History for Aurora University and the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference was made on Saturday afternoon when the Spartan football team took on the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in the first round of the 2022 NCAA Division III Football Championship playoff on Saturday afternoon. The Spartans led 21-14 at halftime as Jhe'Quay Chretin and Trey Madsen set new AU marks for rushing yards and catches. When the final horn sounded, AU shocked the Division III football landscape with a 33-28 victory over Whitewater.


FINAL SCORE:  rv Aurora University 33 - #8 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater 28
LOCATION: Whitewater, Wisconsin - Perkins Stadium
RECORDS: #rv Aurora University 10-1 overall; #6 University of Wisconsin-Whitewater 8-3 overall
GAME TIME: 2:41


- The Spartans took the opening kickoff and turned to the ground game to start the contest. 24 yards from Jhe'Quay Chretin set up a 29-yard pass from Josh Swanson to Cameron Moore.
- With 12:05 left in the first, AU led 7-0.
- The AU defense forced a Whitewater punt with the Spartans then punting back to UWW.
- Whitewater utilized a long pass play to set up a short touchdown run and late in the first, the game was tied 7-7.
- The AU drive at the end of the first continued into the second. On the sixth play of the second, Swanson found Trey Madsen over the middle and into the end-one.
- With 12:09 left in the second, AU regained the lead at 14-7.
- Whitewater drove down after a long kick return and tied the game up 14-14 with 8:40 left in the first-half.
- On the kickoff, the Spartans found themselves with a long field at their own nine after a penalty.
- AU methodically marched down the field and after a defensive pass interference call in the end zone, the Spartans had the ball first and goal from the UWW two.
- Just before the pass interference call, Swanson found Trey Madsen for his fifth catch of the day and his 138th of his career to become the all-time receiving leader in AU history.
- Swanson found the end zone on the next play and AU led 21-14 late in the second.
- The Spartan defense forced a Whitewater punt just before the half where AU led 21-14.
- The 21 points by AU in the first-half is the most Whitewater has allowed in the first round playoff game 
- AU and Whitewater traded punts on the possessions in the third quarter until the Spartans struck on their third drive.
- On the second play of the drive, Swanson hit Moore over the middle and Moore out ran the Warhawk defense for 74 yards to the end zone. After a missed pat, AU led 27-14.
- The Spartans led 27-14 after three quarters.
- On the first play of the fourth, Whitewater scored on a 28 yard touchdown pass. AU led 27-21 just five seconds into the fourth.
- AU was forced to punt on their next  possession but the defense answered with a turnover on downs.
- The Spartan offense embarked on an 11-play drive spanning 6:00 and 72 yards. The final play was the third touchdown connection of the day between Swanson and Moore. With 5:47 left in the game, AU led 33-21. The two-point try was no-good.
- Whitewater answered back with a touchdown pass of their own and with 4:18 to go, AU led 33-28.
- With 3:54 to play, UWW intercepted a Swanson pass, setting up the Warhawks at the AU 32.
- But on the second play for UWW, Spartan senior linebacker Cason Burress stepped in front of a pass for his second interception of the season.
- Jhe'Quay Chretin then carried the ball four times for 21 yards, converting two first downs including a huge third and one rush.
- The carries from Chretin allowed Josh Swanson and the offense to take knees in the victory formation.
- When the clock ran out, AU won their first playoff game in seven tries 33-28.
- The Spartans defeat of Whitewater is only the third loss for UWW in the NCAA first round and first since 1997.
 

Rushing:
 - Carries: Jhe'Quay Chretin (28)
 - Yards: Jhe'Quay Chretin (121)
- Touchdowns: Josh Swanson (1)
Passing:
- Josh Swanson (19-of-34 for 308 yards, four touchdowns and one interception)
Receiving:
 - Catches: Trey Madsen and Cameron Moore (7)
 - Yards:  Cameron Moore (190) and Trey Madsen (81)
 - Touchdowns: Cameron Moore (3) and Trey Madsen (1)
Defense:
- Tackles: Ernesto Ramirez (8), Marcellus Romious (7) and Cole Tandy (6)
- Sacks: Jaylen Jordan (1.0)
- Interception: Cason Burress (1)