Following the dramatic conclusion of last week’s 16-14 homecoming win over Bethel, it’s understandable that there are numerous members of Johnnie Nation missing substantial portions of their finger nails. As you might have heard, Russell Gliadon atoned for a missed extra point that would have tied the game with less than two minutes remaining by making a school-record 49-yard field goal with two seconds remaining for the game’s final tally.
This week’s game at Hamline should be a perfect opportunity for fans’ finger nails to recuperate. The Johnnies are riding a 14-game winning streak over the Pipers and have outscored them 468 to 34 this decade (an average margin of victory of over 48 points). The Pipers have won 5 MIAC games since 2003, but the Johnnies catch them on a hot streak—Hamline beat Augsburg on the road 38-28 last week. The last time the Pipers won multiple conference games was 2002, when they went 2-6.
The Pipers knocked off the Auggies last week by jumping out to a 31-13 lead and holding on for the victory. The fast start was fueled by three touchdown passes from sophomore quarterback Adam Meyer, including strikes of 75 and 80 yards. Hamline’s pass offense ranks second in the MIAC with an average of 272.8 yards per game. Meyer’s two top receiving targets are junior Alex House (25 receptions, 309 yards, 2 TDs) and Tim Queck (22 receptions, 364 yards, 2 TDs). Tight end Kyle Nitz is expected to be the only senior offensive starter for the Pipers.
While Hamline has experienced some success in the passing game, a standout running back has failed to emerge to lead the ground attack. Three different backs have more than 20 carries and 100 yards rushing; while freshman Sean Traynor leads the team with 197 rushing yards, 2 rushing TDs, and 9.0 yards per carry, senior Larry Deeton, Jr. (114 rushing yards, 5.4 yards per carry), is expected to start.
Senior linebacker Mike LaBore leads a porous Piper defense. LaBore and junior linebacker Josh Bain are Hamline’s leading returning tacklers from a year ago, and LaBore has already tallied a team-leading 2 sacks. Josh Bain leads the Pipers with 24 tackles; junior Justin Bain also starts at linebacker for Hamline. Senior cornerback Dante Guther has the team’s only interception on the season.
As the cliché goes, either team can win on any given Saturday, but this should be one of the weakest opponents the Johnnies face all season. That will give St. John’s a chance to rest many of its injured starters in hopes that they will be able to return for the big matchup with St. Thomas on October 17th.
The big injury news out of Collegeville this week is that, for the second straight season, All-American defensive tackle Nick Gunderson has suffered a torn ACL. While last season’s injury happened in the season opener and was followed by season-ending surgery and a medical redshirt to allow him to return this season, he hopes to play through this injury. He will definitely not play against the Pipers, but hopes to return for the next game against the Tommies.
Other starters that are expected to miss the trip to Hamline are tight end Josh Overman (ankle), wide receiver Sam Pederson (ankle), and linebacker Ethan Eid (groin). Ideally, all three will be back in action against St. Thomas. Hopefully, the Johnnies are able to use their absence as an opportunity to get a look at some of their backups before the stretch drive begins in earnest next weekend.