The penalty was seemingly a game-ender for the Pipers. Very close to a first down after a fourth-down scramble by sophomore quarterback Justice Spriggs, the Pipers were called for holding. A ten-yard penalty. Going for it on fourth and four with the game on the line is an easy call for most coaches. Fourth and 14? Not as much. The Pipers had no choice but to try something anyway, down a field goal. With 1:41 left in the game, Spriggs called for the snap from junior center Bailey West and dropped back to pass.

“With the play we called and how the defense was lined up, I knew I was going to have one of two throws to the field,” said Spriggs. “With how they played it, the outside receiver was the one who broke open.”

One one thousand. Two one thousand. Three one thousand. Three seconds is how long Spriggs had before the pass rush began pushing into his face. He cocked his arm and lofted the ball towards the back-left corner of the end zone.

“I got good protection but when I threw it initially, I thought I might have thrown it out of bounds,” said Spriggs. “The receiver, [sophomore] Harrison Jones, made a great play to keep his foot inbounds.”

Touchdown Pipers.

After the point-after attempt was put through the uprights, the Piper defense would have to be called upon. A 42-38 lead needed to be protected for nearly a minute and a half, a figurative eon in college football when your opponent has all three of its timeouts. Gustavus would start at their own 21-yard line after the kickoff, needing a touchdown to win the game.

“In that situation, it’s all about technique,” said head coach Chip Taylor. “We just had to play with our eyes in the right spot; we needed a stop.”

Gustavus picked up a 34-yard chunk on their first play from scrimmage, taking the ball all the way to Hamline’s 45-yard line. On the next play, with the clock ticking down towards a minute remaining, Gustavus’ first-year quarterback Christian Haffner lofted the ball down towards the left side line, hoping to hit one of his wide receivers streaking down the field. The ball flew five feet over the receiver’s head and into the arms of safety Zach Schwalbach for an interception, his fourth of the season.

“He [Schwalbach] is a kid that does everything right,” said Taylor. “He gets our defense lined up so the fact that he was able to make that play didn’t surprise me but I was very happy for him.”

Gustavus used all three of its timeouts on the ensuing Piper possession, and pinned at their own 15, the Pipers decided to have their punter run out the back of the end zone for a safety. This negated the chance of a blocked punt but put Gustavus in the position of being able to kick a game-winning field goal on their next possession. After a quarterback scramble and completing several shorter passes, Gustavus was forced to attempt a last-second desperation heave to the end zone. It was batted down by a host of Pipers ten yards short of the end zone. The clock read 00:00; the Pipers had won.

“We kept fighting,” said senior wide receiver Naji El-Araby. “We were down 11 two separate times and we just didn’t give up. We kept moving the ball downfield when we needed to and when the plays needed to be there, we got it done.”

This was a victory for the record books, both literally and figuratively. This was the first time Hamline had beaten Gustavus since 2005. This season is the first time since 1997 the Pipers have won three games in a row. The Pipers haven’t started a season 3-0 since 1988, when they tied with Concordia as MIAC conference champions. Spriggs wrote himself into Hamline history, breaking two school records: single-game passing yards with 475 (previous best was 375) and single-game passing touchdowns with 6 (previous best was 5).

“Justice Spriggs, man, he didn’t stop, he just kept going,” said Araby, who caught three of Spriggs’ passes for 41 yards. “Your offense is led by a quarterback and we’re really confident in what he can do.”

With the win, Hamline joins St. Thomas and Concordia as the three undefeated teams in MIAC play. Of those three, only Hamline and St. Thomas remain undefeated this season, and with the Pipers heading to Carleton (0-4, 0-2 MIAC) next Saturday, they have an excellent chance of attaining their first 4-0 start in nearly 30 years. Kickoff will be at 1:00 p.m. this Saturday in Northfield, Minnesota.