RIVER FALLS — The score was 41-41 with just over three minutes to play in the Division III Semi-Final on Saturday. UW-River Falls and Johns Hopkins had gone back-and-forth all afternoon through howling wind.

After being called for an illegal touching pass and a loss of down near midfield, the Falcons had some confusion ahead of a fourth and 12 play. Without being certain of the down, Johns Hopkins got a stop on a scramble from quarterback Kaleb Blaha.

The Falcons swiftly got the ball back as the Blue Jays punted. The wild winds aided the punt wonderfully, pinning the Falcons at their own 4 yard-line with the clock reading 1:42. River Falls’ wheels were spinning offensively, grinding their way to their own 21, but eating up all but 56 seconds in the process. On third and seven, when many teams would have looked to burn the opponent’s final timeout and go to overtime, the Falcons refused to nest. That is the way they have played all year long, and that was how they were going to go out in the final home game of the year.

Blaha floated a ball down the left sideline. With a safety closing in quickly, wide receiver Blake Rohrer knew he had to jump in front of the defender and make a play. That he did, leaping up to make the grab and coasting untouched in for a 79-yard touchdown and the lead with under a minute to play.

“Don’t go down. Don’t go down. I was just saying, ‘Get there, get there, get there, get there,’” Rohrer said. “It’s so surreal. As soon as I caught it, and I looked up and saw nobody, I just knew that we were bringing it home.”

The defense then took the field, looking to finish the job. That’s when junior defensive lineman Brady Block out of Prescott stepped in. Playing as a quarterback spy, Block lurked over the middle, saw his chance to snatch a pass over the middle and picked it off to seal the game.

“That guy is like our spy guy. In other terms, we always call him our sneaky athlete on the defense,” linebacker Gage Timm said. “He’s a little bit of a thicker guy, but he can move good. See him on the basketball court sometimes, he’s a little shifty… Getting a D-line pick to seal the game is kind of rare. A D-line pick in general is a crazy thing to see.”

Just like that, River Falls will be playing in the Stagg Bowl (the Division III National Championship) in Canton, Ohio, in Hall of Fame Stadium on Jan. 4.

“Lots of grown men crying and hugging today… It’s one of those things you just kind of dream about, and you don’t know if it’s ever going to be a reality to actually say, ‘We get to go play in the National Championship,’” Head Coach Matt Walker said.

Playing in the big game, River Falls plans to stay as focused as ever.

“I’m not going to pretend that being in Canton, Ohio, on the Hall of Fame Field, in the National Title is going to feel normal,” Walker said. “It’s okay to not feel the same, but we’ve got to find ways to get focus back.”

Walker said the Falcons will have to come ready to play, but with the way the leaders prepare the team, he does not need to “babysit” them. Earlier in the week, Walker stated he knew this would be a special Falcon football team coming in, and he even had the belief they could be the best in school history. He is being proven right by the week.

 Blaha completed 30-of-48 passes, accumulating an eye-popping 520 yards and five touchdowns through the air with an interception, and 30 yards on the ground. Reaching 5,770 total yards this season, Blaha broke the all-time record in Division III for single-season total offense. He also broke the school’s single game passing yard record.

Walker said Johns Hopkins stacked the box with the wind playing a factor, forcing the Falcons to take deep shots. Blaha’s statistics usually balance between passing and rushing, but Saturday’s game tipped the scale in favor of the passing attack.

“He’s the best quarterback I’ve ever had,” Walker said. “He’s the best player I’ve ever coached. I’ve never been around one like him, and I’ve been around some good ones.”

Rohrer also had 236 yards on nine catches for three touchdowns. Jaylen Reed had a nice day for himself, scoring once on the ground and once through the air. Walker said it was a game unlike any they have played all season and was impressed with the way both teams stayed composed throughout the shootout.

Rohrer has about as interesting a backstory as any player in the country. The junior from Woodbury spent a semester at Grand Canyon University before coming to UWRF for basketball. Working with Blaha at Tarnation Tavern, the quarterback began his plot to recruit himself a new wide receiver.

“We were in the back kitchen and I told him that I used to play football. He asked me to show him some of [my] highlights, so I pulled up my Hudl film from high school,” Rohrer said. “He was like, ‘You should come out to some of our throwing in the summer,’ and I was like alright. I had no real thoughts or intentions behind it. I was like alright, I’ll go check it out.”

After a season on the basketball team, Rohrer joined the football squad, and the rest was history. When asked who was the better bartender between Blaha and Rohrer, Walker joked that they were both “mediocre” servers. Now, the “Tarnation Tandem” is featured on t-shirts at the establishment. The question now is who will be the next UWRF star to come out of Tarnation Tavern.