ATN Podcast 401: One semifinal for the ages

One of the two semifinals was a classic, fit for kids from 1 to 92 … if you can handle stress, that is.

And we aren’t just spouting cliches when we say this is as good as it gets — in the history of the national semifinals since automatic bids were added and the playoffs expanded beyond four rounds in 1999, there have been only two years where both semifinals were close. It’s far more likely that both of them are two-score games! So to get not just one good one, but one epic one, well, that’s great.

When Kaleb Blaha threaded the tiniest hole to find Blake Rohrer, and Rohrer ran untouched to the end zone for a 79-yard touchdown against Johns Hopkins, it not only sent the Falcons to the Stagg Bowl for the first time ever, it united a community, and was another memorable moment in a friendship between the two. They talk about it, how they met, how Blaha recruited Rohrer to come out for the UW-River Falls football team, and how the River Falls community reacted on Saturday night, in Around the Nation.

• 2016 Around the Nation column: Out of darkness, light, by Adam Turer, featuring the rebuilding UW-River Falls program

At North Central, the Cardinals got the best passing performance of the season from Garet Wilson, and Jack Rummell had some amazing catches and runs. What did Wilson say to him before a third-and-8 play, and how did Rummell respond? We also hear from transfer defensive end Eli Renick, and chat with coach Brad Spencer about what’s next for North Central as they head to their sixth consecutive Stagg Bowl.

Plus, for Johns Hopkins, what does this run ending mean for the state of the program? And for John Carroll, it’s the end of two years where Nick Semptimphelter was able to play football for the Blue Streaks with tight end Terrence Rawls, who was not just his high school teammate, but a literal member of his family. He talks about that, and coach Jeff Behrman talks about Semptimphelter.

Patrick and Greg also hand out game balls and we take your questions in the mailbag. That and more in this edition of the D3football.com Around the Nation podcast. The D3football.com Around the Nation podcast is a weekly conversation about NCAA Division III football, and has been running since 2007.

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