Trey Madsen and his Aurora University teammates had a reason to howl.
A senior wide receiver, Madsen became the career receptions leader for the Spartans last Saturday by catching seven passes for 81 yards and a touchdown.
The Aurora Christian graduate from Montgomery has 140 receptions in two full seasons plus the pandemic-shortened three-game 2020 season, all coming after a redshirt year following his transfer from Evangel, a NAIA school in Springfield, Missouri.
More importantly, the performance came for AU in a huge 33-28 upset of perennial power Wisconsin Whitewater during a first-round game in the NCAA Division III playoffs.
“As a team, we’re all pretty stoked,” Madsen said. “We have a lot of confidence because we were definitely underdogs and we shocked the world of D-III football.
“We showed we can play with the big dogs. Our confidence as a unit has taken off.”
AU (10-1) was making its seventh appearance in the 49-year history of the Division III playoffs and third under coach Don Beebe.
It was the first win in the program’s history and the first in the history of the Northern Athletic Collegiate Conference, which the Spartans represent.
AU defied the odds by advancing to the second round and will play at 11 a.m. Saturday at undefeated Alma, Michigan.
It’s something Beebe did as a wide receiver coming out of Kaneland, then Chadron State in Nebraska before making it to the NFL. He reached six Super Bowls, four with Buffalo and two with Green Bay.
Watching the tournament pairings show with his team a week earlier, Beebe said his players erupted when they learned who they were playing.
“I knew then we had the right mindset,” Beebe said, adding Whitewater or Mount Union, Ohio were his first choices.
“They are the pinnacle of Division III football, and if you’re going to make a statement, who better to play?” Beebe said. “It would have been historic if we had beaten someone else, but to do it against the best?
“Hey, I’m a David and Goliath kind of guy. My whole life has been David and Goliath. That’s the mentality we had.”
Whitewater (8-3) and Mount Union played each other nine times between 2005 and 2014 in the national championship game, with Whitewater winning six.
The Warhawks reached the national semifinals each of the past four playoffs, and hadn’t lost a first-round game since 1997.
“I received just over 100 texts and heard from almost all the NACC coaches and people I hadn’t talked to in years,” Beebe said. “We didn’t get one vote for the top 25 all year. You’ve got to earn that respect.
“When I said after the game I wanted to play one of those teams, it wasn’t disrespect. It was out of respect for all they’ve accomplished.”
And for the 5-foot-10, 190-pound Madsen, who better to play for if you want to make history?
Beebe had been his offensive coordinator as a junior in high school before the coach stepped back to watch his son Chad, also a receiver, in his final season at Northern Illinois before making the NFL.
“It was a good move for me,” Madsen said of transferring to AU. “I grew up watching Chad and he was a role model for me. Coach Beebe is a great teacher, and he stresses the little things of being a great receiver.
“He wouldn’t recruit you if you couldn’t catch, but he’s so good at emphasizing those helpful little things and teaching you how to create more space between you and the defender on your routes.”
Madsen has also connected with new AU quarterback Josh Swanson, a transfer from NAIA Sioux Falls who has passed for 3,013 yards and 47 TDs.
With two years of eligibility, Madsen could hook up with Swanson again next season but hopes for a professional opportunity after that.
Like his coach, he’s reaching high.
