The Johnnies will look for a better red-zone offense this week versus Hamline (Photo by Tim Ward)
The hapless Hamline Pipers have received some severe thrashings at the hands of the Johnnies in recent years, being outscored 367-27 over the last seven years. Over that span, the Pipers have not scored more than seven points in a game versus the Johnnies. But the Johnnies are struggling this season, and the Pipers played tough in a 24-21 loss to an upstart Augsburg team last week. Jim Good brings his one-and-three Pipers to Clemens Stadium this weekend, Family Weekend in Collegeville, and a win would be a huge boost for the morale of the Hamline team.
Senior quarterback James Leary (6-0, 180) calls the signals for the Pipers. Over four games, he has completed 56 of 96 passes and thrown only one interception. He’s thrown for 643 yards and rushed the ball 56 times for another 140 yards. His favorite targets are junior receiver Sean Lewis (6-0, 185) and sophomore receiver Alex House (5-8, 160). Lewis has 13 catches for 248 yards and House has 14 catches for 129 yards. Also in the receiving mix are junior receiver Brandon Johnson, sophomore receiver Anthony Iten (5-10, 160) and junior tight end Joseph Herrera (6-3, 230). They each have caught 4 passes this season. Leary has the most rushing attempts on the team. Sophomore running back Mitchell Schultz (5-10, 170) gets the bulk of the remaining carries. He’s carried 53 times for 160 yards. He also has five catches for 30 yards. Also seeing some carries are junior Rhmondo Rodriguez (5-10, 205) and freshman Travis Sutherland (5-5, 170). The big men up front are freshman Brennan McKeag (6-0, 235), sophomore Derall King (6-4, 285), junior Alex Garza (6-2, 315), and seniors Ace Huff (5-11, 245) and Drew Jurney (6-2, 265).
The Piper defensive front is lead by senior lineman Zach Wilson (6-2, 270). Wilson has 3 sacks to his credit this season. He is joined on the line by senior Ben LeBlanc (6-2, 240) and freshman Andrew Schlichting (6-5, 220). At the linebacker positions are senior Mike Labore (6-1, 210), junior Brian Dorn (6-0, 220), sophomore Peter Usset (6-1, 225), and freshman Corey Olson (6-4, 220). If the LaBore name sounds familiar, that is because he is the brother of former SJU all-American Beau LaBore. In the defensive backfield are juniors Dante Guther (5-9, 165) and Brady Lorenzen (6-2, 215) along with freshman Breck Raymond (5-11, 170) and Lucas Jones (5-11, 175). Guther leads the team in tackles and has 2 interceptions to his credit. Lorenzen also has 2 interceptions.
Junior Derek Johnson (5-9, 165) handles kicking duties for the Pipers. He averages 57 yards per kick-off. He is seven of nine on extra points and zero for two on field goal attempts. Senior Devin Swanberg (6-1, 205) averages 34 yards per punt for the Pipers. Returning kicks and punts is House. He averages an impressive 17 yards per punt return and 19 yards per kick return.
Again this week, this is a game the Johnnies should win. But, they play the game for a reason. I don’t think the Pipers are going to score a lot of points, but the Johnnies will have to capitalize on the opportunities they have in order to win this game.