The University of Wisconsin-River Falls long ago entered uncharted territory in the history of its football program. On December 20th, it guarantees two weeks of magic.
River Falls defeated Johns Hopkins 48-41 in the NCAA Division III national semifinals to seal the program’s first trip to the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl for the national championship; the game will be played Jan. 4 in Canton, Ohio. River Falls will compete with John Carroll (Ohio) or North Central (Illinois) for the crown.
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North Central won the title last season and has appeared in the past five Stagg Bowls, winning after the 2024, 2022 and 2019 seasons.
The high-flying River Falls offense struck again with a win at Ramer Field to move to 12-1. The Falcons have scored 58 points, 42 points, 46 points and now 48 points in the playoffs.
Coach Matt Walker and the University of Wisconsin-River Falls football team won the WIAC Championship and made the NCAA Division III playoffs for the first time since 1996.
River Falls senior quarterback Kaleb Blaha threw for five touchdowns, including the game-winning pass to junior Blake Rohrer with 45 seconds left in the game.
Prior to that 21-yard catch, the Minnesota natives had total touchdowns of 20 and 25 yards, respectively, in the third quarter.
Blaha leads the Division III in passing yards with 520 yards in the extended season, completing 30 of 48 passes with at least one completion to eight receivers. Rohrer finished with nine catches for 236 yards.
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River Falls will become the first Wisconsin team to appear in the championship game since UW-Whitewater lost to North Central in 2019. UW-Oshkosh lost in the 2016 finals, after Whitewater won the championship in 2014, 2013, 2011, 2010, 2009 and 2007, and was the runner-up in 2016. 2008, 2006 and 2005. The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse won the title in 1995 and 1992.
Even reaching the quarterfinals was the first time River Falls had done so since 1995, and the game against Johns Hopkins marked the first time it reached the semifinals. The Falcons captured the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Conference championship for the first time since 1985 and hosted the first postseason game in program history this season.
Both teams in the semifinals led by more than one point throughout the game, and although Johns Hopkins had a chance to take a nine-point lead before halftime with a 39-yard field goal, it didn’t play well.
This article originally appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: UW-River Falls beats Johns Hopkins to advance to Division III championship game
