Photo gallery
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Even though it was the Carleton College Knights whose home football stadium was under water, on Saturday it was the Hamline Pipers defense that found itself inundated by a riptide of scoring, as the Knights roared to a 45-21 triumph as visitors at Klas Stadium. This was Carleton's first victory of the 2010 campaign. Running back Jon Lien (Jr./Lindstrom, Minn./Chisago Lakes) and linebacker Tim Mulso (Sr./Welcome, Minn./Martin County West) both had touchdown scoring plays of over 70 yards..
The opportunistic Knights took full advantage of a balanced offensive attack and three interceptions en route to their most prolific offensive outburst since they totaled 49 points in their legendary Homecoming shootout victory over a nationally-ranked Augsburg College team on Oct. 11, 2008.
Vaughn Schmid (Jr./Mahtomedi, Minn.) threw for 293 yards this afternoon and was complemented by a ground game that contributed 184 yards to the effort. Lien rushed for 134 yards and two scores, including a 71-yard touchdown haul that punctuated the Knights 94-yard opening drive. Opposite Lien, senior Kilian Murphy (Eau Claire, Wis./Regis) led all receivers on the day, accounting for a career-best 107 yards through the air, including an eight-yard touchdown snare that came seconds before halftime.
The Knights defense tormented Pipers quarterback Adam Meyer all afternoon, thrice picking him off. Near the conclusion of the first quarter, DeAngelo Williams’ (Jr./Minneapolis, Minn./De La Salle) interception in Hamline territory eventually led to an Eric Murphy (Jr./Stillwater, Okla.) 28-yard field goal that gave the Knights a 10-0 advantage.
Hamline would respond with a lengthy eight-minute drive culminating in a one-yard touchdown dive by tailback Zach Cornish to make it a three-point game.
The teams would exchange punts throughout the second quarter until Carleton received the ball near midfield with two and a half minutes to go before half. The Knights proceeded to engineer a scoring drive that augmented their lead going into the locker room. The drive was ignited by a big play from rookie tight end Brian Frett (Fy./Wilmette, Ill./New Trier), whose 43-yard grab on the first snap helped set up Kilian Murphy’s score a couple plays later, making it 17-7 at intermission.
A week after the Knights were outscored 27-0 in the second half against Bethel, Kurt Ramler’s squad showed no signs up letting up against Hamline, hungrily pouring on 28 points after halftime.
Williams set the tone for the half when he returned the opening kick 47 yards to give Carleton excellent field position. Lien’s second touchdown of the day shortly followed, putting the Knights well in control.
The closest the Pipers would come to mounting a comeback happened on Carleton’s next possession. After breaching the red zone, Schmid threw an interception that Hamline defensive back Christian Willman took to the house from 84 yards out to pull the Pipers’ within 10 points at 24-14.
As soon as the fourth quarter rolled around, the Knights acted quickly to seal the deal and crushed all hope for the Pipers in cold-blooded fashion. Immediately following a Schmid touchdown run, Kyle Jacobs (Jr./Mequon, Wisc./University School) recorded the Knights’ second interception of Meyer. Two plays later, Schmid hooked up with receiver C.J. Dale (So./Fox Island, Wash./Charles Wright Academy) for a 48-yard touchdown strike to give the Knights their second score in just twenty-seven ticks of the clock.
Ahead 38-21 in the game’s final minute, Carleton wasn’t done quite yet. As an encore for his team-leading 10 tackles, senior linebacker Tim Mulso (Welcome, Minn./Martin County West) intercepted an errant pass from Meyer and rambled 74 yards for an exclamation point of a touchdown.
The Knights will look to channel the momentum from this win into next Saturday’s Homecoming showdown against Augsburg College. Though kickoff is currently scheduled for 1 p.m. from Laird Stadium, check Knights Online for potential changes, as the field is currently submerged under Poseidon’s oppressive grip.
