UW-River Falls blanks North Central in the second half to claim the Division III Title

Canton, OH 1/4/2026

                UW-River Falls (14-1,6-1) snapped North Central’s (14-1,9-0) 29 game win streak and bid for a 2nd straight national title 24-14 at Tom Benson stadium in Canton Ohio. With the victory the Falcons won their first National title in school history.                                             

                The defending champs showed their strength in the first half taking a 14-3 lead off of sophomore Donovan McNeal’s touchdown runs of 48 & 1 yards. McNeal had a stellar day for North Central rushing for 133 yards on 23 carries. The Falcons fought back to close the gap to four on a 13-yard reception by Blake Rohrer from Gagliardi award winner Kaleb Blaha taking a 14-10 deficit into the half.

                In the second half the Falcon defense took over holding the Cardinals scoreless while recording multiple turnovers. Offensively Blaha continued his extraordinary day rushing for two scores to seal the victory. Blaha finished the day with 3 touchdowns and 419 total yards. With that effort he usurped Joe Burrow the NCAA scrimmage yardage record with 6,189 yards.