ST. PAUL (Interstat) — Nick Peipert accounted for six touchdowns and Saint Thomas (Minn.) defeated Stetson 64-21 on Saturday at O’Shaughnessy Stadium in an NCAA Football Championship Division game. Peipert completed 14 of 16 passes for 247 yards and four touchdowns and rushed 10 times for 146 yards and two scores for the Tommies, who improved to 5-2. The Hatters dropped to 1-5. Attendance was 3,840.

Saint Thomas scored 22 points in the first quarter, 21 in the second, seven in the third and 14 in the fourth. Stetson scored 14 points in the third quarter and finished with 21 points. The Tommies controlled the game from the opening drive and never let the Hatters build momentum.

Peipert opened the scoring with a 26-yard touchdown pass to J. Koch at the 9:39 mark of the first quarter. He added a 2-yard scoring run with 2:41 left in the opening period. In the second quarter, G. Abel ran 2 yards for a touchdown and C. White added a successful 2-point rush. Peipert scored again on a 1-yard run in the third quarter, and Saint Thomas turned a blocked punt into points when E. Johnson blocked Brett Gonda’s punt and O. Lyons recovered and returned it 6 yards for a touchdown.

Stetson answered when T. von Grote hit Shawne Jones for a 25-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. J. Morgan ran 3 yards for a Saint Thomas touchdown, and C. Stephenson broke free for a 48-yard scoring run for the Hatters.

Peipert’s big day led a Saint Thomas offense that produced 64 points. He completed 14 of 16 passes for 247 yards and four touchdowns, rushed 10 times for 146 yards and two more scores. Anthony Policare completed 2 of 3 passes for 67 yards and rushed nine times for 29 yards. Quentin Cobb-Butler caught five passes for 56 yards and two touchdowns. Ben Buesgens had a 55-yard reception. Pierce McCrary ran once for 10 yards and caught three passes for 70 yards. AJ Boarman caught two passes for 40 yards. Stefano Giovannelli had a 38-yard reception and a touchdown. Maverick Inman caught one pass for 12 yards. Eli Paulson had one reception for 6 yards, a 7-yard kick return and a 16-yard punt return. Javaris Morgan ran four times for 13 yards and a touchdown. Mordecai Ford ran twice for 15 yards. Owen Lyons scored a touchdown. Landen Sturges had a 78-yard punt. Elijah Johnson had a 22-yard punt return. Chase Williamson returned a kickoff 8 yards.

Stetson’s offense moved the ball through the air for much of the afternoon. Thomas Von Grote completed 28 of 52 passes for 296 yards and two touchdowns. Chris Stephenson completed all four of his passes for 38 yards, ran six times for 74 yards and scored once. Isaiah Baker caught one pass for 18 yards. Shawne Jones caught the 25-yard touchdown pass from Von Grote. Trey Hess made his extra-point attempts. Brett Gonda’s punt was blocked, leading to a Saint Thomas touchdown.

Saint Thomas’ defense spread tackles across the roster. Malachi Boadi-Aboagye led the Tommies with seven tackles. Will Seymour had six tackles, half a sack and three quarterback hurries. Kyle Winchester, Will Carlson, Ty Nielsen and Peyton Himley each finished with five tackles. Himley also had one quarterback hurry. Noah Kalipe had four tackles. Charlie Boucher, Sam Shaughnessy, Preston Franklin, Griffin Bowers and Jaden Richberg each had three tackles. Boucher and Shaughnessy each added a quarterback hurry. Nash Tichy had two tackles and two quarterback hurries. Walker Owens had two tackles and half a sack. Mason Helfmann, Bakari Edwards and Bless Nyanneh each had two tackles. Rocco DiLeonardi had one tackle and one quarterback hurry. Henry Bern, Mitchell Nigro, Ben Byszewski, Dylan Kingston, CJ Johnson, Matthew Amofa, Aidan Adamski and Evan Tyler each had one tackle. Mitchell Schares, Aidan Macke and Ben Hoiland also saw action.

Barrett Kennedy and Jahlani Clarke each had three tackles for Stetson. The Hatters also got a blocked punt recovery from the Tommies after Brett Gonda’s punt was stopped. Saint Thomas improved to 5-2, while Stetson fell to 1-5. The Tommies next play at Marist. Stetson hosts Presbyterian before playing at Morehead State. Stetson then hosts Dayton, plays at Davidson, hosts Valparaiso and plays at San Diego. Saint Thomas hosts Davidson, plays at Butler, hosts Drake and plays at Valparaiso.

Saint Thomas entered after a 55-21 loss at Presbyterian. Earlier this season, the Tommies beat Winona State 15-9, lost at North Dakota 62-26, beat Northern Michigan 56-14, beat Southern Utah 28-26 and beat San Diego 50-17. Stetson entered after a 28-14 home loss to Marist. The Hatters beat Webber International 45-10, lost at South Dakota State 70-7, lost at Bethune-Cookman 43-18 and lost at UC Davis 45-7. Saint Thomas needed little time to establish control, moving the ball consistently on the ground and through the air while its defense kept Stetson from finding a rhythm until the Hatters put together a few scoring drives. The Tommies led by a comfortable margin throughout the second half and emptied their bench late.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Saint Thomas 67, Stetson 22. Interstat’s ELO system had projected Saint Thomas with a 98.1 percent probability to win. Stetson had been installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of plus-22.5. The total score of 85 went under the over/under line of 49.5.