By Joe Vanden Acker, Director of Athletic Media Relations
    The 1981 Lawrence University football team did a Star Trek, they boldly went where no Midwest Conference team had gone before.
    Forty years ago, Nov. 21, 1981, to be exact, the Vikings became the first team in league history to win a NCAA Division III playoff game. It was the crown jewel in a 10-1 campaign that saw the Vikings win a third consecutive Midwest Conference title and reach the semifinals of the NCAA Division III playoffs. The latter is a feat no other team in league history has come close to.
    When the Vikings closed out a perfect regular season, they were one of just eight teams in the nation to receive an invitation to play in the Division III playoffs. Lawrence earned the right to host the quarterfinal game against the University of Minnesota-Morris, and the game was an instant classic.
    A wintry mix had fallen, and the Banta Bowl turf and bleachers were covered in a thin layer of ice on a sunny but blustery late November afternoon. The Cougars took a 7-0 lead late in the first quarter, but the Vikings bounced right back. Quarterback Dean Walsh hit All-America tight end Pat Schwanke with a 41-yard scoring pass early in the second quarter and the game was tied 7-7.
    The game was still knotted at 7-7 when All-America running back Scott Reppert ripped off a 78-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter for a 14-7 advantage. Morris tied it at 14-14 early in the fourth quarter and neither team was able to get a victory in regulation so the game went to overtime.
    In those days, the teams got the ball at the 15-yard line, and the Vikings got the ball first. Facing a third-and-8 from 13-yard line, Walsh connected with Schwanke again for a touchdown, and Kraig Krueger added the extra point for a 21-14 lead.
    Morris got the ball and needed a touchdown for the game to continue. The Cougars threw three consecutive incompletions before Graham Satherlie picked off a fourth-down pass to seal the victory.
    Lawrence's season ended the following week in the national semifinals with a 38-0 loss at the University of Dayton, which was just a few years removed from Division I. While the ultimate prized eluded the Vikings, they returned home with a NCAA trophy signifying their elite status of reaching the Final Four. The trophy resides in the lobby of Alexander Gymnasium. 
    The magical 1981 season started with a trip to Mount Vernon, Iowa, and a tight game with a very good Cornell College team. The Vikings led 10-6 in the third quarter before Cornell scored the next nine points to grab a 15-10 lead with 12 minutes left. Lawrence finally put together what proved to be the game-winning drive and finished it with a five-yard touchdown pass from Walsh to Jeff Ropella with 4:22 left for an 18-15 win.
    Lawrence returned to the Banta Bowl in week two, and the Vikings rolled to a 48-0 victory over Grinnell College. Reppert ran 16 times for 160 yards and three touchdowns in the victory.
    It was another convincing victory in week three as the Vikings traveled to Concordia Wisconsin and came away with a 26-6 nonconference victory. The Vikings scored the game's first 26 points with Reppert and Schwanke doing the damage. Reppert ran 23 times for 112 yards and a touchdown, and Schwanke caught four passes for 84 yards and two touchdowns.
    The Vikings were starting to roll and returned home in week four and blasted Coe College 41-6. Lawrence led 7-6 at the half and then exploded for 34 second-half points. Reppert rumbled for 252 yards on 39 carries, and Schwanke caught eight passes for 139 yards and two scores.
    The Vikings took on Beloit College in week five in Lawrence's homecoming game, and it was another huge second half that powered the victory. Lawrence scored 31 second-half points en route to the 34-14 win over the Bucs. The ground game again carried the day as Reppert ran 31 times for 139 yards and two scores. 
    Lawrence moved to 6-0 with a 67-13 drubbing of Knox College in Galesburg, Ill. The Vikings had two 100-yard rushers on the day as Reppert ran 27 times for 175 yards, and John Streibich ran 22 times for 136 yards. Schwanke had a big receiving day as he caught six passes for 100 yards.
    The Vikings returned to Illinois in week seven and rolled to a 38-0 victory over Monmouth College. Walsh threw just 15 passes and three of his seven completions went for touchdowns on his way to 148 passing yards. Schwanke caught four passes for 117 yards and three touchdowns, and Reppert ran 24 times for 168 yards and a pair of scores.
    The Lawrence defense put on another dominating performance in week eight in a 23-10 victory over Carleton College in the Banta Bowl. Lawrence pulled away early with a pair of first-quarter touchdowns, and all Carleton could manage was three points until the final minutes of the game.
    Despite an unbeaten record, Lawrence's season would come down to a showdown with its oldest and most hated rival, Ripon College, in the final week of the regular season. Lawrence was 8-0 and Ripon entered the game at 7-1. The Vikings knew that if they beat Ripon, a third consecutive conference title would be theirs and they would be in the NCAA Division III playoffs for the first time. The game was just as big for Ripon as a win would give the Redmen, as they were then known, a share of the title and possibly a berth in the playoffs.
    Lawrence took the 45-minute bus ride to Ingalls Field, and the Vikings saw Ripon take a 10-3 lead early in the second quarter. The Vikings tightened things up when Reppert scored on a one-yard run with 1:02 left to trail 10-9 at the half.
    Lawrence grabbed a 12-10 lead early in the third quarter when Krueger connected on a 39-yard field goal. Ripon answered with a pair of scoring drives in the fourth quarter. A field goal and a touchdown pushed Ripon's lead to 20-12 with 6:48 remaining in the contest. Lawrence was forced to punt on its next possession, but Krueger boomed a 51-yarder to flip the field. The Lawrence defense posted a three-and-out, and the Vikings had the ball back.
    Walsh quickly directed a scoring drive and finished it by dodging the Ripon pass rush and connecting on a 27-yard scoring pass to Ropella to trim the lead to 20-18 with 3:59 left. Schwanke shook loose in the middle of the end zone and caught a two-point conversion from Walsh to tie it at 20-20.
    The Lawrence defense, superlative all season, came up with a stop and gave the offense a chance to win it. Ripon gained just five yards in three plays and punted to the Vikings, who took over at their own 42-yard line. The Vikings drove down the field, getting key completions of 15 and 13 yards to Jack Ehren, and lined up for a field goal to win it. Krueger split the uprights from 35 yards out with 25 seconds left, and Lawrence led 23-20. After defensive end Kurt Parker recorded sacks on the final two plays of the game, the Vikings spilled onto the field for a glorious celebration.
    The awards poured in once the season was over. 
    Eight Vikings, Reppert, Schwanke, Satherlie, Krueger, Parker, defensive end Chris Matheus, tackle Ken Urbanski and linebacker Bill Spreeman, were all first-team All-Midwest Conference selections. Offensive lineman Gary Van Berkel, defensive tackle Ron Reising and defensive back Dave Blowers made the second team with Ropella, center Greg Baird and defensive tackle Sam Levin all earning honorable mention.
    Reppert led the nation in rushing yards per game and was named a Kodak first-team All-American. He also earned Associated Press third-team honors and was a first-team CoSIDA Academic All-American. Matheus also was a first-team Academic All-American.
    Both Schwanke and Satherlie earned honorable mention on the Associated Press All-America squad.
    The 1981 squad was honored as a group 25 years after that glorious fall when they were inducted into the Lawrence Intercollegiate Athletic Hall of Fame in 2006.
    Now four decades removed from a season that stands as one of the best by any team in Lawrence history, the 1981 Vikings remain the standard by which championship football is judged in the Midwest Conference.