Mount Union Has Streak Stopped at 55

John Gagliardi’s record-breaking season ended perfectly, with St. John’s (Minn.) as the Division III national champion.

The Johnnies ended Mount Union’s NCAA-record 55-game winning streak with a 24-6 victory Saturday in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl at Salem, Va., giving their 77-year-old coach his first national championship since 1976.

“Maybe it’s my year,” Gagliardi said after winning his fourth national championship in 55 years as a coach, 51 at St. John’s.

“You can’t hardly beat it,” he said. “The thing about these playoffs is only one team wins it all, and we’ve been losing a ton of times to the eventual champion. It’s going to be kind of nice to see how this is.”

Gagliardi, who passed Eddie Robinson as the career victories leader among college coaches this season, improved to 414-114-11 overall.

Mount Union (13-1) had won three consecutive Stagg Bowls and 109 of 110 games. But St. John’s (14-0) intercepted four passes, returning one 100 yards for a score, and got big contributions from most valuable player Blake Elliott to deprive the Purple Raiders of an eighth national title in 11 years.

“They’ve been the king of the hill for a long time,” Elliott said after rushing for 110 yards, including a 51-yard fourth-quarter touchdown. “They’ve been pushing teams off and throwing teams off, but we got them today.

“All it took was 52 guys believing.”

Elliott, the winner of the Gagliardi Trophy as the best player in Division III, also caught five passes for 51 yards and had a 27-yard kickoff return.

His scoring run gave St. John’s a 17-6 lead with 13:34 left. The Johnnies secured the victory less than five minutes later on Mike Zauhar’s 100-yard interception return for a touchdown.

“The play of their defense was the key,” Mount Union Coach Larry Kehres said. “I think they really had control of us most of the time.”

Mount Union gained 286 yards and was stopped twice from the one before Zauhar’s interception.

St. John’s, forcing Mount Union to play from behind in the second half for only the third time in its last 56 games, had three of its four interceptions in the second half.

The crowd of 5,073 on a frigid day at Salem Stadium included three chartered planes of fans from Collegeville, Minn.

Gagliardi said that he’s not ready to retire and that this championship ranks among the best of his career.

“Right up there with when I win the lottery,” he said.

Carroll, Mont. 41, Northwest Oklahoma 28 -- Tyler Emmert threw three touchdown passes and ran for another score at Savannah, Tenn., to help the Fighting Saints (15-0) extend their National Assn. of Intercollegiate Athletics-best winning streak to 19 games.

It was Carroll’s second title in a row. Northwestern Oklahoma finished 11-2.

Albany State 52, Fayetteville State 30 -- Uyl Joyner threw two touchdown passes and ran for two more scores at Atlanta as the Golden Rams (10-2) defeated the Broncos (8-4) in the Pioneer Bowl, a game that matches the champions of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Assn.