UW-River Falls Wins NCAA Football Championship

**Recap courtesy of UW-River Falls Sports Information

CANTON, Ohio--University of Wisconsin-River Falls won its first NCAA Division III football championship with a 24-14 victory over defending national champion North Central College (Ill.) in the Stagg Bowl at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium on Jan. 4.

It is the ninth NCAA Division III football championship won by a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) football program. UW-La Crosse claimed titles in 1992 and 1995, while UW-Whitewater added first-place finishes in 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2014. Since the 1982-83 academic year, WIAC institutions have combined to win 135 NCAA Division III team championships.

Against North Central (14-1), the Falcons trailed 14-3 midway through the second quarter before scoring 21 unanswered points. The Falcon defense, behind interceptions from senior defensive lineman Jack Olson and freshman safety Taylor Sussner, held North Central scoreless in the final 30 minutes.

Quarterback Kaleb Blaha delivered a historic performance in the highest setting, finishing with 419 total yards and three total touchdowns. In the process, Blaha broke the all-time single-season total yards record, surpassing Joe Burrow's mark of 6,039 yards set in 2019. Blaha finished the season with 6,189 total scrimmage yards.

North Central opened the game with a 48-yard rushing touchdown on its first drive and later added a one-yard score early in the second quarter to build a 14-3 lead. UW-River Falls would answer before halftime when Blake Rohrer snatched Blaha's back-pylon throw for a 13-yard touchdown, cutting the deficit to 14-10 at the break.

The tone shifted at the end of the third quarter. The Falcons marched down the field and took their first lead on a seven-yard Blaha rushing touchdown. From that point forward, UW-River Falls controlled the game.

The Falcon defense repeatedly shut down Cardinal drives, with Gage Timm forcing a fumble and recording two sacks, Sussner and Olson's interceptions, and stopping North Central on multiple fourth-down conversions. The Cardinals, who entered the game averaging more than 40 points per contest, were held without a score in the second half.

Blaha put the game away midway through the fourth quarter with a 12-yard rushing touchdown to extend the lead to 24-14. UW-River Falls closed out the final minutes by winning the line of scrimmage and preventing any Cardinal rally.

The Falcons finished with 436 total yards of offense compared to North Central's 363 and outscored the defending champions 21-0 after halftime. North Central had its 29-game winning streak snapped.

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