RIVER FALLS, Wisc. – Despite wind chill temperatures dipping below zero and gusts near 40 mph Saturday, Wisconsin-River Falls quarterback Kaleb Blaha eschewed the warmth of a sideline cape for virtually all of a Division III semifinal against Johns Hopkins.
The senior and Coon Rapids native yet again played Superman, however, passing for a school-record 520 yards and five touchdowns during a 48-41 victory that sent the third-seeded Falcons to their first-ever championship game on Jan. 4 in Canton, Ohio.
River Falls (13-1), in the postseason for the first time since 1996, will face top-seeded North Central (14-0), from Naperville, Ill., in what’s known as the Stagg Bowl. It’s played adjacent to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Blaha’s biggest toss came with 45 seconds remaining and his team facing third-and-seven on its own 21-yard line. The first team All-American hit Blake Rohrer for a 79-yard touchdown that broke the last of the game’s four ties.
The throw down the left sideline came within inches of being intercepted by a Blue Jays’ safety flying across the field, but Rohrer snared it and broke into the open, sending an announced crowd of 2,897 into pandemonium. Fans started tailgating at 7 a.m. outside Ramer Field.
University of Wisconsin-River Falls receiver Blake Rohrer (18) makes a catch during the Division-III semifinal against Johns Hopkins on Dec. 20 in River Falls, Wis. Rohrer scored the winning touchdown on the play. (Photos courtesy of Pat Deninger, UW-River Falls)
“What a battle, what a dog fight,” said 15-year River Falls coach Matt Walker, whose team won its 14th consecutive home game. “The kind of game we haven’t been in a lot. It showed we can win any sort of football game. We had to keep outscoring them and when we needed a big play on defense, we got it.”
The duo of Blaha and Rohrer first came about when they bartended together at the Tarnation Tavern on Main Street in River Falls two years ago. It was Rohrer’s first semester at the school and he mentioned that, although he’d gone to Grand Canyon University as a regular student before transferring to River Falls to play basketball, he’d played football at Woodbury High School.
Blaha saw the younger player’s online highlights and urged him to join the Falcons’ football team, so Rohrer exited the hardwood and took his speed and leaping ability to the gridiron. Saturday’s deciding play, on what’s known as a hole-shot fade behind a cornerback and in front of a safety, hadn’t been called all season.
“I knew I had to go get the ball, that I couldn’t wait on it,” said Rohrer, who caught the pass inches from the sideline before cutting inside and sprinting to pay dirt for his third touchdown of the day. “I was saying ‘Get there, get there, don’t go down.’ This is so surreal.”
The bearded and gregarious Walker expressed happiness for his players, the school and its town.
“We feel so supported,” he said. “To see and hear so many people on another cold day during the holidays, it means a lot to me and this team. It was chaos out there and I think it made a different in the game.”
River Falls trailed the eighth-seeded Blue Jays 27-21 at halftime.
Blaha had suffered a stinger during a first-quarter run, and missed several plays because of it. Walker wouldn’t say exactly what his message to the signal-caller had been after, but it seemed to involve profane inspiration to play through pain.
“Blaha is the real deal,” second-year Johns Hopkins coach Dan Wodicka said. “His confidence and his command of the offense is really impressive. I’m not sure what injury he sustained, but he showed toughness coming back from that.”
Blaha completed 30 of 48 passes and had one intercepted. Although a prolific runner earlier in the season, he had only 30 yards in 16 attempts on the ground Saturday, the second consecutive week the Falcons stayed mostly to the air.
Rohrer caught a game-high nine passes for 236 yards and diminutive speedster Jalen Reed had a team-high 52 yards rushing on four carries.
The teams combined for more than 1,000 yards of total offense, with Johns Hopkins rushing for 233 and passing for 228. Quarterback Bay Harvey completed 14 of 31 passes for 213 yards and two touchdowns. He returned after being hit late in the second quarter on a play during which a targeting foul was reversed, incensing Wodicka.
The Blue Jays’ boss was in the dumps again when his team had the Falcons backed up in their own end with less than a minute to go, yet surrendered the winning points. A perfect punt by Chase Alley veered out of bounds at the River Falls 4 preceding that fateful possession.
“There was a cross wind against them at that moment and it was ‘Let’s force their punt unit on the field’ and then they made a fantastic play,” said Wodicka, whose Baltimore-based team lost in the national semifinals for a second consecutive year. “That happened all day all over the field — really athletic people making great plays.”
One of them was made by River Falls defensive lineman Brady Block, who snuffed out Johns Hopkins’ final hopes when he intercepted a Harvey pass over the middle on the first play from scrimmage following Rohrer’s big touchdown catch.
“He’s a little thicker guy, but he’s a sneaky, shifty athlete,” said River Falls linebacker Gage Timm, who made a game-high 15 tackles. “I was shell-shocked for a bit when I realized we’d gotten a D-line pick to end the game.”
Walker was asked how he’ll balance allowing his players to enjoy this playoff run yet remain focused on preparation during the next two weeks.
“I have no clue yet what to do because we haven’t let ourselves think beyond this week,” Walker said with an ear-to-ear grin. “But what a fun thing to get to figure out.”
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Division-III Football: With deep playoff run, River Falls becomes a Falcons football town
College Football Playoff begins this weekend with first-round games
