RIVER FALLS, WI – For a minute, it seemed like fate would finally smile on the Johns Hopkins football team.

Twice previously, in 2018 and 2024, The Blue Jays had advanced to this spot, the NCAA Semifinals.  Twice previously, the Blue Jays fell in a game decided in the final two minutes.

Tied at 41 late in the fourth quarter and having just pinned Wisconsin-River Falls inside its own five-yard line with less than two minutes remaining in Saturday's NCAA Semifinal, the Blue Jays bettered their position when they forced the Falcons into a third-and-seven from their own 21-yard line.

A moment later, fate smiled, but it was the Falcons who felt its comfort as Kaleb Blaha lofted a deep ball down the sideline that Blake Rohrer caught between a pair of defenders near midfield and raced 50 yards into the end zone for what proved to be the winning points in a 48-41 River Falls victory.

The Blue Jays had one last chance, but an interception would seal a Falcon trip to the Stagg Bowl, Division III Football's National Championship game, and end Johns Hopkins' season one-game shy of the title game once again.

In a game that featured 89 points and nearly 1,100 yards of offense, both teams took turns grabbing the momentum in a back-and-forth affair that seemed destined early on for the last team with the ball to come out on top.

Leading 27-21 at the half, the Blue Jays saw Rohrer catch a 20-yard touchdown pass on River Falls' first drive of the third quarter that gave the Falcons a 28-27 lead.

Needing an answer, the Blue Jays got one in the form of a five-play, 65-yard drive that Bay Harvey capped with a six-yard touchdown pass to Cole Crotty.

The Falcons would answer with back-to-back scores of their own, both on Blaha touchdown passes, including another to Rohrer from 25-yards out, to give River Falls a 41-34 cushion late in the third quarter.

Pinned inside its own five-yard line after the ensuing kickoff, Johns Hopkins answered with a 13-play, 94-yard drive that ate just over six minutes off the clock.  A Ty Pugliano two-yard run polished it off as the Blue Jays had the Falcon defense on its heels throughout the drive; only once was Johns Hopkins forced to convert a third down on the drive and a 21-yard Harvey-to-Josh Moore connection set the Blue Jays up at the Falcon five-yard line.  Pugliano went in two plays later to force what would be the fourth and final tie of the game.

The defenses would stiffen over the next 12 minutes with both teams being forced to punt once and being turned over on downs once.  That set the stage for the Chase Alley punt for Johns Hopkins that rolled out of bounds at the Falcon four-yard line.  Five plays and 96 yards later, the Falcons had the lead; a kickoff and one offensive play later and they had sealed their first ever trip to the national championship game with a game-sealing interception.

A back-and-forth first quarter solved nothing as both teams pieced together a pair of scoring drives to account for a 14-14 score after 15 minutes.

The quick-strike Falcons needed just 89 seconds and five plays to open the scoring with a four-yard Blaha touchdown run, but the Blue Jays answered quickly with a four-play, 63-yard drive of their own that senior Geoff Schroeder capped with a 43-yard touchdown run.

The Blue Jays would grab their first lead of the game midway through the quarter as they turned a 40-yard Alex Orecchio punt return – the longest in Johns Hopkins post-season history – into a short field that set the Blue Jays up at the River Falls 25.  Three plays later, it was Harvey taking it in from 11 yards out to make it 14-7.

The pendulum swing would go to River Falls next as the Falcons would bridge the first and second quarter with touchdown drives of 72 and 72 yards to grab the momentum and a 21-14 lead midway through the second period.

The Blue Jay defense would come up with three stops to end the half and the Johns Hopkins offense would piece together two scoring drives of its own, one that covered 72 yards and another that went 42, to give the Jays a 27-21 lead at the break.  A 33-yard Harvey-to-John Bechtle touchdown passes pulled the Jays with 21-20 and Harvey snuck in from the two-yard line to account for the six-point Blue Jay lead at the break.

That set the stage for the equally-thrilling second half that saw both teams throw haymakers.  The final one of those was the Blaha connection with Rohrer in the final minute.

Fate smiled down.  For the third time in this spot, it did not find Johns Hopkins.

Inside the Box Score – Johns Hopkins
• Johns Hopkins total 461 yards of total offense with another nearly perfect balance operation that featured 233 yards rushing and 228 passing.
• Schroeder rushed for 159 yards and one touchdown and Harvey added 75 yards on the ground.
• Crotty had a team-high six receptions for 99 yards and the one score, while Harvey was 14-of-31 for 213 yards and two touchdowns against one INT.
• Browning Trainer and Jack Smith paced the Blue Jays defensively with nine tackles apiece.

Inside the Box Score – Wisconsin-River Falls
• Blaha directed an offense that rolled up 632 yards as he was 30-of-48 for 520 yards with five touchdowns against one interception.
• Rohrer had a game-high nine receptions for 236 yards and three scores and Jaylen Reed rushed for a team-high 52 yards and one touchdown.
• Gate Timm posted a team-high 15 tackles and Tayler Sussner added 11, including 2.5 for losses.

Notes of Interest
• Johns Hopkins' 12 wins this season ties the program single-season record (2018, 2023, 2024, 2025).
• The seniors on the team end their careers with the most wins (46) by any class in program history.
• Harvey's four touchdowns today (2 rushing / 2 passing) give him a program-record 109 in his career (81 passing / 28 rushing).
• Schroeder's 159 yards pushed him past 3,000 for his career (3,025).

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