St. Bonifacius, Minn. — Crown football hosted Hamline for their home opener, and the MIAC opponent quickly showed their strength, running up a 28-0 first quarter on the way to a 51-0 victory. 

Ryan Synoground started the game at quarterback, and was 7/14 for 66 yards and threw two interceptions. Taylor Watkins came in off the bench in the second half, and passed slightly better against Hamline's second unit, throwing for 67 yards on 9/18 passing with no touchdowns or interceptions. 

Leading the rushing attack today was freshman Damien Jeffries out of Victoria, Texas, who had 42 yards on eight attempts. Some trickery was afoot on a Crown punt attempt when Isaiah Zepeda rushed the ball for a 26 yard gain instead of punting the ball. On the receiving end, David McIntosh put together a great game, with 72 yards on six catches, with a long of 17. 

Crown had a chance to score late, but an illegal man downfield call overturned a touchdown pass by Watkins on their second to last drive.  

Crown freshman linebacker Jeremiah Jones led the defensive effort, with nine tackles. Junior defensive back Dasean Riley had a pass breakup and a forced fumble, which Crown recovered for their only forced turnover in the game, recovered by Alex Banks.

The football team goes on the road next week, with a matchup against UMAC opponent Iowa Wesleyan in Mount Pleasant, Iowa.