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John Carroll University Athletics

home of the Blue Streaks
48
Winner John Carroll JCU 9-1 , 8-0
21
Denison DEN 6-4 , 5-3
Winner
John Carroll JCU
9-1 , 8-0
48
Final
21
Denison DEN
6-4 , 5-3
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
JCU John Carroll 14 3 14 17 48
DEN Denison 7 0 7 7 21
Nemo Jenkins at Denison 11-15-25
CJ Lyon

Game Recap: Football | | JCUSID

Blue Streaks Conquer Denison to Secure NCAC Championship Outright

The conference title is the first for John Carroll Football since 2016

GRANVILLE – The John Carroll Football team joined the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) in 2025 and has already made quite an impression, as the Blue Streaks defeat Denison Saturday afternoon, 48-21, and capture the conference championship outright. 

John Carroll, who was picked to finish third in the preseason poll, notched a perfect 8-0 mark in the conference, with only two games within one score. 

The NCAC title is the 13th conference crown in program history, and the Blue Streaks will now have the chance to dance in the NCAA Division III playoffs. The conference title is the program's first since 2016. 

"A conference championship is not easy in any conference. This is an achievement that has eluded the program for nearly a decade," said Head Coach Jeff Behrman '95. "For the program, this is monumental. This is a good start to being in a new league. I'm so proud of the players and staff, they never took anything for granted. They knew it would be competitive and it was. This team had to overcome a lot of adversity to win the championship. 

"This is a phenomenal win and achievement for our program. I'm happy for John Carroll University and our alumni. This team has made a lot of alumni very proud to be Blue Streaks." 

The Blue Streaks imposed their will on the opening drive on a six-minute possession. Javi Quimba set up JCU at the 50-yard line, and the Streaks quickly got into the red zone. Denison forced a 4th and goal from the 1-yard line, but Cohen Klimak powered it in for an early 7-0 lead. 

Following a quick Denison three-and-out, the Blue Streaks struck again. Nemo Jenkins grabbed a screen pass heading to the right, and a cavalcade of Blue Streaks guided the way. Grant Myers, Nolan Tanner, Shane Lindstrom, and Evan Nelson all notched key blocks as Jenkins scampered untouched.

Denison responded with an 11-play, 88-yard drive capped off by a short touchdown pass to halve the deficit to 14-7. That score stood through the end of the first quarter, but JCU was driving as the quarter came to a close. On a 3rd and 13, Tyren Montgomery made a leaping grab to set up a 32-yard Colin Schuler field goal.  

The hosts started gaining traction as the first half continued, but the Blue Streaks ended that momentum, as Gino Blasini leaped in front of a Denison deepball for his first collegiate interception. 

JCU's 17-7 lead held at halftime.

The Big Red would score on their first possession of the second half making the score 17-14. From them on, John Carroll turned it up to another gear that Denison could not compete with.  

Nick Semptimphelter was pushed out of the pocket, but found his go-to-guy Montgomery who was unmarked over the middle of the field to give JCU a two-score lead. 

With the game in the balance, one big play for JCU could open the floodgates. It would be Montgomery again to do the trick, as the graduate student was uncovered on a fly route up the middle and ran 69 yards to the end zone. 

Jenkins sealed the deal with eight minutes left in the game, as the senior ripped off a 90-yard touchdown run. The speedster made it happen, but great blocking helped, as a pulling Grant Myers and a sturdy Troy Mrukowski both made significant blocks. 

For the game, Nick Semptimphelter completed 20-of-26 passes for 297 yards and 3 TDs. The star quarterback finished the regular season with a completion percentage of 80.0%, a never before seen feat in the NCAA. Tyren Montgomery was his top target with 9 catches for 160 yards and 2 touchdowns. Montgomery now ranks fourth in JCU history in receiving yards in a season with 1,088. 

Nemo Jenkins led the ground game with 8 carries for 109 yards, including his 90-yard score. Quincy Newsom also excelled with 75 yards on 18 carries. 

Passing 60 times, Denison did enjoy plenty of success through the air. But JCU limited the big plays and still managed to outgain Denison by a healthy margin of 561-421. Lamar Thomas topped the team with 6 tackles. 

"I'm very proud of the players and the way they persevered today. Playing a 5 wide team 80% of the time – Denison didn't hand off once – is a challenge because you don't usually see it," said Behrman. "I'm proud of the coaching staff for putting a good gameplan together. Our coaches and players did excellent all year along coming to work every day and sharpening the axe to prepare to be the best on Saturdays. It's a great life lesson: When you prepare and give your best every day, good things will happen." 

With the victory, JCU posted a perfect 8-0 record in the NCAC and earned the automatic qualifying bid into the NCAA Division III Tournament. This is back-to-back berths for the Blue and Gold, the first time since 2013-2014.

John Carroll, who is currently ranked #9 in the latest D3football.com and AFCA polls plus the NPI rankings, will watch the NCAA Division III Tournament Football Selection Show on Sunday at 5 pm, awaiting the playoff draw. 
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Scoring Summary

Scoring Summary
Scoring Play Visiting Team Score Home Team Score
1st Quarter JCU DEN
JCU
09:29 - JCU - Klimak,Cohen 1 yd run (Schuler,Colin kick), 10 plays, 50 yards, TOP 05:23
7 0
JCU
06:32 - JCU - Jenkins,Nemo 45 yd pass from Semptimphelter,Nick (Schuler,Colin kick) 4 plays, 71 yards, TOP 01:39
14 0
DEN
03:02 - DEN - Williams,Jack 4 yd pass from Green,Tyler (Mendham,Liam kick) 11 plays, 88 yards, TOP 03:24
14 7
2nd Quarter JCU DEN
JCU
13:10 - JCU - Schuler,Colin 32 yd field goal 11 plays, 53 yards, TOP 04:47
17 7
3rd Quarter JCU DEN
DEN
13:00 - DEN - Kerscher,Grayson 20 yd pass from Green,Tyler (Mendham,Liam kick) 4 plays, 75 yards, TOP 02:00
17 14
JCU
05:34 - JCU - Montgomery,Tyren 8 yd pass from Semptimphelter,Nick (Schuler,Colin kick) 13 plays, 74 yards, TOP 07:22
24 14
JCU
00:22 - JCU - Montgomery,Tyren 69 yd pass from Semptimphelter,Nick (Schuler,Colin kick) 3 plays, 79 yards, TOP 01:29
31 14
4th Quarter JCU DEN
JCU
10:15 - JCU - Schuler,Colin 37 yd field goal 6 plays, 24 yards, TOP 02:59
34 14
JCU
08:15 - JCU - Jenkins,Nemo 90 yd run (Schuler,Colin kick), 2 plays, 94 yards, TOP 01:00
41 14
JCU
05:18 - JCU - Moten,Keller 1 yd run (Schuler,Colin kick), 4 plays, 55 yards, TOP 02:21
48 14
DEN
02:20 - DEN - Yater,Logan 16 yd pass from Nowik,Cade (Mendham,Liam kick) 6 plays, 78 yards, TOP 02:48
48 21

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