In what is already a magical season, the University of Wisconsin-River Falls football team accomplished something Saturday the program has never done, by doing something that has not occurred since before World War II.
Kaleb Blaha threw for 245 yards and three touchdowns, ran for 97 more and River Falls dominated the second half to pull away from St. John’s 42-14 in a Division III college football third-round game.
Beating the Johnnies for the first time since a 12-6 victory in 1937, the third-ranked Falcons (11-1) will be back at Ramer Field on Dec. 13 against Wheaton (10-2). The first national quarterfinal appearance in school history comes in a season River Falls won the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title for the first time since 1985.
“Making it this far and doing stuff that’s never been done around here, it’s just,” defensive end Jack Olson said before his voice trailed off. Then, after a pause, adding, “You can’t really put words to it.”
Nathan Wasko returned a third-quarter interception 56 yards for a 28-7 Falcons lead. After Dylan Wheeler’s receiving touchdown got the Johnnies back within two scores, Jaylen Reed scored on a 38-yard reception to start the fourth quarter, a play neither Blaha nor coach Matt Walker would call a dagger.
“We got our sword out at that point,” Walker said.
A 1-yard score by Blaha midway through the fourth made it 42-14 and a “Goodbye Johnnies” chant was voiced by many of the Falcon faithful in the packed bleachers.
“He’s really tough because he’s got that quick burst,” St. John’s coach Gary Fasching said of Blaha. “I thought there were times where our defensive line had him cornered, and he burst through a little hole and picked up four or five yards. He did that a lot today.”
Throwing for 3,753 yards and 31 touchdowns, and running for 1,053 yards and 15 scores makes Blaha the leading candidate for the Gagliardi Trophy that is awarded to Division III’s most outstanding player.
“Someone’s not watching very close, if he doesn’t get it,” Walker said, after Blaha shook off an early interception Saturday to finish 22 of 28 through the air.
Hamstring injuries limited Blaha to just three games in 2024, in what was supposed to be his final season.
“I didn’t have to come back, but I wanted to come back, and I knew we could really make this happen. I knew this was a possibility. … Living in it right now, it’s great,” he said.
Trey Feeney was 33 of 59 for 274 yards with two touchdowns with an interception for a one-dimensional Johnnies’ offense. Andrew Harren and Wheeler caught scores for St. John’s (10-2), which entered averaging 526 yards per game but finished with 295.
“One of the more physical secondaries we’ve seen,” Wheeler said.
With its burly, physical offensive line controlling the trenches, River Falls ran 51 times for 188 yards. St. John’s had 22 yards on nine carries.
“You’re not going to win games like this if you can’t run the football,” Fasching said.
The Falcons finished with 433 total yards, 142 yards below their average.
Looking to increase its 14-7 lead in the second quarter, River Falls lined up for a chip-shot field-goal attempt. However, a fake put the ball in the hands of kicker Justin Scheberl, who used his right foot — and left — in a different way. Running right, he dove for the corner but was stopped inside the 2 by Hoyt.
With sudden momentum, St. John’s countered with its best first-half drive that reached the Falcons 18. Back-to-back sacks by Olson and Kody Curtis ultimately forced St. John’s to try a 38-yard field goal in the waning seconds. It was no good.
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