UW-River Falls Advances To Quarterfinals of NCAA Football Championship; UW-La Crosse and UW-Platteville Fall

**UW-La Crosse, UW-Platteville and UW-River Falls Sports Information contributed to this recap.

MADISON, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-River Falls secured a spot in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division III Football Championship with a 42-14 triumph over Saint John’s University (Minn.) at Ramer Field on Dec. 6.

UW-La Crosse and UW-Platteville dropped their third round contests. The Eagles fell 35-27 against defending national champion North Central College (Ill.) in Naperville, Ill., while UW-Platteville lost 35-24 to Bethel University (Minn.) in Arden Hills, Minn.

UW-River Falls (11-1) will host Wheaton College (Ill.) (11-2) in a quarterfinal contest on Dec. 13.

Against Saint John’s (10-2), UW-River Falls used a productive rushing attack, a three-touchdown performance from Kaleb Blaha, and a suffocating defensive effort to surge past the Johnnies to improve its program record-breaking win total to 11, advancing to the quarterfinals - the farthest the Falcons have reached in program history. The win also marked the first over Saint John's since 1937.

The Falcons compiled 433 yards of total offense, including 188 on the ground, while holding the Johnnies to just 22 rushing yards on nine attempts. Blaha accounted for 342 total yards, rushing 26 times for 97 yards and a touchdown, while completing 22 of 28 passes for 245 yards and three scores.

The Johnnies forced a Blaha interception on the first drive of the game to set up a short Saint John's touchdown for a 7-0 lead, but UW-River Falls responded immediately with a nine-play, 65-yard drive capped by a six-yard scoring strike from Blaha to Austin Rush. The Falcons then seized control in the second quarter with an 11-play, 80-yard march, finishing with a one-yard touchdown run by Trevor Asher for a 14-7 halftime advantage.

UW-River Falls broke the game open in the third quarter. Blaha found Blake Rohrer on a 16-yard touchdown to extend the lead to 21-7, and moments later, Nick Wasko jumped a route and returned an interception 56 yards to the end zone, pushing the lead to 28-7. After the Johnnies briefly cut into the deficit, Blaha connected with Jaylen Reed on a 38-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter, and the Falcons added a final one-yard keeper by Blaha to close the scoring.

With his three passing touchdowns, Blaha broke a single-season program record with 31 passing touchdowns, surpassing the previous mark of 28 set by Kole Hinrichsen in 2021.

Defensively, UW-River Falls produced two interceptions, five pass breakups, and four tackles for loss. Taylor Sussner totaled eight tackles and an interception, while Jack Olson and Kody Curtis each recorded sacks. Wasko's pick-six marked one of the afternoon's pivotal turning points, his first career touchdown.

UW-La Crosse’s Kyle Hass went 34-of-58 for 308 yards with four touchdowns and two interceptions against North Central. Marko Rajkovic had 100 receiving yards and four touchdowns. His four touchdowns catches are tied for second in single-game school history and most for UW-La Crosse in a NCAA playoff game. UW-La Crosse completed the 2025 campaign with an 8-3 record and made their 16th NCAA appearance. The Eagles are 21-14 all-time in NCAA postseason action.

Against Bethel, UW-Platteville jumped out to a 10-0 lead, but the Royals scored 28 unanswered points to take control. Nathan Uselding completed 25 of 31 passes for 298 yards and one touchdown. Kristian Gavric had a game-high 126 receiving yards, while Trevor Syse added 100 receiving yards and a touchdown reception. UW-Platteville finished the year with a 9-3 record and made their fourth NCAA appearance. It is the second straight year the Pioneers have posted nine victories, marking the first time since the 1970 and 1971 seasons that UW-Platteville has had at least nine wins in back-to-back years.

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