\RIPON — The Ripon Red Hawks are 2-0 at Hopp Stadium following their 24-17 Homecoming win over the Knox College Prairie Fire on Saturday, Oct. 12. Senior Clay Ritschard, an Argyle graduate, hopes this victory will carry over to away games, where Ripon is 0-3.
“It helps a lot,” Ritschard said of the Homecoming win. “It helps with confidence, especially coming off a 1-3 record. It helps us get back on track and push toward the future.”
Ripon ate up seven minutes of the first quarter with a scoring drive. During the possession, the Red Hawks converted on two, fourth-down plays, including a 3-yard touchdown run by Cason Boudwine. Evan Nehring’s PAT was good for a 7-0 lead.
Early in the second quarter, Andy Ferrer forced and recovered a fumble at the Red Hawk 12-yard line. Although Ripon didn’t score, the ensuing possession took three minutes off the clock.
Ritschard and the defense came up clutch late in the frame, as Knox was knocking on the door. The Prairie Fire faced third-and-7 at the 9-yard line, when Ritschard tackled Anthony Hernandez at the line of scrimmage for no gain. The play limited Knox to a 26-yard field goal, making it a 7-3 game.
With good clock management, Ripon managed one more score in the first half. The team used a timeout with 24 seconds left to stop the clock and scored on the very next play with a 4-yard keeper by Jack Berens.
Knox drew within four points once again thanks to a rushing touchdown from Aiden Frail. But eating up the final 5:53 of the third quarter and the first 1:23 of the fourth, Ripon responded with a 35-yard touchdown pass from Berens to Parker Campana. The Red Hawks extended their lead to 24-10 with a 21-yard field goal from Nehring.
Down two scores, Knox didn’t go away.The Prairie Fire scored on a 1-yard rush from Izayiah Hawes. After a PAT from Julian Sanderson, Knox completed a successful onside kick near midfield.
Even though the Red Hawk defense was just on the field, it came up clutch yet again. Two plays into the Prairie Fire drive, Zane Vetter intercepted the pass.
“The biggest thing is we stress doing our job every single time no matter what the situation is,” Ritschard said. “Tonight was a great example of us doing that.”
With two first-down rushes from Connor Ramage, Berens kneeled out the rest of the game for the win.
Ritschard, who was named the Midwest Conference Defensive Performer of the Week on Sept. 16, led the team with 16 tackles. Aidan Keyes, a Belleville graduate, also plays for Ripon. He is one of four quarterbacks listed on the roster and is the holder for PATs and field goals.
