Before the season, Piper football head coach Chad Rogosheske said the team was “further ahead” than they were last year and proved it with a 37-6 victory, the team’s largest margin of victory since 2009.

“We have a much better understanding of what our players’ strengths are,” Rogosheske said. “You see it through position changes…we are really trying to see how all the puzzle pieces [fit] together to get your best 11 playing on the field together.”

Sophomore safety and team captain Anthony Hill said the defense this year focused on tackling, creating turnovers and preventing third down conversions.

“Coming into this season we just want to get better – less missed tackles, more turnovers and keep the opponents to less points,” Hill said.

In the season opener, the defense forced three fumbles and recovered two. They also kept Morris off the field on third downs as the Pipers stingy defense only allowed 4 out 13 conversions. Ultimately, the Pipers kept Morris out of the end zone and held them to only two field goals.

On the offensive side, the running game compiled for a total of 271 yards. USA All-America halfback, junior Austin Duncan led the pack with 150 yards on the ground and a touchdown.

“When you have a running back like Duncan, he makes you want to block for him,” said All-America offensive lineman and team captain senior Alec Grimm.

“If you do your job, he’ll find that small gap or crease that he’s going to find the end zone,” Grimm added. “It’s just really exciting knowing that you have somebody behind you who’s giving everything they’ve got. It makes you want to try even harder.”

Duncan said for him, its “vice-versa.”

“We have three returning seniors [on the offensive line, Juan] ‘Buddha’ [Burciaga], Grimm, [and, Austin] Neiderkorn and it’s been fun running for these guys and I just want to keep it going,” Duncan said. “They’re the heart of the offense…with their steady beat we can do whatever we want.”

The offensive line was also effective in the passing game against Morris as they prevented junior quarterback Tim Bona from being sacked and gave him enough time in the pocket to strike three touchdowns.

The Pipers next test will be against the Macalester Scouts this Saturday at Klas Field as they will battle for the Paint Bucket. The Pipers haven’t won the Paint Bucket since 2010.

“We’ve heard stories of previous teams winning the bucket and you want that for yourself,” Grimm said. “You want to know that feeling.”

Last season, the Pipers lost in a close 7-0 heartbreaker in a cold and rainy game at Macalester Stadium.

Rogosheske said this year during training camp one of the things the coaching staff emphasized was closing out close games. He said they had an opportunity to win three more games and they could have been a .500 team with a 5-5 record. Confidence is what he sees as the determining factor.

“We felt the difference was…guys having the confidence that when it was their turn to make a play that they were going to have the confidence to be able to do that,” Rogosheske said.

He said making the field goal attempt against Carleton would have given them the win. If they punched in a touchdown against St. John’s they would have won another. Also, he felt if the offense protected the ball better against Macalester last year, when they committed six turnovers while the defense only allowed seven points, they would have been the one’s celebrating with the bucket.

“When you’re in those situations, when you’re in tight games do you have that believe and trust in your teammates that they’re going to be able to come through by doing their job when the opportunity presents itself,” Rogosheske said.

Duncan explained at the start of camp the coaches issued out a survey to the players where they wrote down words they felt would help the team improve. The survey included the following words: hard work, trust, resilience, honesty and unselfishness.

“I felt like all those words would play a big part in closing out games,” Duncan said. “If we work hard on the field we’re going to strive to be our best. If you have resilience anytime you get knocked down, [commit] turnovers, or anytime we make a mistake, we’re able to come back and push ourselves further.”

Hill says on the defensive side of the ball, they are definitely more confident. He said last year the defense was small in the trenches but with this year’s workout regimen and the new players they brought in, he feels the defense will be stronger on the front end. Combining an improved defensive line and linebacker core with an experienced secondary, Hill vows this year’s defense will be an improvement and to show for it his tackle numbers will drop.

“I’m looking for my tackle numbers to go down because if my tackle numbers are down it means we have a better defense overall and [we] have other guys making plays,” Hill said. “This year there’s a lot more confidence and we trust each other…we’re just ready to compete and hit other guys and change the name of the Hamline defense.”

Grimm said putting it all together for this next game is a crucial.

“If we get these first two games it will give us momentum for the rest of the season,” Grimm said.

For this year’s game against Macalester, the Pipers will not only be home at Klas Field, but they will also have this as their night game.

“I’m just excited we get to play on our home field while playing for the bucket, we get a chance to sing to our home crowd,” Hill said. “I feel like we can get it done.”

As Grimm is entering his final season, he says this group has had the best training camps he’s ever experienced.

“I believe with all this hard work we’ve been putting in this season it will be a really great last year for me at Hamline,” Grimm said. “[Also,] I want to set an example for the younger guys. When they look back and see this senior class I want them to say ‘wow, those guys never gave up. They gave everything they got; they did what they were supposed to do on and off the field.’”

Rogosheske said he wants teams to view them as a team that plays tough no matter what the scoreboard shows. He also wants to see this program take another step. Last year, he said they took steps forward in terms of the number of incoming players they had, their win total increasing and the team’s overall G.P.A. rising. This year he wants to see his squad take another step.

“We did a lot of positive things that maybe don’t show up on a win or lost record or on the scoreboard, and that’s what you want to see in a program that’s developing, is that next year the team continues to take another step,” Rogosheske said. “I hope that we’re in position where we are ready take a next step.”