Game Leaders
Team Stats
Passing Yards
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Time of Poss.
It was worth the 10-month wait between football games. Justice Spriggs threw for three touchdowns and ran for a fourth to help Chip Taylor to a happy debut as head football coach at Hamline. The Pipers wore out Crown, 29-9, to win the 2016 opener for their new head coach. Spriggs, a sophomore, connected on 25 of 33 passes for 333 yards. He teamed up with Josiah Harris twice (22 and 33 yards) and also found Harrison Jones for a 39-yard strike.
It was part of a 523-yard day for the Piper offense that controlled the ball for nearly 36 minutes of play. The Piper defense did their part, too. They held the Storm to 274 yards offense and a lone touchdown. A ball hawking secondary recorded three interceptions -- two by Zach Schwalbach -- and broke up four other pass attempts.The HU special teams chipped in as well. After the Storm scored their touchdown, Anthony Hill blocked the extra point try and returned the ball for a defensive two point play.
The Pipers took command midway in the first quarter when Spriggs found Jones for the game's first score. On their next possession, Hu drove 88 yards with Spriggs hooking up with Harris. On the last play of the first half, the quarterback called his own number for a one yard jaunt and a 20-3 intermission edge.
The Storm took the second half and went the length of the field for their touchdown. Hill, however, regained the momentum with his blocked kick and return to make it 22-9. After the kickoff, the Pipers went 67 yards in four plays -- three of which were in the air. Harris, who caught six passes for 93 yards, scored his second of the day, to cap the scoring before 1,287 fans.
Hamline used seven different runners out of the backfield with Naji El-Araby the top rusher on the day with 20 carries for 69 yards. The senior also caught six passes for 47 yards. Hill and Jonny Nguyen were in on six tackles each to spark the defense as HU won the opening game of the season for the fifth year in a row.
The Pipers stay home next Saturday, September 10. They will face Macalester, a 30-23 winner over Carleton in their opener, in the annual battle for The Paint Bucket. HU has won the last two meetings between the two teams. Game time at Klas Field is 7:00 p.m.