By Joe Vanden Acker, Director of Athletic Media Relations
    APPLETON, Wis. -- The 1981 Lawrence University football team stands alone in school and Midwest Conference history.
    In that spectacular fall, the Vikings would win a third consecutive Midwest Conference title, become the first league team to win a NCAA Division III playoff game and become the only team in conference history to reach the national semifinals.
    Featuring legendary coach Ron Roberts and College Football Hall of Fame running back Scott Reppert, the Vikings posted a 10-1 record and that season saw them finish an epic 18-game win streak.
    Lawrence entered the final week of the regular season unbeaten at 8-0 and went to Ripon College for a huge showdown. The Vikings rallied for a 23-20 win over Ripon and earned a berth in the NCAA playoffs for the first time. Lawrence, ranked fifth nationally, would host the University of Minnesota-Morris in the NCAA quarterfinals on Nov. 21 in the Banta Bowl.
    The Vikings met Minnesota-Morris on a frigid afternoon after a mix of sleet, snow and ice had fallen the night before. 
    Minnesota-Morris led 7-0 after the first quarter, but the Vikings got a turnover early in the second quarter. Shawn McIntire's interception gave Lawrence the ball at its own 37-yard line. After a Dean Walsh completion to Jeff Ropella moved the ball to the 50, Reppert rattled off a nine-yard run. Walsh then found All-America tight end Pat Schwanke for a 41-yard touchdown pass and the game was tied 7-7.
    "When we need a big play, Schwanke's the guy who will make it for us," Walsh told the Appleton Post-Crescent.
    The score stayed that way until early in the third quarter. After Morris punted on its first possession of the second half, Lawrence took over at its own 22-yard line.
    Reppert, who led NCAA Division III in rushing in 1980, 1981 and 1982, blasted through the Morris defense for a 78-yard touchdown run, and Lawrence led 14-7. A special teams miscue gave Morris the ball at the Lawrence five-yard line late in the third quarter. The Lawrence defense stiffened, and Morris faced fourth-and-goal at the Lawrence one-yard line. Todd Hickman plunged into the end zone on the next play, and the game was tied 14-14 with 13:47 remaining.

Scott Reppert ripped off a 78-yard touchdown run in the victory over Minnesota-Morris.

    Morris missed a field goal midway through the quarter, but neither team was able to crack the other's defense through the end of regulation. The Lawrence defense forced six turnovers on the afternoon.
    The game went to overtime, a first in Lawrence football history, and Morris won the toss. The Cougars elected to play defense.
    The Vikings got the ball at the 15-yard line and soon faced third-and-eight. Walsh went back to pass and Schwanke grabbed the ball while being surrounded by three defenders in the north end zone for the go-ahead touchdown. Kraig Krueger converted the extra point, and Lawrence led 21-14.
    "I didn't think about the defenders at all," Schwanke told the Post-Crescent. "You don't think about things like that. You just look right at the ball and you do it."
    Morris now needed a touchdown to tie the game, but quarterback Gerald Cox threw three consecutive incompletions. The Cougars faced fourth-and-10 at the 15, and Cox went back to pass again. The throw was was intercepted by Lawrence's Graham Satherlie to seal the victory.
    With the longest winning streak in the nation at any level on the line, the Vikings traveled to the University of Dayton for a national semifinal game on Nov. 28. Playing on the artificial turf of Welcome Stadium, defending national champion Dayton raced to a 25-0 halftime lead and went on to a 38-0 victory.
    "It's upsetting that we lost," Reppert told the Post-Crescent after the Dayton loss. "Naturally, we would have liked to win, but losing doesn't take away anything from this season. No one here has anything not to be proud of."

The Top 25 Countdown ...
No. 25 Lawrence football makes ABC-TV debut vs. Cornell in 1980
No. 24 Lawrence football beats Coe 14-10 in 1986 MWC Championship Game
No. 23 Lawrence women's soccer beats Aurora 2-1 for first NCAA Tournament win
No. 22 Aljay Wren and Nick Maxam team up for 99-yard touchdown pass
No. 21 Remarkable turnaround for women's basketball
No. 20 Jim Miller takes 12th at 1978 NCAA Cross Country Championships
No. 19 Basketball stars Kenya Earl, Brad Sendell chase scoring titles
No. 18 Cross country sweeps Midwest Conference titles in 2021
No. 17 Keven Bradley scores final 20 points for men's basketball in win over Ripon
No. 16 Men's basketball breaks 54-year drought by winning 1997 Midwest Conference title
No. 15 Football beats Ripon in final seconds to secure third straight Midwest Conference title
No. 14 Kate Leventhal runs to All-America cross country honors in 1981
No. 13 No. 1 Lawrence men's basketball team hosts 2006 NCAA Division III sectional
No. 12 (tie) Josh Janusiak runs to All-America honors/1950 cross country team eighth in nation
No. 11 Keven Bradley's buzzer-beater preserves perfect season and delivers Midwest Conference title
No. 10 Mike Gattnar wins NCAA title in epee
No. 9 Mallory Koula's 42-second hat trick
No. 8 1967 football team posts perfect season
No. 7 Men's hockey pulls off epic comeback against St. Norbert
No. 6 Sara Schye pitches Lawrence to pair of NCAA Tournament wins
No. 5 Andy Kazik caps perfect season with NCAA wrestling title
No. 4 Jiayi Ling wins Lawrence's first NCAA title with victory in long jump
No. 3 Men's basketball makes run to Elite Eight in 2004 NCAA Tournament