ALLIANCE, OH/GREENCASTLE, IN - In the third round of the NCAA Division III football championships, No. 8/9 John Carroll (11-1) collected a 10-7 double-overtime win over No. 2 Mount Union (11-1), while No. 10/15 DePauw (10-2) fell 49-24 to No. 19/20 Wheaton (IL) (11-2).
With the win, the Blue Streaks advance into the quarterfinal round for the fourth time in program history and will take on Berry (11-1) on Saturday, December 13. The Tigers concluded their 2025 campaign, which included an at-large bid to the national stage and a historic 26-23 postseason road win at Whitewater on November 29.
JOHN CARROLL (11-1) 10, MOUNT UNION (11-1) 7 (2OT)
- Mount Union struck first, scoring on its first offensive play with an 85-yard touchdown at the 11:56 mark of the opening quarter. However, John Carroll settled in defensively from that point forward, holding the Purple Raiders off the board for the rest of regulation but entering halftime trailing 7-0.
- The Blue Streaks pulled even midway through the third quarter when graduate student quarterback Nick Semptimphelter (Franklin, TN/Battle Ground Academy) connected with junior wide receiver Shane Lindstrom (North Lima, OH/South Range) on a 29-yard touchdown to tie the game at 7-7. Strong defensive play carried through the fourth quarter, and neither team was able to break the stalemate as regulation ended.
- Mount Union opened the first extra period with a 37-yard field-goal attempt, but John Carroll blocked the kick, with senior defensive lineman Tommy Wasinski (Parma Heights, OH/Saint Ignatius) getting a hand on it and senior linebacker Joe Bova (Twinsburg, OH/Twinsburg) recovering. JCU then moved inside the Mount Union 10 and lined up for an 18-yard field goal, but the attempt hit the left upright and was no good, sending the contest into a second overtime.
- John Carroll began the second overtime with a short series that set up junior Colin Schuler’s (Westerville, OH/New Albany) 39-yard field goal, giving the Blue Streaks their first lead of the afternoon at 10-7. Mount Union then took over, needing a touchdown to win the game, but after three stops brought up 4th-and-2, sophomore linebacker Davon Badley (Painesville, OH/Harvey) made the game-ending tackle, holding the Purple Raiders’ quarterback Mikey Maloney to a one-yard gain.
- Semptimphelter posted 272 yards through the air, completing 25-of-40 attempts with a touchdown, and Lindstrom led all receivers with eight catches for 114 yards and the tying touchdown. Graduate student wide receiver Tyren Montgomery (Woodlands, TX/The Woodlands College Park) added ten receptions for 89 yards, and junior running back Quincy Newsom (Twinsburg, OH/Twinsburg) paced the ground game with 37 rushing yards. Defensively, Badley anchored the unit with 12 total tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss and 0.5 sacks, and delivered the decisive stop in the second overtime. In the win, the Blue Streaks held the Purple Raiders scoreless after their opening-drive touchdown and delivered two key overtime stops to notch their first victory over Mount Union since 2016 and their first postseason win in the series.
WHEATON (IL) (11-2) 49, DEPAUW (10-2) 24
- DePauw settled into an early rhythm through the air, leaning on sophomore quarterback Scott Ballentine (Crown Point, IN/Andrean) to move the offense. After Wheaton struck first, the Tigers answered with a sharp, five-play drive capped by a 24-yard touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Lleyton Lukowski (Carmel, IN/Carmel) to even the score at 7-7. Ballentine continued spreading the ball across his receiving corps, finding junior Frankie Ricciardi (Chicago, IL/Notre Dame College Prep), senior Robby Ballentine (Crown Point, IN/Andrean), and junior Palmer Samuels (Muncie, IN/Delta) for key gains as DePauw worked to match Wheaton’s pace. In the run game, junior Carson Johnson (Indianapolis, IN/Cathedral) and senior Caden Whitehead (Indianapolis, IN/Park Tudor) provided reliable carries to keep the offense balanced.
- Wheaton used a series of explosive plays and a defensive touchdown to build a 21-7 lead in the second quarter, but DePauw responded with a 41-yard field goal from junior Matthew Berry (Jacksonville, FL/Bolles School) to make it 21-10. The Thunder added one more score in the final seconds of the half, sending the Tigers into the locker room trailing 28-10.
- DePauw continued to fight in the second half, ultimately finding momentum again in the fourth quarter. Lukowski broke free down the right sideline for a 67-yard touchdown, his second score of the afternoon, pulling the Tigers within 42-17. In the closing minute, Ballentine capped an eight-play drive with a 15-yard rushing touchdown to bring DePauw to 24 points.
- Despite a resilient fourth-quarter push, DePauw could not overcome Wheaton’s early scoring surge, falling 49-24 in the second round of the NCAA Division III Football Championship.
- Ballentine led the way with 362 passing yards, completing 25-of-43 attempts for two touchdowns and adding another on the ground. Lukowski turned in a standout performance of his own, hauling in 12 passes for 178 yards and a pair of scores, while Johnson and Whitehead contributed 54 combined rushing yards. On the defensive side, senior defensive back Aaron Wagner (Fort Wayne, IN/Homestead) secured an interception, while sophomore defensive back Harry Pratt (Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia/Toowoomba Grammar School) and senior linebacker Owen Rossell (Zionsville, IN/Zionsville) anchored the effort with nine and eight tackles, respectively.