For the second straight week, the UW-River Falls football team will play at home in the NCAA Division III Playoffs, welcoming Saint John's University to Ramer Field on Saturday, Dec. 6 in the third round. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
UW-RIVER FALLS (10-1, 6-1 WIAC) VS. SAINT JOHN'S (10-1, 8-1 MIAC)
Date: Saturday, Dec. 6
Time: 12 p.m.
Site: River Falls, Wis. // Smith Stadium at Ramer Field
ONLINE TICKETS
- Online Ticketing
- Tailgating and Parking Policy
- Tailgating is allowed in Pay Lot 3 starting 4 hours before kickoff and must conclude 2 hours after the game. Only one vehicle per space is permitted. Propane and gas grills are allowed; charcoal and open flames are not. All fans are expected to clean up and behave responsibly. Parking is $10 for single vehicles and $25 for RVs/oversized vehicles.
THE SERIES
- Saturday's game marks the 11th all-time meeting between UW-River Falls and Saint John's, and the first ever meeting between the two schools in the NCAA Playoffs.
- The Johnnies hold a 9-1 series lead, most recently earning a narrow 37-34 win over the Falcons during the 2022 season in Collegeville, Minn.
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
- UWRF is making its first NCAA Division III playoff appearance since 1996.
- The Falcons are now 2-2 all-time in the DIII playoffs, earning their first NCAA postseason victory since 1995 with last Saturday's 58-7 win over Chapman University.
- Prior to last weekend, the program's only NCAA playoff win came in 1995, a 10-7 road win over Central College in Pella, Iowa.
2025 WIAC CHAMPIONS
- After dropping the WIAC opener at UW-Oshkosh on Oct. 4, the Falcons responded with six wins to close out the regular season as outright WIAC Champions, UWRF's first conference title since 1998 and the first outright possession of the WIAC crown since 1985. The Falcons received the WIAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Playoffs, and a first-round bye.
- UWRF headlined the 2025 WIAC All-Conference awards, with Kaleb Blaha selected as the Offensive Player of the Year, Gage Timm the Defensive Player of the Year, Taylor Sussner the Newcomer of the Year, and Matt Walker the Coach of the Year.
- Seven Falcons were named to the First Team (DJ Fox, Kaleb Blaha, Blake Rohrer, Kody Curtis, Gage Timm, Andre Hall, and Justin Scheberl), three on the Second Team (Hunter McKinney, Kevin Spahn, Connor McKenzie), and four Honorable Mentions (Trevor Asher, Austin Rush, Ben Wesolowski, Taylor Sussner) for a total of 14 All-WIAC selections - matching the most in program history.
- During the 2025 regular season, UWRF led the WIAC in scoring (46.4 points per game), total offense (583.3 yards per game), rushing offense (227.8 yards per game), passing offense (355.5 yards per game), first downs (315), 3rd down conversion percentage (51.3%), defensive touchdowns (3), blocked kicks (5), fumbles recovered (8), and turnovers gained (26). Defensively during league play, the Falcons were the WIAC leaders in total defense (281.1 yards against per game), rushing defense (58.9 yards against per game), and scoring defense (15.7 points against per game).
LAST TIME OUT
- In the first ever home NCAA playoff game in River Falls last Saturday, Nov. 29 at Ramer Field, the Falcons cruised to a 58-7 win over Chapman University. The Falcons totaled 492 yards of offense and averaged 7.3 yards per play, while the defense generated six turnovers (four interceptions and two fumble recoveries) along with a takeaway on special teams.
- Kaleb Blaha completed 17 of 23 passes for 227 yards with four touchdowns, adding 81 rushing yards and a rushing score. With his completion total, Blaha reached a total of 304 on the year to break a UWRF single-season record, passing his former teammate Kole Hinrichsen's total of 290 from the 2021 season. Blaha also tied Hinrichsen's 2021 program single-season record with 28 passing touchdowns.
- Blake Rohrer led all receivers with 86 yards, while Jaylen Reed, Jake Hilton, Ben Wesolowski, and Stephen Reifenberger each recorded touchdown receptions. The Falcons rushed for 190 yards overall with scores from Blaha, Reed, and Jake Barnard.
- Defensively, interceptions were recorded by Braden Jones, Jared Schultz, Riley Ashburn, and Alex Anderson, while Taylor Sussner secured both fumble recoveries. Noah Nusbaum led the unit with 12 tackles as UWRF held Chapman scoreless for the final 43 minutes.
FALCON NOTES
- With the most recent win over Chapman, UWRF improved to 10-1 overall to set a new program record for wins in a season.
- UWRF previously had four nine-win seasons in 1979, 1995, 1996, and 2021.
- The Falcons were ranked as high as No. 3 by D3football.com this season, the highest in program history.
- UWRF is undefeated at home this season with a 6-0 record, and maintains an 11-0 record at Ramer Field since 2023.
- For the first time in program history since 1988, the Falcons this season defeated UW-Whitewater and UW-La Crosse in the same season.
- UWRF owns the top offense in NCAA Division III with an average of 575.0 yards of total offense per game with 338 total first downs.
- In addition, the Falcons rank third with 350.6 passing yards per game and fifth with 47.5 points per game.
- Fifth-year senior quarterback Kaleb Blaha is the nation's leader in total offense, averaging 405.8 yards of total offense per game. He also ranks among the top-10 with 3,508 passing yards (a UWRF single-season record), 27.6 completions per game, and 22.9 points responsible for per game.
- Senior kicker Justin Scheberl, who finished the regular season as the WIAC leader and UWRF single-season record holder with 12 made field goals and 60 made PATs, ranks seventh nationally with an 87.6 field goal percentage and 10th with 1.2 field goals per game.
- After hauling in four interceptions versus Chapman, UWRF ranks second in NCAA DIII with 22 total interceptions, led by Taylor Sussner and Andre Hall with four each. Peter Ladu, Trent Cherry, and Jared Schultz follow with three each.
- Freshman defensive back Taylor Sussner, the 2025 WIAC Newcomer of the Year, recovered a pair of fumbles against Chapman, and is now the NCAA leader with five fumble recoveries on the season.
