Coming off a bye week, both students and alumni were energized at Klas Field on Saturday, Oct. 3, as they watched the Pipers take a 14-13 first half lead over the favored Johnnies. However, Hamline eventually fell to St. John’s, 21-41. With the loss, Hamline drops in the standings to 2-2 (0-2 MIAC) on the season.

In front of over 2,800 observers, the Pipers quickly found themselves down by 13 points and without their starting quarterback and punter after sophomore Kyle Johnson exited due to injury. However, sophomore quarterback Luke Lindquist filled in admirably, completing 18 of 25 passes for 227 yards before throwing an interception late in the fourth quarter to seal the loss.

Much of Saturday’s offensive success came via senior running back and team captain Austin Duncan’s efforts. The university’s all-time leading rusher ran for 78 yards and a touchdown in addition to catching six passes for 49 yards. Junior wideouts Deon Bishop and Nick Kampa led the receivers with four catches for 54 yards and three grabs for 67 yards, respectively.

Senior cornerback and team captain Jack Swanberg recognizes how difficult it is to win against premium MIAC opponents such as St. John’s.

“We’re always expecting a great game. They [St. Johns] have a longstanding tradition of being a really good program,” Swanberg said.

Following his MIAC Special Teams Athlete of the Week and D3football.com’s national Team of the Week awards for his special teams efforts against Gustavus on Saturday, Sep. 19, Swanberg continues to make a name for himself as he made four tackles and blocked an extra point attempt against St. John’s.

Personal accomplishments aside, Swanberg works hard to lead the program by example.

“Austin Duncan’s more of a vocal leader. He’ll be jumping up and down before games, getting guys pumped up and everything. So we just kind of balance each other out,” Swanberg said.

Head Coach and Hamline alumnus Chad Rogosheske has noticed Swanberg’s hard work both on and off the field.

“He’s really put in the work and it was recognized by guys on the team in voting him captain,” Rogosheske said.

Senior defensive lineman Matt Wildes, who had three tackles against the Johnnies, has seen the growth in Swanberg as a fellow multi-year starter.

“I think he’s feeling more confident than from his younger years, because he was also another four starter with me, “Wildes said. “He’s just playing with all his effort and going as hard as he can every play.”

Like Swanberg, Wildes tries to set an example for his younger teammates.

“I lead by my hard work, and effort and putting all the extra work in,” Wildes said.

Another member of the defense who had a big day against St. John’s was senior defensive back Terry Pegues. He led all Pipers with 12 tackles.

In his third season at the helm, Rogosheske used the week off to keep his players focused as the season is still young.

“We came out of our bye week with a very intense focus on us. We had guys really work to identify what are the key things that they need to be working on, what areas coming out of the first three games of the season do they need to improve on as a football player, and try to identify where the breakdown of the process was so that they can fix and improve themselves in those areas,” Rogosheske said.

In addition to staying focused, Swanberg and his teammates are working to keep competitive in games against difficult opponents, despite the score or mistakes made.

“We’ve been focusing a lot on responding this year, and that football is kind of a hard sport and it’s going to throw difficult events at you. How you respond to those events is going to determine your outcome,” Swanberg said.

The Pipers continue to make tweaks and changes as they try to improve and get that first conference victory on the season. Wildes expressed how adaptable and prepared Rogosheske is for such a challenge.

“He always just changes based on the personnel we’ve had. He doesn’t force the players he has to go to his way. He adapts according to the personnel we’ve had,” Wildes said.

This Saturday, Oct. 10, Hamline football travels to Arden Hills to take on the 3-2 (2-1 MIAC) Bethel Royals in another difficult MIAC matchup. Kickoff is set for 1pm.