ST. BONIFACIUS, Minn. — The Pipers defeated Crown (MN) 31-21 on Saturday to open the season under new head coach Bob Davies. The Pipers scored 17 unanswered points across three fourth-quarter scoring drives after trailing 21-14. Hamline scored on all five red-zone trips and converted 8 of 15 third downs while holding Crown (MN) scoreless in the fourth quarter.
Hamline is 1-0 overall. Crown (MN) is 0-1 overall. Crown won the UMAC title last season, giving them the auto bid to the NCAA tournament where they lost to #19 ranked Wheaton College in the first round.
Hamline's first possession produced a first down on
Daylen Cummings' 10-yard completion to
Tristan Falkowski, but the drive ended with a punt from its 43. Crown (MN) extended its first drive with Juymill Lewis' 2-yard run on fourth-and-1, but a holding penalty and
Keishion Jarmon's third-down breakup helped stop the possession before
Isaiah Watson returned the ensuing punt 13 yards to the Hamline 30. The Pipers then went 70 yards in nine plays, with Cummings running 12 yards for a first down, hitting
Joseph McCarthy for 14 yards and completing a 27-yard pass to the Crown 2 before a later 9-yard touchdown pass to
Ty Burgoon at 3:09;
Kieran Barrientos' kick made it 7-0. Crown (MN)'s next drive reached its own 48 after Zach Brown's 19-yard run and a Hamline personal foul, but
Devin Xiong, Jarmon and
Elijah Gingras made tackles for loss on the final two snaps as Hamline finished the first quarter ahead 7-0.
In the second quarter, after Hamline's opening possession ended with a punt, Crown (MN) moved 60 yards in four plays, with Judah Davis scoring from 6 yards at 10:21 and Zach Roe's kick tying the game at 7-7. The Pipers punted on their next two drives, while the defense forced one Crown (MN) punt after an unnecessary roughness penalty, but Crown (MN) later went ahead 14-7 on Zach Brown's 60-yard touchdown pass to Teegan Bartok and Roe's extra point. Hamline put together an 11-play, 75-yard drive in the final three minutes, converting through the air to Falkowski and on a Cummings run before a Crown (MN) personal foul moved the ball to the 18. Cummings finished the drive with a 17-yard touchdown pass to Burgoon at :02, and Barrientos' kick sent the game to halftime tied 14-14.
Hamline's defense forced a punt on Crown (MN)'s opening third-quarter possession, and the offense moved from its own 13 to the Crown 48 before Cummings lost a fumble recovered by Eddie Hallowanger at 7:23. Crown (MN) was turned away after one first down when
Gabriel Maes broke up a third-down pass, but the Pipers' next drive stalled and a short punt gave Crown (MN) the ball at the Hamline 28. Judah Davis scored on a 28-yard run at 2:51, and Zach Roe's extra point put Crown (MN) ahead 21-14. Hamline started the ensuing drive with completions from Cummings to
Will Priest and Burgoon, converted a third-and-9 through the air and reached the Crown 32 as the third quarter ended with Crown (MN) leading 21-14.
Cummings moved Hamline inside the 10 early in the fourth quarter with completions to Priest and Falkowski, and Priest finished the possession with a 5-yard touchdown run before Barrientos' extra point tied the game at 21-21. After Hamline forced a Crown (MN) punt, Cummings completed passes of 10 and 18 yards to
Ryan Doan, and Priest scored again from 16 yards out at 9:00 before Barrientos' kick put the Pipers ahead 28-21. Crown (MN) crossed midfield on its next drive, but
Eliyas Dart forced and recovered a fumble at the Hamline 47, leading to an 11-play possession that ended with Barrientos' 22-yard field goal for a 31-21 lead at 1:41. Crown (MN) reached the Hamline 17 in the final minute, but Maes hurried two incompletions during the drive and Watson broke up a fourth-down pass at :53, allowing the Pipers to kneel out a 31-21 win.
Cummings completed 29 of 39 passes for 249 yards and two touchdowns and added 55 rushing yards on 11 carries. Priest rushed for 59 yards and two touchdowns on nine carries and caught four passes for 37 yards. Burgoon finished with five receptions for 31 yards and two touchdowns. Falkowski caught six passes for 73 yards.
Up next, the Pipers travel to Collegeville, Minn., to face Saint John's on Saturday, Sept. 19, at 1 p.m.
