Trophy games are the hallmarks of college football. Usually created between teams with lots of history, winning them are the goals of most coaching staffs, even if they won’t admit it.

Hamline’s two trophy games are against Macalester (the Paint Bucket) and Augsburg (the Hammer), and the Paint Bucket’s tradition is far older than the Hammer. Hamline has also had more success against Macalester in recent years, with just two wins against Augsburg from 2005-2015 and eight wins against Macalester in the same span.

This year’s 35-14 victory was the largest margin Hamline has had in a victory since their 40-7 victory over the University of Minnesota-Morris in Week 1 of 2015, and their largest conference victory since their 34-17 victory over Carleton all the way back in 2009.

“Our performance stemmed from our performance against the [St. Thomas] Tommies,” said head coach Chip Taylor. “The guys came out and executed and it was good to see those guys have some success on Saturday.”

The Pipers came into their game against Augsburg on a two game losing streak after losing 14-34 to Concordia in Moorhead and 20-71 to St. Thomas.

“We had a different mentality going into that game,” Taylor said. “It was 22-20 at one point and we wore down from there and we channeled the energy from that loss into the Augsburg week.”

The Pipers did not start the game particularly well. Their first three drives ended in a punt, an interception and a fumble and the Pipers entered the second quarter down 0-6. After two more punts in the second quarter, the Pipers started a series of drives that ended in five touchdowns, the end of the first half and 35 unanswered points.

“We knew going in that if we played how we were supposed to play we would win handily,” said senior defensive back Zach Schwalbach. “It kind of had the St. Olaf feel to it, that the scoreboard would take care of itself if we did the little things right.”

The Pipers were dominant on defense, racking up three sacks, two interceptions, had five passes defensed, and blocked an extra point attempt. They also held the Auggies to -11 net yards rushing and just 242 yards passing.

“Our defensive line was all over both of their quarterbacks,” Schwalbach said. “We had a great gameplan and our defensive line played out of their minds.”

The Pipers’ offense kept sophomore quarterback Justice Spriggs clean for most of the game and he delivered 317 passing yards, five touchdowns, and just six incompletions, one of which was an interception.

“How does another team prepare for him?” Schwalbach asked. “Other teams don’t have a scout team quarterback that is dropping back and throwing dimes like he is.”

With the victory, the Pipers secure their first .500 or better season since 1997, when they went 5-4.

“It’s tough because we still have two games left,” Taylor said. “I’m not gonna focus on that too much to make sure our guys understand the importance of these last two games. Once November 12 comes, I’ll look back and see where we finished up.”

This is the Pipers’ second win against the Auggies in three seasons. The 2014 victory was a massive upset on Augsburg’s home turf. The Pipers won that game 28-27 on the strength of four fumble recoveries from their defense and a blocked extra point in overtime.

“That wasn’t even a game we were supposed to be in and we won in overtime,” Schwalbach said. “There was a lot more at stake for us this game.”

The Pipers now move on to their next MIAC game against St. John’s, who they have yet to defeat in this millennium.

“We have to be on our ‘A’ game to go up there and get a win,” Taylor said. “It’s a great place to play and the atmosphere is great so it’ll be an interesting week for us.”

The Pipers have largely been blown out against St. John’s in recent years, with their closest defeat being a 14-20 defeat in 2013.

“It’s like playing St. Thomas, you have to be mentally ready to play these guys all week,” Schwalbach said. “You can’t just show up on Saturday; you have to execute and do the little things right.”

The Pipers will travel to Collegeville, Minn. this Saturday. Nov. 5 to take on the Johnnies at 1 p.m.