COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – Running back Jordan Roberts’ four rushing touchdowns powered the 12th-ranked St. Thomas football team to a 35-14 victory over No. 8 St. John’s Saturday afternoon at Clemens Stadium before a Division III-record crowd of 17,327 fans.

Roberts tallied at least three scores for the second consecutive game this season and added to his team-leading rushing total with 230 yards on the day. Roberts attributed most of his success to his offensive line.

“I want to thank my brothers on the team; the offensive line did amazing, as they always do,” Roberts said. “Our coaches put together a great game plan, and we just went out there and executed.”

Roberts’ first touchdown was a 5-yard scamper on a fourth-and-one in the first quarter that gave the Tommies (3-0 overall, 1-0 MIAC) a 7-0 lead. He chalked up the rest of his touchdowns in the second half with scores of 12 and 15 yards in the third quarter and a 40-yard run in the fourth to seal the game.

Running back Jack Kaiser added his first touchdown of the season between Roberts’ third and fourth scores. Kaiser’s score ran the Tommie lead to 28-7 with 14:05 remaining in the game.

As good as the Tommie offense was, the defense was just as good, if not better. The Johnnie (3-1 overall, 1-1 MIAC) offense has averaged more than 375 yards per game this season but was held to just 297 Saturday. Linebacker Tim McClanahan said the first two levels of the defense were dominant against the St. John’s’ offensive line.

“It starts with the nose guard. His job all day was to push the center back, and the (defensive line) dominated all game,” McClanahan said.

On St. John’s first possession, McClanahan recovered a fumble by Johnnie quarterback Nick Martin on the 50-yard line. Along with the forced fumble, the Tommies defense intercepted Martin twice and sacked him four times. Defensive back Isaac Seering picked off Martin in the third quarter, while Mozus Ikuenobe ended a Johnnie series in the fourth with a leaping interception. Martin finished Saturday with 252 yards to go along with two picks.

The defense also held reigning MIAC Player of the Year Sam Sura in check. He tallied 74 yards with two rushing touchdowns on 25 attempts. His 1-yard touchdown came late in the second quarter to tie the game 7-7, and his 12-yard score in the fourth made it 28-14. Sura’s 74 yards were well below his season average of 126.5 per game this season. Coach Glenn Caruso said it was a team effort to shut down Sura.

“The (defensive line) was making him muddy, but Sura’s a great back,” Caruso said. “Other teams have made it muddy. There was no heroes today, there really weren’t. There were 11 guys that did their responsibility to the best of their ability and that was it.”

One person who didn’t reach his standard of play early was quarterback John Gould. In the first half, the senior went nine for 22 with zero touchdowns and an interception. The prior two games, he threw for 335 and 277 yards and a combined four touchdowns and one interception. Caruso said he trusted Gould against the Johnnies.

“When you pick a starting quarterback, there’s not a lot of personnel decisions in your life that are that much more important, maybe choosing my wife and then how we raised our kids and right after that it’s selecting your quarterback,” Caruso said. “I trust him, and no one’s perfect, and he came back in, and he did a wonderful job.”

The last time the Tommies beat the Johnnies was the last time they were in Collegeville. St. Thomas beat St. John’s 43-21 in 2012 but lost the past two seasons at O’Shaughnessy Stadium. McClanahan said it felt great to get redemption.

“We had a lot of guys coming back, a lot of guys who were seniors last year, and I felt bad that we got embarrassed on our field two times in a row … to get this win on their field for (the seniors), it felt pretty good,” McClanahan said.

One person who isn’t accustomed to the Tommie-Johnnie experience is Roberts. He transferred from the University of South Dakota after playing for the Coyotes for two seasons. Roberts called the game “a blast.”

“The atmosphere was electric; I had (my seminarians) cheering for me, and it was so fun, and I’ll remember it forever, so will all of us,” Roberts said.

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