Despite a lopsided final score, football head coach John Pate said he was impressed by the resilience his team displayed against St. Thomas.

On Saturday, Pate and the Pipers faced the undefeated St. Thomas Tommies, led by head coach Glenn Caruso. The Pipers lost 51-9 but the game was much closer than what the scoreboard indicated. It was a tightly contested first half.

After the game, Pate said he was impressed by the team’s resilience but added, “we need to get bigger and stronger.”

In the first quarter, the Pipers’ defense sent a message when they stopped the Tommies on fourth down deep in Piper territory.

Late in the quarter, the Tommies scored on a touchdown pass delivered from quarterback Matt O’Connell, giving them the lead at 7-0.

On the next possession, a breakaway run by first-year Austin Duncan set up a 27-yard field goal by senior John Broback.

The Tommies responded again with another touchdown pass from O’Connell stretching their lead 14-3.

After three turnovers forced by the Pipers’ defense, momentum swung in favor of the Pipers.

Sophomore quarterback Kevin Ackerley tossed the ball to sophomore Ryan Ferkinhoff in the backfield, and as the defense began to close in on him he threw the ball deep down the field and sophomore Zach Deitchman dove and hauled it in for a 29-yard touchdown pass.

The extra point attempt was blocked by the Tommies, and with 1:35 remaining in the first half, the score was 14-9.

Later, senior John-Michael Vandenberg came up with an interception but fumbled the ball on the return, allowing the Tommies to maintain possession.

The Tommies once again drove down the field and scored before the end of the half. They attempted a two-point conversion but failed. The score was 20-9 going into halftime.

In the second half, the Tommies began to pull away by running up the score which resulted in a 51-9 victory for the Tommies.

Caruso seems to admire Pate’s play calling, as he twice in the second half scored on a trick play that was very similar to the play the Pipers called when Ferkinhoff threw his touchdown pass to Deitchman.

After the game, Pate said that his team “wore out” in the second half.

He explained that the Tommies were stronger in the trenches and that both offensive and defensive lines were the difference in the game.

He added that St. Thomas is ranked third in the national poll for a reason. The Tommies are undefeated at 7-0 and Pate mentioned that they haven’t lost a conference game in years.

“I like the 30 minutes of fight they showed,” Pate said, complimenting the way his team played in the first half.

He said that their next match will be no easy task as they face another nationally ranked team in Bethel next Saturday, Oct. 27.