SAINT PAUL, MINN.—The Hamline University football team kicked-off their 2022 campaign with a rare Saturday-night bout at Crown. The Pipers offense fired on all cylinders from start-to-finish as sophomore quarterback Alejandro Villanueva went 21-for-27 for 204 yards and three touchdowns in his first collegiate start, which resulted in a 39-14 victory over the Polars.
Hamline, who opened the season with a victory over Crown for the second-straight season, begin 2022 with a 1-0 record. The Polars kickoff their season 0-1.
Hamline 39, Crown 14
The Pipers found the end zone on their second attempt after going "three-and-out" on their opening drive. Villanueva connected with Charlie Wilson for a swing pass on the left side that resulted in a 30-yard touchdown with 8:47 left in the first quarter, which made the score 7-0. The latter part of the first quarter saw the Pipers strike again as Nikolas Rocafort's 26-yard run put his team in the red zone, which set up Eli Danielson's four-yard touchdown grab from Villanueva to widen the score to 13-0 (failed extra point) with 3:39 left in the first quarter.
Hamline threatened in the closing minutes of the first half with a 12-play drive that ended on Crown's two-yard line with 0:15 remaining in the second quarter. Caleb Lueders picked off Elijah Odom's pass on Crown's first play of the ensuing drive on their 28-yard line, but Hamline couldn't punch it into the end zone as the score read 13-0 at halftime.
Odom went 3-for-4 on the opening drive of the third quarter, which ended with a 45-yard touchdown pass to Terry Warner that narrowed Crown's deficit to 13-8 with 14:52 on the clock. The Pipers began things in good field position on their next series thanks to a 17-yard onside kick that put them at their own 48-yard line. Wilson notched four, and 20-yard grabs before Terrell Jones closed the drive with 12, four, and five-yard runs, respectively, that resulted in a Hamline touchdown with 13:55 left in the third quarter to make the score 19-8.
Wilson's big-play abilities continued for Hamline on their next offensive series, as his 28-yard grab put his team at the Crown three-yard line. After a couple of penalties, Villanueva found Ryder Hutton from 16 yards out to push Hamline's lead to 26-8. The Polars continued their passing attack late in the third quarter courtesy of Elijah Odom, who went 6-for-10 for 72 yards on their next scoring drive, which ended with a 14-yard pass to Warner that pushed the score to 26-14 with 0:07 on the clock.
It was enough cushion Hamline needed as they registered a pair of touchdowns courtesy of Hutton's 22-yard reception with 10:42 left, and Jones' 12-yard scamper with 3:43 on the clock.
Rocafort finished the contest with a career-high 148 yards rushing on 31 carries. Jones added 62 yards on 11 carries that included two touchdowns. Jevon Jones, Caleb Lueders, and Croix Zacharias each tallied seven tackles for Hamline. Lueders added a pair of interceptions to his stat line. Chip Kindt and Godmar Gach each tallied a pair of sacks for the Pipers defense.
Wilson tallied nine catches for 111 yards and one touchdown, while Hutton contributed seven catches for 89 yards along with a pair of scores.
Odom finished 22-for-44 passing for 275 yards for Crown.
The Pipers will host Minnesota Morris on Saturday, September 10 at 1 p.m.
