College of DuPage wins fifth consecutive national championship in Red Grange Bowl

Going into Saturday's NJCAA Division III championship game at the Red Grange Bowl, four-time reigning titlist College Of DuPage hadn't played in six weeks.

The Chaparrals’ last contest was a road win at Highland (Kansas) on Oct. 25. A Nov. 15 road game versus Lackawanna (Pennsylvania) was scrapped due to a scheduling conflict on Lackawanna's part.

That left COD Coach Matt Rahn a bit concerned as he sought to present a positive mindset before hosting North Dakota State College Of Sciences for a chance at a fifth straight national championship.

“It's tough having that long of a layoff, but no matter what, if we go out and play our tails off we'll come out on top,” Rahn said.

Not only did the Chaparrals play their tails off, they took control of the game and then cruised to a 36-13 victory in Glen Ellyn.

The win made for some amazing history as DuPage (9-2) joined Yale (1879-1884, 1891-95) and North Dakota State (2011-15) as the only three college football programs at any level to have won five consecutive national titles.

“What it boils down to is we got great kids and a great staff,” a Gatorade-drenched Rahn said after his victory bath.

The Chaparrals closed the scoring with 1:52 to go on Askia Bullie's second TD pass of the game to Dwaylon Richardson.

“We have a standard set (here), and no matter who comes in to the program we expect them to keep that standard, and that's what they've been able to do,” Rahn said.

After the Wildcats (10-2) took an early 7-0 lead on a first-quarter 8-yard TD pass from Jacob Mattick to Tellise Clark Jr., COD got back to work. Sophomore QB Justin Bland, a Glenbard North product, engineered an 8-play, 81-yard touchdown march that he wrapped up with a 10-yard toss to sophomore wide receiver Ty Carlson.

Freshman tight end Luke Bonnema, another Glenbard North graduate, took a direct snap from center for a successful 2-point conversion run and an 8-7 advantage with 13:21 left until halftime.

The course of the game changed when on the Wildcats’ next possession. Mattick was knocked out of the game when he slid into game MVP linebacker Cole Hamilton, dislocating the elbow on his throwing arm.

At that point Bullie joined forces with Bland. Bland scampered for a 5-yard touchdown. He followed that with a 5-yard TD toss to Bland to put DuPage in control 22-7 at halftime.

Even after NDSCS cut the deficit to 22-13 on Kenyon Slaughter-Keen's 3-yard run on the first drive of the second half, it got no closer. DuPage got the first of two fourth-quarter TDs on leading rusher A.J. Moore's 1-yard run prior to Bullie's second TD toss to Richardson.

Moore finished with 77 yards on 16 carries.

“We worked for this all year round and it paid off,” Bland said. “This is amazing. It's the greatest feeling in the world.”