DePauw & John Carroll Claim Spots in NCAA Football Tournament

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - John Carroll earned the North Coast Athletic Conference's automatic bid into the 2025 NCAA Division III Football Tournament after securing the program's first NCAC championship. The Blue Streaks finished the regular season with a perfect 8-0 mark in league play and a 9-1 overall record.
 
The 40-team championship bracket was revealed Sunday evening, with 27 teams earning automatic qualification. John Carroll will be joined on the national stage by DePauw, which was selected as one of the 13 at-large teams, marking the fourth time, and the first since 2014, that the North Coast has been represented in the field by more than one team.
 
The Blue Streaks are making their ninth overall tournament appearance, with previous runs in 1989, 1997, 2002, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018, and 2024, including national semifinal trips in 2002 and 2016. DePauw is making its seventh appearance, having qualified in 2009-10 and 2021-24.
 
John Carroll has earned hosting rights and will take on Randolph-Macon (9-1) in the second-round of the NCAA tournament on Saturday, November 29. The Yellow Jackets earned the Old Dominion Athletic Conference’s automatic qualification. This will be the second meeting all-time between John Carroll and Randolph-Macon. In 2018, the Yellow Jackets defeated the Blue Streaks by a 23-20 final in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
 
Under the guidance of third-year head coach Jeff Behrman, the Blue Streaks are led by graduate student quarterback Nick Semptimphelter (Franklin, TN/Battle Ground Academy) who has thrown for 2,237 yards and 24 touchdowns this season. Three running backs, senior Nemo Jenkins (Bradenton, FL/Braden River), junior Quincy Newsom (Twinsburg, OH/Twinsburg) and first-year Keller Moten (Stow, OH/Walsh Jesuit) lead John Carroll’s ground attack. Jenkins has compiled 556 yards and six touchdowns in the regular season, while Newsom has tallied 485 yards and six touchdowns and Moten has posted 238 yards and a team-high seven rushing TDs. Graduate students, wide receiver Tyren Montgomery (Woodlands, TX/The Woodlands College Park) and tight end Kenneth Rawls (Nashville, TN/Battle Ground Academy) have produced 18 total touchdowns for the Blue Streaks; Montgomery has recorded 11 TDs, while Rawls has scored seven. On defense, senior linebackers Kenny Grobolsek (Sheffield Village, OH/Brookside) and Mason Rus (Kirtland, OH/Kirtland) lead John Carroll in tackles; Grobolsek has compiled a team-high 44 tackles, including a team-best 26 assisted tackles, while Rus owns 41 overall tackles and a team-high 19 solo tackles. Senior defensive back Lamar Thomas (Buffalo, NY/Canisius) owns a team-high two interceptions.
 
DePauw will travel to Wisconsin to take on Wisconsin-Whitewater (8-2) in a second-round game on Saturday, Nov. 29. The Warhawks earned an at-large bid onto the national stage. Next week Saturday's game will be the second meeting all-time between the two teams. In 2021, Whitewater defeated DePauw by a 45-0 final in the second-round of the NCAA tournament.

Under the guidance of sixth-year head coach Brett Dietz, the Tigers are led by sophomore quarterback   Scott Ballentine (Crown Point, IN/Andrean), who has thrown for 2,361 yards and 26 touchdowns this season. Senior running back Caden Whitehead (Indianapolis, IN/Park Tudor) leads the DePauw ground attack, compiling 546 yards and 10 touchdowns in the regular season. Senior wide receivers Robby Ballentine (Crown Point, IN/Andrean) and Lleyton Lukowski (Carmel, IN/Carmel) have produced 20 total touchdowns for the Tigers; Ballentine has recorded 14 TDs, while Lukowski has scored six. On defense, senior linebackers Owen Rossell (Zionsville, IN/Zionsville) and Joey Roland (Greenfield, IN/Greenfield-Central) and sophomore linebacker Toreeq Jimoh-Oyesigi (Indianapolis, IN/Ben Davis) lead DePauw in tackles; Rossell has compiled a team-high 45 tackles, including a team-best 25 assisted tackles, while Roland and Jimoh-Oyesigi own 36 overall tackles apiece. Senior defensive lineman Dominis Seibal (Indianapolis, IN/Cathedral) has a team-high 22 solo tackles. Senior defensive backs Holt Heldebrand (Tulsa, OK/Holland Hall) has a team-best three interceptions.

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