Dec 02, 2023
BALTIMORE, Md. – Junior kicker Kyle Ihle (Apex, N.C./Middle Creek) booted a 34-yard field goal with four seconds left to give No. 8 Randolph-Macon a 39-36 victory at No. 7 Johns Hopkins in the third round of the Division III Football Championship, giving the Yellow Jackets their first appearance in the national semifinals.
The Basics:
Score: Randolph-Macon 39, Johns Hopkins 36
Location/Venue: Baltimore Md./Homewood Field
Records: Randolph-Macon 13-0, Johns Hopkins 12-1
How it Happened:
- The Blue Jays tied the game at 36-36 with 1:32 left in regulation. The ensuing kickoff went out of bounds, giving the Yellow Jackets the ball on their own 35. Facing third and nine, senior quarterback Drew Campanale (Shrewsbury, Mass./Shrewsbury) hit senior wide receiver David Wallis (Cedar Point, N.C./Croatan) for a 19-yard gain to the JH45. A pass interference call moved the ball to the JH30. Senior running back Nick Hale (Vinton, Va./William Byrd) picked up five yards, Campanale ran for six and Hale picked up three more, putting the ball on the JH16. Junior Jack Landis (Lewisburg, Pa./Lewisburg), snapping in his first game, made a perfect snap to senior holder Davis Clemmons (Wendell, N.C./Broughton), who set the ball down for Ihle's 34-yard boot with four seconds left. After a squib kick on the kickoff and multiple laterals, the game ended with RMC claiming the 39-36 victory.
- The Blue Jays drove to the RM9 on the opening drive of the game, but a holding penalty moved the ball back to the RM19. A 30-yard field goal capped the seven-minute drive, giving the home team a 3-0 lead with 8:08 left in the opening quarter.
- A 20-yard run by senior Kwesi Clarke (Reigelwood, N.C./North Brunswick) highlighted the first drive of the Yellow Jackets. RMC faced fourth-and-one at the JH24. Hale was stopped for a one-yard loss, turning the ball over to the Blue Jays with 3:04 remaining in the first period.
- The RMC defense forced a three-and-out and the Yellow Jackets took over on their own 31. Campanale hit sophomore tight end Landon Farriss (New Hanover, N.C./New Hanover) with a 27-yard pass to move the ball into Blue Jay territory. Facing third and 10 on the JH30, Campanale found Wallis in the end zone as the Yellow Jackets took a 7-3 lead 48 seconds into the second quarter.
- JHU moved to the RM30. A pass was tipped by senior cornerback Brandon Evans (Frederick, Md./Frederick) and picked off by senior safety Cade Jones (Wilmington, N.C./Eugene Ashley) at the RM8. It took the Yellow Jackets only four plays to return to the end zone. Clarke had runs of 11 and 22 yards before sophomore Mitchell Johnson (Powhatan, Va./Powhatan) finished the drive with a 59-yard touchdown run to put RMC up 14-3 with 8:40 left in the second period.
- The Blue Jays answered with a TD to make it 14-9 with 5:30 remaining until intermission.
- RMC responded with a third scoring drive, as Campanale hit Clarke with a 10-yard TD toss to make it 21-9 with 2:16 left in the second quarter.
- JHU drove to the RM31. Four incompletions ended the drive as the score stood at 21-9 at intermission. Campanale completed 11 of 14 passes in the first half for 128 yards and two scores.
- Sophomore wide receiver Jason Moore (Craven County, N.C./Havlock) returned the second-half kickoff 60 yards to the JH30. But RMC was unable to pick up a first down on the drive. The Blue Jays drove for a second TD to pull within six at 21-15 with 10:07 remaining in the third period.
- Following an interception, JHU added another touchdown to regain the lead at 22-21 with 7:06 left in the third quarter.
- On a pass completion for the Blue Jays, sophomore linebacker Neftali Reyes (Fairfax, Va./Justice) forced a fumble and senior cornerback Coleton Payne (Mechanicsville, Va./Lee-Davis) recovered at the JH28. Campanale hit Wallis with a 28-yard scoring strike, and Campanale found Farriss for the two-point conversion as RMC went up 29-22 with 42 seconds left in the third period.
- JHU answered with a touchdown to level the score at 29-29 with 11:32 remaining in the fourth quarter.
- Johnson sprinted 43 yards for his second TD of the contest as the Yellow Jackets went up 36-29 with 7:24 left in the final period. The Blue Jays scored on fourth and goal from the RM1 with 1:32 remaining to knot the score again at 36-36, setting the stage for Ihle's heroics.
By The Numbers:
- RMC collected 452 yards of total offense, including 255 on the ground. Johnson had 11 carries for 144 yards and two touchdowns. He has 289 rushing yards in the past two playoff contests.
- Campanale completed 15 of 27 passes for 197 yards and three touchdowns. Wallis snagged seven receptions for 124 yards and two scores.
- Junior linebacker Jackson Deaver (Fayetteville, N.C./Terry Sanford) paced the RMC defense with 11 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and one quarterback sack. Evans had nine stops and one pass breakup.
- RMC converted 8 of 11 third-down plays. The Yellow Jackets entered the game as the top team in the nation in third-down conversions at .591.
For The Record:
- RMC earned its 13th win, the most in program and ODAC history.
- The Yellow Jackets have reached the semifinals of the NCAA Championship for the first time in program history.
- Campanale has 47 career passing touchdowns in two seasons, the second-highest total in program history. Zac Naccarato (2011-14) had 56.
- Wallis has 34 career receiving touchdowns, a program record.
Up Next:
- Randolph-Macon will face Cortland in the semifinals of the NCAA Championship on Saturday, Dec. 9. The NCAA will announce start time and location soon. The Red Dragons, RMC's first-round opponent in the 2022 NCAA Championship, won 58-41 at Alma in their third-round matchup.