Football beats Gusties 7-3 in MIAC opener

With the Pipers (2-0, 1-0 in the MIAC) trailing 3-0 midway through the third quarter, senior safety Tyler Schultz picked off Gustie quarterback Jordan Stolp at the Gustavus 37-yard line. Six plays later, Seymour hooked up with Anderson on a slant route to give the Pipers their first lead of the game with 6:52 left in the third quarter.

From there, the Piper defense stiffened holding Gustavus (0-3, 0-1) to 109 yards of offense over the last 21:52. Forty-three of those yards came on the Gusties' final drive, but Pipers knocked away two hail mary passes in the final eight seconds to preserve the win.

The Piper offense outgained Gustavus 338-237 in the contest, including 201-117 in the second half. Seymour was 21 of 41 passing for 224 yards and a score. He also ran eight times for 54 yards.

Anderson finished with six catches for 77 yards and a score. Sophomore Brandon Johnson had seven catches for 65 yards.

Gustavus grabbed a 3-0 lead in the second quarter off a Piper turnover. The Gusties went 20 yards in six plays capped by a 33-yard field goal by Stolp.

Senior running back Drew Stifter had 57 yards rushing on 16 carries. He also caught 10 passes for 64 yards.  Stolp was 22 of 45 passing for 178 yards and was picked off twice.

Senior safety Ryan Laube led the defense with eight tackles.  Defensive end Aaron Seliga had seven tackles with two sacks and a forced fumble. Linebacker Brody Anderson added a sack, interception, and three pass breakups.

Gustie Jared Sieling had 11 tackles and a fumble recovery.

The Pipers will travel to Bethel next Saturday. Game time is set for 1:00 p.m.