays left out on the field this year. While the team had some fine performances, namely their dramatic win over Carleton, they failed to put together consistent performances.

“Based on playing to our potential, I don’t think we have hit our peak yet. We got one more [game] to go and it’s going to be tough,” said Schultz.

That last game will come this Thursday against a winless Augsburg squad. According to Hamline players and coaches, though, the Auggies’ record is a bit deceiving. Nonetheless, the Pipers are confident.

Augsburg. We are going 4-6 this year. I’m confident we’ll come out and play hard and finish strong,” said Dimon.

The last few meetings between the two teams went in favor of Augsburg. This week’s game will take place at the Metrodome, and the two teams will compete for the Hammer Trophy.

“For some of the guys it can be a neat thing to play in that atmosphere. For other guys, it wouldn’t matter where the game is played. We are gonna go out there and work hard and try to bring home the trophy,” said Hamline’s Coach Kruse.