GREENCASTLE, Ind. -- Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology scored 14 fourth quarter points and gained 511 yards of total offense, but an opportunistic DePauw University squad held off the rally to earn a 26-21 victory in the NCAA Division III Football Playoff Round of 32 game on Saturday at Blackstock Stadium.

Rose-Hulman trailed 20-7 after the third quarter, but Andrew Dion connected with Shane Welshans on a 6-yard touchdown pass to bring the Fightin' Engineers within 20-14 with 14:54 left in the game.  DePauw took advantage of two Rose-Hulman turnovers to start possessions in the red zone, but a strong Fightin' Engineer defense held Joe Sullivan to field goals of 36 and 27 yards as the Tigers built a 26-14 lead.

Rose-Hulman charged back within 26-21 with 35 seconds left on a 3-yard touchdown pass from Dion to Adam Tice-Saliu.  Brett Tuttle then engineered a successful onside kick, which Tice-Saliu recovered to give Rose-Hulman a last chance in the final minute of the game.  

The Fightin' Engineers drove to the DePauw 28-yard line courtesy of a 19-yard pass to Daniel Huery with 12 seconds left.  A lofted pass to the endzone was knocked down with 5 seconds left, giving the Fightin' Engineers one last chance. 

Dion threw a screen pass to Welshans, who had a wall on the left side but was tripped up at the 22-yard line by Dane Young as time expired, allowing DePauw to hold on to the 26-21 win.

Dion completed 27-of-58 passes for 355 yards and 3 touchdowns to lead the Rose-Hulman offense.  Welshans rushed for 124 yards on 30 carries, and Noah Thomas had nine receptions for 145 yards to balance the offense.

Tice-Saliu had a key day receiving with 95 yards on 6 receptions with 2 touchdowns, along with the late onside kick recovery.  Huery added 76 yards on 3 catches, and Welshans had a touchdown reception.

Chase Andries completed 17-of-24 passes for 169 yards and 3 touchdowns to lead the DePauw offense.  Jaylon Smith had a team-high 82 yards receiving on four catches with a touchdown for the Tigers, who forced five turnovers to help hang on for the win.

The Rose-Hulman defense forced three turnovers and forced several potentially short DePauw drives into either turnovers or field goals due to its strong overall play.  The Fightin' Engineers gained 511 yards on the day but only allowed DePauw to gain 275.

Riley Roberts led Rose-Hulman with 11 tackles, 2.5 tackles-for-loss and 1 forced fumble.  Chaikou Sow added 9 tackles, with 8 solo efforts, and 1 forced fumble.

Winston Amankwah snagged an interception and forced a fumble, and Kyzer Bowen and Michael Stevens each recovered fumbles to provide key plays for the Rose-Hulman defense. 

DePauw jumped out to a 13-0 lead after the first quarter, courtesy of 2 touchdown passes by Andries.  Smith had a 10-yard catch on the first strike, and Aaron Candiano caught a 3-yard touchdown pass to cap the first quarter scoring.

Rose-Hulman moved within 13-7 in the final minute of the first half.  Tice-Saliu caught a lofted pass into the left corner of the endzone to bring Rose-Hulman to a 6-point deficit.

DePauw answered with a 21-yard scoring pass from Andries to Shaw to make the score 20-7 at the half.  DePauw would hold the same lead until Rose-Hulman closed within 20-14 on the Welshans 4th quarter touchdown.

Dion completes his career with school record of 9836 passing yards and 94 touchdown passes. His 355-yard passing performance on Saturday marked the 7th time Dion crossed the 300-yard mark in 2021.  Thomas completes his career with school records of 256 receptions for 3680 receiving yards and 36 receiving touchdowns.

Rose-Hulman completes a historic season at 8-3 overall.  DePauw will advance to face Wisconsin-Whitewater next weekend with a record of 9-2.