Chaparrals Earn Fourth Straight National Championship

Glen Ellyn, Illinois--(Newsfile Corp. - December 9, 2024) - The College of DuPage Chaparrals made history Saturday afternoon, winning their fourth straight national championship with a 31-14 victory over Louisburg (N.C.) College in the NJCAA Division III Football Championship Red Grange Bowl, held at the College's Bjarne Ullsvik Stadium and Bob MacDougall Field.

The Chaps join North Dakota State (NCAA FCS), which won five straight from 2011-15, Augustana, Ill. (NCAA Division III, 1983-1986) and Carroll (Mont.) College (2002-05) as the only football programs to win four straight national crowns.

COD, which entered the day averaging 52.9 points, earned a hard-fought victory over the Hurricanes (8-3). COD took control from the beginning, taking the lead on the game's first possession.

"We did not play at our best today; in fact, it was our worst-played game of the year,'' head coach Matthew Rahn said. "We showed, however, a tremendous amount of resilience and character by willing ourselves to get the job done. Our kids buy in to our coaching staff and we hung in there today. And when one side of the ball is struggling, we are so fortunate that the other side can pick up. It happened throughout the year.''

Rahn earned his third NJCAA Coach of the Year honor after leading COD to an 11-1 record and owning the top ranking from the beginning of the season to the end.

"We have players who have a championship mindset and trust the process. We have an administration that embraces and supports us from top to bottom. And it would be a disservice to our coaches to get in the way of what they tirelessly work on.''

Quarterback Justin Bland led the Chaps on an eight-play, 62-yard drive that was capped when he found freshman wide receiver Clayton Bone open, who then raced to the end zone for 36 yards with 10:52 left in the first quarter.

COD extended the lead to 14-0 early in the second quarter on a 24-yard dash from All-American Ernest Temple with 13:39 left in the half.

The Chaps forced Louisburg to punt on its next possession, and the Chaps made them pay. COD opened at its 48 and extended the lead to 21-0 on a Bland three-yard touchdown.

Louisburg got on the scoreboard when it forced a fumble from Bland at the COD 33. Four plays later, Jameson Prince scored from the 2.

All-American Christian Casillas gave COD the 24-7 halftime lead when he nailed a 45-yard field goal just before the end of the half.

Louisburg scored on its opening possession in the second half on an eight-yard Prince run.

COD answered back in the fourth quarter. Bland delivered on a 50-yard screen pass to Temple, who darted down the Louisburg sideline for 50 yards to the Louisburg 7. Bland then responded on the next play and COD held the 31-17 lead.

Defensive end Darion Johnson earned the game's most outstanding player honors. The sophomore had four solo tackles, three assisted tackles, 1 ½ sacks for 13 yards and two tackles for loss for 15 yards.

"We all agreed at halftime that we needed to look at the scoreboard as if it was 0-0," Rahn said. "We wanted to solidify ourselves on defense. Give them credit, they got the TD to start the second half, but we found a way to play calm while under pressure. That's a credit to our coaches and to the guys. We willed our way to the win and that's all that matters."

Bland threw for 180 yards on 11 of 23 passing with one TD. Running back Jamareon Dale led COD's rushers with 56 yards on 11 carries. Temple finished with 51 yards and one TD, while Bland rushed for four yards with the two TDs. Casillas, who had four PATs, finished the year 60-of-60 on PATs and 12 of 16 on field goals.

The NJCAA crown marks CODs 45^th national championship in history and its 13^th since May 2021.

The College of DuPage Chaparrals made history Saturday afternoon, winning their fourth straight national championship with a 31-14 victory over Louisburg (N.C.) College in the NJCAA Division III Football Championship Red Grange Bowl, held at the College's Bjarne Ullsvik Stadium and Bob MacDougall Field.

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