First-year head coach Jim Good and his Hamline Pipers welcome the visiting Johnnies to cozy Klas Field this Saturday. Good, a Linfield College graduate who has spent the past 6 seasons at Texas Lutheran, faces a daunting challenge in preparing for the Johnnies this week. Hamline has been one of the most hapless Johnnie opponents in recent years. Since 2000, the Johnnies have outscored the Pipers 382-20. In fact, the last time the Pipers scored more than 7 points in a game versus the Johnnies was 1998, when they lost 49-13. Based on their 2-4 (0-4 MIAC) record this season, I don’t foresee things changing Saturday.
The Pipers are young offensively. Over half of their regular offensive contributors are freshman or sophomores. Calling the signals for Hamline is senior quarterback Chad Schmigel. Schmigel has completed 89 of 184 passes for 944 yards. He’s also thrown his fair share of interceptions with 10. Schmigel split time last week with junior quarterback James Leary, who has completed 14 of 31 passes for 140 yards and 3 interceptions on the season. I’m not sure if the two split time due to an injury or if Good was simply trying to spark the offense with a new quarterback. Their two main wide receivers are senior Andrew Seymour and junior Sean Lewis. Seymour has 32 receptions for 419 yards and 4 touchdowns, while Lewis has 20 receptions for 141 yards and 3 touchdowns. The featured back is freshman Mark Masso, a bull at 5-9, 230 pounds, who has rushed 109 times for 442 yards. He’s also been on the receiving end of 5 passes for 29 yards. Freshman Mitchell Schultz has also seen time at running back with 24 carries for 107 yards. Blocking for Masso and Schultz is sophomore running back David Henderson. Seniors Marques Olson and Matt Thiboldeaux lead a group of younger offensive linemen. Olson is a behemoth at 6-7 360 pounds. Sophomores Ozzie Sand, Albert Huff, and freshman Derall King round out the offensive line.
John Cloeter and Kevin Boegel will have a field day versus Hamline.
Defensively, the Pipers are a bit more seasoned. Junior defensive back Eric Hester leads the “lead pipe defense” in tackles with 39. He is surrounded in the backfield by sophomores Brady Lorenzen, Larry Deeton, and Dante Guther. Guther has recorded 2 interceptions this season, while Hester and Deeton each have one. The linebackers are lead by senior Brody Anderson, who has 37 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, and 2 interceptions this year. Sophomore Brian Dorn has 36 tackles, 3.5 sacks, and 1 interception thus far. Senior Paul Klees and freshman Nick Vanderheyen complete the linebacking crew. The defensive front is lead by senior Tyler Scholl. Scholl has 9 tackles for loss, including 4 sacks in 2007. Seniors Patrick Mitambo and Chris Cushenbery fill the other spots on the defensive line. The defense it coached by Todd Strop, who joins the Piper staff this season from UW-Stout. Based on Strop’s philosophy at Stout, I expect an aggressive and hard-hitting defense.
Sophomore Derek Johnson handles the kicking duties. He’s nailed 15 of 15 extra points, yet is only 1 for 6 on field goals. He also handles kickoffs, where he’s averaged 56 yards per kickoff. Junior Devin Swanberg punts for the Pipers, where he’s averaged about 39 yards per punt.
If the Johnnies aren’t looking past Hamline, this game should be a snoozer. The Pipers haven’t shown much ability to move the ball or to stop their opponents from moving the ball so far (1815 yards gained, 2526 yards given up). Both of their quarterbacks have thrown a good amount of interceptions, so our defensive backfield should have some fun. Kofoed needs to make safe throws to keep it out of the Pipers’ hands. I think we’ll see big numbers out of the Johnnie offense this week, and the Johnnie defense will stifle all Piper offensive efforts.
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