St. Bonifacius, Minn. – You couldn't have asked for a better occasion than was on display on opening night of the college football season for the Crown College Polars under the lights at Old National Bank Stadium on Saturday night.  Perfect weather, sharp new uniforms, and a full stadium greeted fans for the 7 p.m. kickoff.  Despite a solid game from the young Polars, it was the Hamline Pipers who enjoyed the spoils of the evening as the visitors pulled away late to claim a 39-14 victory.

Hamline took a 13-0 lead into the halftime break, but Crown fought back in the third quarter, closing the gap twice with touchdown passes from Elijah Odom to Terry Warner.  Unfortunately, the visitors scored 13 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to squash any comeback attempt.

Odom went 22-44 for 275 yards through the air but was sacked six times as the Polars offense struggled to find a consistent rhythm in the season opener. Warner led Crown with six catches for 89 yards and the two touchdowns while six other Polars hauled in receptions on that night.  That group was highlighted by first-year Robert Mabra who nabbed four catches for 68 yards and was elusive after the catch.  Sage Limon added three catches for 53 yards including a 42 yard reception down the seam. Josh Wallace had seven carries for 33 yards, averaging 4.7 yards per carry for Crown's pass heavy offense. 

The new-look defense was led by Rudy Criner who had 12 tackles and was joined by Malek Folston who also had 12 stops to share the team lead.  Folston looked impressive on the night, also nabbing an interception on the last play of the half and nearly breaking free for a touchdown, returning the pick 43 yards before being tripped up. 

Quis Icon and first-year linebacker Luke Johnson had eight tackles each while Icon and Isaac Herron each blocked an extra point.  Gabe Banks had seven tackles and teamed up with Johnson for Crown's only sack of the night.

The Pipers were efficient offensively, rushing for 252 yards as a team. The passing game was clicking for Hamline as well as quarterback Alejandro Villanueva connected on 21-27 pass attempts, throwing for 204 yards and three touchdowns to go along with one interception.  Nikolas Rocafort led the Piper ground game with 31 carries for 148 yards while Terrell Jones had two touchdowns on the ground. 
The game and performance were much better than the score might suggest as it's clear that the Polars best football is ahead of them.  With an exciting group of playmakers on both sides of the ball, there is a lot to look forward to this season.

Crown will travel to another MIAC non-conference opponent, Carleton College, next Saturday for a 1 p.m. kickoff.