SALEM, Virginia – Quarterback Taurice Scott and running back Logan Nemeth combined to secure No. 1-ranked Mount Union’s 12th national championship by defeating No. 4-ranked St. Thomas 49-35 in the 43rd Annual Stagg Bowl Friday night at Salem Stadium.

Scott finished with 201 passing yards and three touchdowns, completing 12 of his 19 passes. He also added 78 rushing yards on 13 attempts. Nemeth chalked up 220 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries. Senior linebacker Tim McClanahan said the defense failed to capitalize on opportunities to slow down the Purple Raider offense.

“We just missed some tackles; we didn’t make plays we’ve been used to making,” McClanahan said.

Two St. Thomas touchdowns, a 24-yard receiving touchdown by Charlie Dowdle and a 1-yard run by junior running back Jordan Roberts, gave the Tommies a 14-0 lead with 10:59 left in the second quarter. The 7-0 lead St. Thomas held was the largest deficit Mount Union has faced all year.

The Purple Raiders (15-0 overall) erased the Tommies’ (14-1 overall) lead on consecutive passing touchdowns from Scott. He connected with tight end Lane Clark for a 7-yard score and found wide receiver Roman Namdar on a 29-yard strike. Coach Glenn Caruso said Mount Union is a championship team because of its ability to seize momentum and “answer immediately.”

“Hats off to them, they came right back three or four times that we scored,” Caruso said.

With high-octane offensive talent all over the field, Clark was able to slip past the Tommie defense twice. He finished the game with two catches for 20 yards and two touchdowns, and all of his touchdowns on the year have come during the NCAA playoffs. Wide receiver Roman Namdar was Scott’s favorite target Friday night, hauling in 127 yards and one touchdown.

The impressive performances by Namdar and Nemeth cemented their place among the game’s best. Namdar’s touchdown pushed him to first in the nation in receiving touchdowns with 20. With his 220-yard outing, Nemeth was able to surpass 2,000 rushing yards, the fourth running back to achieve that feat. Sam Benger of Carnegie Mellon (Pennsylvania) leads the nation with 2,092 yards, followed by Roberts, Mason Zurek of Wabash (Indiana) and Nemeth.

McClanahan led the Tommies with 11 tackles and two sacks. For a team that entered the 2015 season with no preseason All-Americans, McClanahan said the Tommies “really overachieved all year.”

“We’re a bunch of regular guys that also love football, love each other,” McClanahan said.

Nemeth was able to find success against the Tommies’ defense, but Roberts wasn’t able to mirror that success, at least in the second half. He chalked up 101 yards and one touchdown on 18 carries in first half but ran for 36 yards on 12 carries in the second half.

St. Thomas began the second half on a high note, scoring on a 58-yard toss from senior quarterback John Gould to wide receiver Nick Waldvogel, but Mount Union created its first lead of the game when it scored three unanswered touchdowns. The Tommies would go on to score two more touchdowns in the second half, but Mount Union’s offense would match that output.

Trailing 35-21 late in the third quarter, St. Thomas turned a near-disaster into what could be called one of the best plays of the season. Waldvogel scampered six yards before fumbling the ball. The ball bounced twice before Gould scooped it up and raced 56 yards into the end zone. Caruso called Gould’s touchdown a “hustle play” and a “life lesson.”

“(Gould) hustles on every single play … that’s something to be proud of,” Caruso said.

Including the run, Gould wrapped up the contest with 81 rushing yards on 10 carries and completed 8 of his 22 passes for 123 yards and two touchdowns. Gould capped off his Tommie career with a 17-2 record as a starter.

St. Thomas will graduate many notable seniors, including All-Americans David Simmet, Roberts and Dowdle and All-MIAC performers Mozus Ikuenobe, Paul Graupner, Gould, Eric Sutton, McClanahan, Jordan Young, Dominic Trouccolo, Stefan Sauer, Richie Donovan, Trace Adams and Zach Brennan.

St. Thomas went 44-7 during these seniors’ tenures, made two trips to the Stagg Bowl and secured two MIAC championships.

“Being with the guys you love … it’s a long season, it’s a long career, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything else,” McClanahan said.

This marks Mount Union’s first win in the Stagg Bowl since the team’s 28-10 victory over St. Thomas in 2012. The Purple Raiders have appeared in 11 straight Stagg Bowls and have won five titles in that span. Caruso called Mount Union “the standard.”

“Someday if we work long enough and we work hard enough, maybe we hope to be,” Caruso said.

Jesse Krull can be reached at krul7386@stthomas.edu.