Football cruises in opener

The Pipers (1-0) took the opening kickoff after a Brandon Johnson 48-yard return and went 47 yards in six plays to take an 8-0 lead. Senior Ben Dahmes ran in from 6 yards out to give Hamline the lead. Junior Andrew Seymour threw the two-point conversion to Kyle Nitz for an 8-0 advantage.

On the Pipers' next possession, quarterback James Leary added the first of his three touchdown runs with a 2-yard plunge at the 5:46 mark of the first quarter.

The Pipers would score 20 points in a span of 4:37 of the second quarter. Leary scored on runs of 1 and 9 yards. He later threw a 41-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Seymour to cap the scoring at 2:00 left in the half.

Leary finished the evening 6-of-10 passing for 139 yards and a touchdown. He ran 11 times for 28 yards and three scores. Seymour caught three passes for 105 yards and a touchdown.

Junior Ben Ganske paced the ground game with 44 yards on 10 carries. Dahmes had 38 yards on eight carries. The Pipers rushed for 147 yards in the contest.

In the second half, Kyle Milburn added a 29-yard field goal at 6:26 of the third quarter. The Comets got on the board in the fourth quarter when Dustin Hagans ran in from 3 yards out.

The Pipers outgained the Comets 236-3 in the first half and 306-85 for the game. The Hamline defense forced five Comet turnovers, including four in the second half.

Pre-season All-American Tyler Schultz picked up where he left off in 2005, intercepting a pass. He collected eight picks last season.

The Pipers will next play at St. Olaf on Sept. 16. Kick off is slated for 1:00 p.m.