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When Don Shula Stadium was officially opened in 2003, visions of meaningful games and postseason action were shared by coaches, athletes and fans alike.

10 years later, those visions would be fulfilled. Playing in front of a packed, snow-ridden crowd, the John Carroll University football program hosted its first ever Division III playoff game, playing against St. John Fisher College in the opening round of the 2013 NCAA playoffs.

Unfortunately, the result was not one that Blue and Gold faithful were hoping for. The visiting Cardinals came from behind to defeat the host Blue Streaks, 25-16, to abruptly end JCU's season.

After deferring the opening kickoff, the Blue Streaks' defense set the tone early by forcing the Cardinals into a 3-and-out. After forcing a punt, it took the Blue Streaks just three plays to get on the board, as a 45-yard touchdown pass from junior Mark Myers to junior Aramis Greenwood gave JCU the early 7-0 lead.

Both teams continued to exchange 3-and-outs until the end of the first quarter, when a 27-yard field goal from junior Kresimir Ivkovic increased JCU's lead to 10-0.

Midway through the second quarter, Myers and the Blue Streaks' offense conducted a 12-play, 94-yard drive, but the Cardinals stuck to their "bent but don't break" mentality. The drive ended in another Ivkovic field goal – this time a 19-yard kick – to give JCU a 13-0 lead.

On the Cardinals' ensuing drive, Tyler Fenti led his offense down the field to put SJF on the board. A 5-yard read-option run from Fenti gave the Cardinals new life, and momentum, as they cut the deficit to 13-7 before halftime.

In the second half, the Blue Streaks' offense sputtered, as junior Tommy Michals fumbled, allowing the Cardinals to take over possession. Following the turnover, the Blue Streaks' defense stepped up once again, refusing to surrender points to the Cardinals.

However, the Blue Streaks offense would surrender points to the Cardinals on their next possession. On first down at their own 10-yard line, Myers and Greenwood had an obvious miscommunication. Myers' pass was intercepted and returned 10 yards to the end zone, giving SJF the 14-13 lead, and a game-changing swing of momentum.

"It was just an error," said head coach Tom Arth of the interception. "It was a miscommunication. One guy saw something, and the other guy saw something else. It's unfortunate, but it happened."

Trailing for the first time in the game, the Blue and Gold continued to battle blizzard-like conditions and persevered.

On the ensuing drive, Myers led his team down the field for an 18-play, 67-yard drive, but again was unable to punch in a touchdown. However, a field goal would do for the time being as a 34-yard kick from Ivkovic battled the wind and went through the uprights, giving JCU a narrow 16-14 lead.

The Cardinals didn't batter an eye, though, as they responded on their following drive with a 15-yard touchdown pass from Fenti to Nathan Nigolian. SJF then went for the two-point conversion and was successful, pushing their lead to six points, 22-16.

Looking to respond once again, Myers and Co. headed out on offense with just 5:47 remaining in the game. Unfortunately, the Blue Streaks had their drive cut short when Myers threw another interception – his third of the day - on just the second play of the drive.

With a six-point lead, momentum and, most importantly, the ball, the Cardinals capitalized on their opportunity. The Cardinals took over possession with 5:32 to go in the game, and melted the clock down with a steady running attack, led by Cody Miller.

The Blue Streaks' defense couldn't force a third down stop when needed, and eventually allowed the Cardinals a 40-yard field goal opportunity. Trailing by six with less than two minutes left, the Blue and Gold needed a missed field goal to extend their comeback chances.

But a comeback would not be in the cards for the Blue Streaks, as a 40-yard field goal from Brendan Carey gave SJF a 25-16 lead with 1:54 remaining.

With no timeouts left, the Blue Streaks' offense would attempt to rapidly move the ball down the field, but the drive ended when Myers took a shot down the field and was intercepted once again.

The Cardinals took over with 59 seconds remaining in the game and took two knees on offense to run out the clock and end the Blue Streaks' season, winning the game at Don Shula Stadium by a final score of 25-16.
While the Blue Streaks outgained the Cardinals in yardage (335-272) and had less penalties, perhaps the most telling statistic of the day was how JCU lost the turnover battle 6-0.

"I think that's a big part of the reason why we didn't win the game," said Arth. "Any game you look at, the turnover margin is probably the most important statistic in football. We, unfortunately, gave them some plays, but they made them. That's a good football team. They made the plays when we had the opportunities, and unfortunately we did not."

With the loss, the Blue Streaks finish the season 9-2 overall, including an 8-1 mark in the Ohio Athletic Conference. While the season didn't end the way that Blue Streaks fans had hoped, there's no arguing that the 2013 season will forever be remembered as one of the most successful in JCU history.

"We had a great season. I was blessed to be put in the opportunity to play in the postseason," said senior captain Alex Kline. "Everyone I played with in my four years here never had that opportunity. If you look at it that way, it's a great thing, but you still expect to go into the [postseason] game and win. When you play like that, you can't really be satisfied."

In 2014, the Blue Streaks will return seven starters on offense and six more on defense, signaling that the future is just as bright, if not brighter, for the JCU football program. However, the graduating class of seniors will certainly be missed and forever remembered as a benchmark set within the program.

"First and foremost, we're going to look back at this year and be thankful for the seniors that we have in our program for their leadership, for the commitment that they made to our program and for the example that they set for our younger players going forward," said Arth. "I feel really bad that we weren't able to get it done for them. They deserve a whole lot better, and it's unfortunate that we weren't able to give them that today."