<rleton College offense turned in quite a mixed bag on Saturday. Several players set career highs, but six turnovers nullified the strong individual performances as the Knights fell on the road to Hamline University 34-17.
Sophomore quarterback Vaughn Schmid threw for a career-best 358 yards on 28-of-49 passing, but also served up four interceptions, including two on consecutive third-quarter possessions and one that was returned for a Piper touchdown.
Tight end Tyler Palin led the Carleton receiving corps with 10 catches for 124 yards, both career highs for the junior who moved to the offense this year from defensive end. T-Pain’s performance was hot enough to earn him a spot on the d3football.com Team of the Week. Joining him in ballership was “DJ” Dylan Bothun, who added 91 receiving yards on six catches, while sophomore Anthony Kemper hauled in five passes for 81 yards and two touchdowns, bringing his conference-leading total to nine TD catches on the season.
The Pipers got on the board first as Derek Johnson’s 37-yard field goal capped the host’s first possession.
The defenses stiffened for the rest of the first quarter, but the Knights appeared poised to take the lead on their opening drive of the second. With the ball on the Hamline three yard-line and needing just one yard for a first down Schmid was twice stopped by the Hamline defensive line for no gain, and Carleton turned the ball over on downs.
On the next play, however, Carleton found a creative way to get on the scoreboard, as rookie defensive lineman Jens Lillehei brought down Piper quarterback Adam Meyer in the endzone for a safety.
Just as it looked like the Knights were going to seize the momentum, Schmid gave it right back to Hamline when Cory Olsen leapt high to intercept a screen pass on Carleton’s first play after the safety and returned it 39 yards for a touchdown.
Carleton responded, though, as Schmid led the Knights down the field and found his favorite target, “Touchdown” Kemper, from seven yards out, bringing the score to 10-9 with 5:37 remaining in the half. Carleton got the ball back with a chance to take a lead into the locker room, but David Miller’s 50-yard prayer of a field goal attempt was blocked as time expired.
The third quarter saw the Knights hand the game over to the hosts as they turned the ball over three times and the Pipers scored 17 unanswered points. Hamline found the endzone five minutes into the period on a four-yard Meyer touchdown pass to Tim Queck.
Schmid was sacked for a seven-yard loss on the first play of Carleton’s ensuing drive, and two plays later Brady Lorenzen picked off the Knights’ quarterback, setting up Johnson’s second 37-yard field goal of the afternoon.
After a 35-yard kickoff return by Paul Hoffer, the Carleton offense again failed to record a first down, as Cody Kielsa intercepted Schmid’s deep pass to C.J. Dale on third-and-five.
Though the Knights’ defense forced a three-and-out following the pick, the offense remained stagnant. Piper punter John Broback sent a booming 77-yard boot rolling all the way to the Carleton two-yard line. Two plays later, Lucas Jones recovered a Jon Lien fumble at the eight, and it took just one play for Hamline to pad its lead as Connor Sathre dashed in for the score.
Trailing 27-9, the Knights nearly cut into the deficit on their next drive. An 11-yard Schmid completion to Palin brought up fourth-and-one for Carleton just nine yards out of their opponent’s end zone. Needing touchdowns not field goals, head coach Kurt Ramler called for a Lien rush, but the Pipers stuffed it and took over on downs with 2:35 remaining in the third quarter.
The Knights finally showed some life in the fourth, as sophomore Kyle Jacobs got in on the interception party, picking off Meyer and giving the offense a chance to finally cut the lead. They did just that, as Schmid finally engineered a productive drive, capping it with a 25-yard strike to Kemper. Schmid ran in for the two-point conversion, cutting the Piper lead to 27-17.
Once again, however, Hamline grabbed the momentum right back, as Kevin Kramer returned Miller’s on-sides kick attempt 38 yards for the touchdown, putting the hosts up 17 with 9:57 to play.
Carleton nearly trimmed the deficit again as Schmid’s arm drove the Knights all the way down to Hamline’s eight-yard line, but Dante Guther recorded the Pipers’ final interception of the day on second-and-goal, icing the win.
The tough defeat marked the fourth straight loss for Carleton, which will try to get back on track at home on Senior Day tomorrow versus Concordia College-Moorhead. Come on out to Laird Stadium at 1 p.m. for 2009’s final home game.