COLLEGEVILLE, Minn. – The No. 19-ranked UW-River Falls football team fell 37-34 at No. 4-ranked Saint John's University Saturday afternoon.
The Falcons, now 1-1 overall, twice had the lead versus the Johnnies, but were stymied in the second half before a late push that came up just short.
UWRF compiled 460 yards of total offense compared to SJU's 379, limiting the Johnnies to 50 rushing yards. The Falcons also went 4-for-4 on red-zone chances and forced a pair of SJU turnovers.
Kaleb Blaha contributed to 405 yards of UWRF's total offense, completing 26 of 39 passes for 283 yards while rushing for 122. He finished with four touchdowns, three through the air and one rushing.
Michael Krueger gave the Falcons the first lead of the game with just under eight minutes remaining in the first quarter, rushing in a one-yard touchdown, his fourth of the season. The home team scored on its next two possessions to claim a 14-7 lead early into the second quarter.
Down 14-7, the Falcons answered with a pair of scores of their own with rushing and passing scores from quarterback
Kaleb Blaha. After an
Andrew Schumacher interception, Blaha rushed one in from nine yards out and completed a 17-yard pass to
Luke Kush. UWRF was unsuccessful on both point after attempts and allowed another Johnnies score to trail 20-19 at the half.
SJU came out strong after the break, holding the Falcons scoreless in the third quarter while extended its lead to 30-19 heading into the final 15 minutes.
Down by 18 with eight minutes left in regulation, UWRF put together a couple more touchdowns, but the Johnnies twice downed a pair of Falcon onside kick attempts. Krueger collected his second touchdown of the game with 3:30 remaining and Blaha found Kush once again for the two-point conversion.
Aaron Childers scored a 50-yard touchdown reception from Blaha to cut the SJU lead to 37-34 with 20 seconds left, where the score stood as final.
Caleb Johnson led the Falcon defense with 12 tackles, including three tackles for loss and a fumble recovery.
UWRF hosts the University of Northwestern next Saturday, Sept. 17 during the 2022 home opener.
