RIVER FALLS, Wis. – Before a crowd that was wrapped, bundled and swaddled against temperatures that dipped below zero, the University of Wisconsin-River Falls football team defeated Illinois’ Wheaton College 46-21 on Saturday to advance to the NCAA Division III semifinals.
The third-ranked Falcons, making their first quarterfinal appearance, got 407 passing yards and four touchdowns from quarterback Kaleb Blaha, a Coon Rapids product. The right-hander, who doesn’t use a glove on his throwing hand, completed 32 of 50 passes against the Thunder, which received an at-large playoff berth.
“What stood out today was his composure,” said sixth-year Wheaton coach Jesse Scott of Blaha, a player often known for his running, but who carried only seven times for 7 yards Saturday.
“He does not seem to get frazzled, and he’s clearly comfortable with the decisions he’s going to be presented with.”
River Falls (12-1) hosts No. 8 and Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins (12-1) on Dec. 20. Ninth-ranked John Carroll (12-1) from Ohio and top-seeded North Central of Illinois (13-0) meet in the bracket’s other semifinal. The championship game is scheduled for Sunday, Jan. 4, in Canton, Ohio, adjacent to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
“All week, everyone told us what how difficult it was going to be with the cold,” said 15th-year River Falls coach Matt Walker, whose team won the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title outright for the first time since 1985. He prohibited anyone in the program from saying the word cold during the week’s preparations.
“Obviously, it was going to be cold, so shut up about it and prepare,” Walker said with a smile. “We had a full plan to rotate players in and out of (sideline warming) tents and (reserve) players who were responsible for wearing guys’ coats and keeping them warm while they were on the field.
“We wanted to throw the ball in conditions some people thought we couldn’t do it in.”
Wheaton tight end Ben Juska said the playing conditions weren’t as bad as he’d feared. He used two pairs of tights and socks and ducked into the tents after every drive but rapid breathing proved painful.
“My body was fine, but my lungs were on fire,” Juska said.
River Falls opened the scoring three minutes into the game when Woodbury product Blake Rohrer caught an 11-yard Blaha pass. The hosts led 20-7 at halftime. The field and stands emptied rapidly for intermission, the announced crowd of 1,849 seeking a building or running to a vehicle in which to warm up.
Wheaton pulled within 20-14 just two minutes into the third quarter on a 44-yard touchdown pass from Mark Forcucci to Caleb Titherington and Mateo Jesch’s extra point. However, the hosts scored four of the afternoon’s final five touchdowns and finished with 507 offensive yards while allowing 429.
Defensive back Taylor Sussner, a Chaska native, led River Falls with 11 tackles, a forced fumble and one of his team’s two interceptions. Trevor Asher topped the Falcons with 106 yards and three touchdowns in 22 carries. Rohrer led Falcons receivers with seven receptions for 119 yards and a touchdown.
Forcucci completed 27 of 53 pass attempts for 331 yards and a touchdown and had two passes intercepted. Matt Crider led the Thunder (11-3) with 68 rushing yards and a touchdown in 18 carries. Titherington caught nine passes for 153 yards and a touchdown.
Notes: River Falls punted twice and Wheaton once… Radio color commentator Mike Farley is a former Falcon and the son of former River Falls coach Mike Farley, Sr., who guided the program from 1970-89. He recalled a 1971 victory over Wisconsin-Whitewater with temperatures similar to Saturday’s numbers. “I was a ball boy and at halftime, I went and laid in a sleeping bag inside my folks’ van to get out of the wind,” he said…. No players competed with bare arms and Walker said he prohibited such action, calling it “fake tough”… One of Wheaton’s three buses wouldn’t start after the game, meaning roughly 40 people and assorted equipment faced a delayed return to suburban Chicago and the town that claims the late NFL star Red Grange as a native son. The “Galloping Ghost” played professionally from 1925-34.
