Roman Namdar is probably Mount Union's most-talked about receiver, although his season highs are eight catches and 125 yards. Photo by Dan Poel, d3photography.com

Logan Nemeth has welcomed the heavier workload and hopes to carry the Purple Raiders back to Salem. Photo by Dan Poel, d3photography.com

By Joe Sager
D3sports.com

When opportunity knocked for Roman Namdar and Logan Nemeth, the two Mount Union seniors wasted no time racing through those doors.

Namdar, a wide receiver, and Nemeth, a running back, have developed into key components of the team's powerful offense. And, more importantly, they've helped the Purple Raiders reach the NCAA semifinals for the 21st consecutive year.

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• Feature: UST deeper, healthier than ever
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• Feature: Another Warhawk in offensive arsenal
• Feature: Namdar, Nemeth step up for Mount
• ATN Podcast: Guests from each game
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"It's been a great year so far. We're kind of hoping to finish on top this year, unlike last year," Namdar said. "I think we have a great team this year. At the wide receiver position, a lot of people have stepped up. Logan has stepped up with more carries. At quarterback, Taurice (Scott) has done a great job with his arm and legs. Our defense has been lights-out the last few games. This is probably the best team I have been a part of as a Raider."

Mount Union (13-0) meets UW-Whitewater (12-1) in Saturday's semifinals in a rematch of last year's Stagg Bowl, which the Warhawks won, 43-34.

"The team is really jelling well. The offensive line is playing well. Our wide receivers have stepped up. I really feel like we're hitting on all cylinders the last couple weeks," Nemeth said. "It's one game at a time, though. We believe we have the talent to win it all this year. With four teams left, anyone can win it. Every day, we have to bring our A game to practice and film and translate it into the game. We believe we can win it all, but we know if we don't play our best game, we could be sitting at home watching the Stagg Bowl."

The two players hope to do their best to get the Raiders back to Salem for the championship tilt.

For Namdar, he is in his second year as a top receiving threat. He spent his first two years at Mount Union as a backup quarterback and missed the 2013 season for personal reasons. When he returned in 2014, he transitioned to wide receiver and produced an All-American season as he had 70 catches for 1,287 yards and 18 touchdowns.

"The first two years, it was kind of hard not being a huge contributor. This year and last year, it's been great to do my part to help the team. It's nice to be able to contribute a lot and play a lot," he said. "When our team needs a play, I like that I can make the play to pick us up. It's been nice having another good year statistically. We're winning and that's the most important."

While Namdar may have been a surprise to opponents last year, he is a known commodity this year. Yet, he's on track to produce nearly equal numbers this season. He has 56 catches for 931 yards and 18 touchdowns so far.

"You can't hide from anybody; his stats are out there from a year ago. Teams know he will be the featured receiver and big-play guy in our offense and he's still been able to perform for us," Mount Union coach Vince Kehres said. "I think it can be frustrating a bit for some guys to start seeing some coverages they haven't seen before and having more people paying attention to you. It can affect the number of targets they get. Plus, he had to adjust to a new quarterback. He had great chemistry with Kevin Burke and had to find that with Taurice. He has been pretty consistent for us all year. He has improved in some of the little areas of technique where good corners were able to affect him a bit last year."

Like Namdar, Nemeth seized an opportunity to be a bigger factor in the offense. He had 120 rushes for 827 yards and nine touchdowns last year in a crowded backfield behind Bradley Mitchell, who led the team with 1,143 yards and 19 TDs on 148 carries. The two were slated to split the load again this season, but injuries to Mitchell allowed Nemeth to get more touches. He responded with 1,523 yards and 25 touchdowns on 196 carries.

"I just had to step up for our team and take some more carries. I like it," he said. "We have a stable of backs and our coaches tell us that each running back has their own little thing they do best. We just try to do what we do best and our offensive line does a good job."

Nemeth had a career day in a 56-35 quarterfinal win over Wesley. He rushed for 218 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries.

"It was real nice to step up for my team and make plays to help us win against a great opponent," he said. "On all my runs, it was the offensive line doing a great job making my job easy. Not only are our wide receivers good at making plays, but they are doing a good job blocking, too."

Kehres is thrilled to see Nemeth thrive with more responsibility.

"It's a pretty deep backfield for us. We did go with a plan of splitting carries and trying to keep guys fresh. But, we've had some guys banged up and that meant Logan got more carries, especially toward the end of the year. He really stayed strong. He was able to come through for us when we needed him. We're starting to get some guys back from injury, but he is a hard guy to take off the field," he said. "He's just the epitome of a program player. He's the type of player we're constantly talking about in recruiting, in terms of owning your development and persevering and taking advantage of opportunities. I don't think anyone could have predicted where Logan would be right now. He is extremely motivated. He is playing his best football right now and that's what we want our guys to be doing."

With Nemeth and Namdar doing their things, as well as dual-threat QB Scott and a strong offensive line, the Raiders present problems for opposing defenses.