Central's Tanner Schminke takes a knee after scoring the game-winning touchdown with no time left on the clock. Photo by Steve Frommell, d3photography.com | More photos from this game

Central scored on the last play of the game to edge Wheaton in an epic battle, while Linfield survived in Collegeville, RPI made a last-second pick to seal it, and even Mount Union got pushed before advancing to the 2021 Division III football national quarterfinals.

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Central scored 20 points in the fourth quarter, including two touchdowns by Tanner Schminke, as the Dutch rallied to take the lead, then again to defeat Wheaton on the last play of the game, 30-28. Central converted two fourth downs on a drive which started at its own 37, following a Wheaton touchdown. Hawkins found Schminke for a 9-yard gain on fourth-and-4, then later hit running back Jason Hopp over the middle for a 16-yard pickup on fourth-and-10, putting the ball on the Wheaton 3 with six seconds left.

With just one guaranteed snap remaining, Hawkins rolled out and found Schminke in the left-hand part of the end zone. Schminke came down with it, giving the Dutch a 30-28 lead with no time remaining on the clock. After some celebration, Central took a knee on the extra point, sealing the win. The touchdown pass was Hawkins' fourth of the day, capping a day in which he went 41-for-65 for 434 yards. The Dutch had just 8 yards on the ground.

Central will travel to UW-Whitewater, which defeated DePauw 45-0. UW-Whitewater rolled up 600 yards of total offense and limited DePauw to 171 yards, including minus-2 rushing, in the win. Alex Peete led the Warhawks with 14 carries for 209 yards and four touchdowns, tying the record for the most scoring runs in one game in program history.

Linfield advanced to the national quarterfinals for the first time since 2015, hanging on to win 31-28 at St. John's. Linfield had missed a short field goal with three minutes left in the fourth quarter but Andrew Starkel came back to hit one with 1:01 left to give the Wildcats (11-0) a 31-21 lead. On the ensuing possession, however, Chris Backes found a wide-open Blake Patrick beyond the defense for a 52-yard touchdown to cut the lead back to three. Linfield was able to cover the onside kick and run out the clock.

St. John's (11-1) had already hit on one big bomb, a 61-yarder to Jimmy Buck, to stay in the game, cutting a 21-7 lead to 21-14 in the third quarter. But Linfield's Joel Valadez caught 13 passes for 102 yards and two touchdowns, and the Wildcats took advantage of two big SJU special teams miscues. At the end of the first half, Linfield was forced to punt with 32 seconds left, but Ravi Alston muffed the punt and it was recovered by Linfield at the Johnnie 20. Wyatt Smith hit tight end Franco Keplinger for a 17-yard gain, and Connor McNabb took a handoff and went untouched for the final 3 yards into the end zone to put Linfield up 14-7 at the break. Later on, the St. John's punter mishandled a low snap and the Wildcats started at the 38. Smith hit Valadez for a big gain and later connected with Devon Murray for a 21-yard score and the 21-7 lead.

Smith finished 28-for-40 passing for 273 yards and three scores. The Wildcats held St. John's to 72 yards on 32 carries. Linfield will go to Mary Hardin-Baylor, which rolled past Birmingham-Southern 42-7.

UMHB totaled 450 yards of offense, led by Ryan Redding, who got the start at quarterback with Kyle King out. Redding was 14-for-23 with three touchdowns and added 13 rushes, going for 251 yards passing and 55 yards on the ground. Kenneth Cormier Jr. was the Cru's leading rusher, gaining 65 yards on 16 attempts with two touchdowns. Jordan led UMHB's receivers with three catches for 101 yards and a score while Miller caught two touchdowns and Brenton Martin had five catches for 94 yards.

The Cru (12-0) used a Redding-to-Miller connection to go up 7-0 midway through the first quarter. B-SC (10-2) responded when DJ Albright returned the ensuing kickoff 89 yards for the score, but the Panthers did not score again.

Mount Union (12-0) intercepted Johns Hopkins quarterback Ryan Stevens three times on the way to a 45-35 victory. The Blue Jays led 15-7 early before the Purple Raider offense kicked into high gear and scored 31 of the game’s next 37 point. Wayne Ruby, Jr. scored on touchdown receptions of 51, 53, and 20 yards as part of his 176-yard receiving day. Josh Petrucelli led Mount Union on the ground with 102 yards and two more touchdowns. The Purple Raiders outrushed the Blue Jays (11-1) 164-27. Four of Mount Union’s five quarterback sacks came in the second half. Duke Hill collected 2.5 sacks as part of a dominant second half effort for the Purple Raider defensive line.

Mount will face Muhlenberg in the national quarterfinals. Mules quarterback Michael Hnatkowsky threw two first half touchdowns and the defense made that stand up with a 14-0 win over Delaware Valley. Muhlenberg scored on the first drive of the game after John Washington returned the opening kickoff to the Aggies' 46. Muhlenberg surged down the field and scored on a 5-yard touchdown pass to Mitch Daniel. The Mules doubled their lead in the second quarter when Hnatkowsky floated the ball into the arms of Thomas Jenkins from 26 yards out.

Delaware Valley had a chance to cut the lead in half when the Aggies sacked Hnatkowsky, forced a fumble and returned the ball inside the Mules' 20 with 52 seconds left in the half. But Delaware Valley went backwards one yard and went into the locker room down 14. In the second half, the Aggies held the Muhlenberg offense in check but the Mules' defense continued to dominate. Delaware Valley got inside the 10 twice in the fourth quarter and failed to score and the Mules finished with nine sacks and three interceptions.

Muhlenberg (11-1) held the Aggies to 53 yards rushing. Pat Palmer had seven tackles, three for loss, and a sack. James McGill had four pass breakups and an interception. Yusuf Aladinov picked up two sacks for Delaware Valley (11-1).

RPI (11-1) advanced to the quarterfinal round after a 21-14 victory at Cortland (11-1). Following a late Cortland onside kick recovery, Francis Perry intercepted Brees Segala to secure the Engineer victory. After trading first quarter touchdowns, the game settled into a defensive stalemate. RPI quarterback George Marinopolous broke the impasse with a go ahead 4-yard touchdown pass to Peter Lombardi with 34 seconds to play in the third quarter. The Red Dragons recovered the onside kick, but Perry ended the series with an interception at the 25-yard line on the first play. 

Dylan Burnett provided an insurance touchdown by streaking 42 yards through the middle of the Red Dragon defense with 2:54 to play. Marinopolous completed 15 of 18 passes with two touchdowns. Burnett, who set a career-best for rushing yards in a game, carried the ball 32 times for 155 yards just one week after carrying the ball 27 times for a then-personal-best 124 yards in the first round win at Endicott. Segala finished the game 23-for-30 for 245 yards and one touchdown. 

RPI will play at North Central next week. After an unexpected week off, North Central got its chance to make its playoff debut and Ethan Greenfield had a huge day for the Cardinals, as did fellow running back Terrence Hill. Greenfield ran for 198 yards and two scores and Hill ran for 80 and two more as the defending national champs got past UW-La Crosse 34-20. The Cardinals (11-0) roared out to a 20-0 lead 20 minutes into the game, but UW-La Crosse (10-2) edged back into it, cutting the lead to 20-13 on the second of two Ryan Beirne field goals with 1:16 left in the third. The Cardinals were able to put the game away with two sustained drives in the fourth.