Box Score

RIPON, Wis. - Ripon and Carroll entered the weekend with the all-time series between the two football programs tied 29-29-5 after 63 meetings. In the 64th meeting on Saturday, Ripon took the lead in the series with a 22-20 victory over the Pioneers. Carroll jumped out to a 17-0 second quarter lead, but as most games in the rivalry have gone, it wasn't over until the final gun had sounded, as this marks the sixth time in their last eight meetings that the final score was decided by seven points or less.

Carroll (1-1, 0-1 MWC) didn't waste much time, as they took the game's opening drive 66 yards in 11 plays, capped by a four-yard Daniel Arden run to put the Pioneers on the board. They would use another 11-play drive later in the quarter to set up a 35-yard field goal from Tyler Raymaker to take a 10-0 advantage. Carroll's lead expanded to 17-0 with eight minutes to play in the half when Corey Nelson caught a 37 yard touchdown pass from Tyler Schovanec.

"Being down 17-0 halfway through the second quarter really says a lot about what our players are made of," Ripon head football coach Ron Ernst said. "I'm really proud of their perseverence today. It shows a tremendous amount of character that they just kept fighting and kept playing hard."

The first step in Ripon's comeback came in the blink of an eye. After gaining just 64 yards in their first four possessions combined, the Red Hawks (2-0, 1-0 MWC) scored their first points of the game on a 63-yard touchdown pass from Tom Sawyer to Eric Langman, which was the only play of their fifth possession. After the extra point was blocked, Ripon got the ball back on the ensuing kickoff when Carroll let the ball drop and Leandre Some was there to recover it for the Red Hawks. That set up an eight-play, 32 yard drive that was capped off by a seven-yard touchdown run by Kyle Hafemeisterr, sending Ripon to the locker room trailing by four points.

Ripon took their first lead of the game on their opening possession of the second half when Hafemeister scored from 14 yards out to cap an eight-play, 77-yard drive. The extra point was blocked once again however, keeping Ripon's lead at two points.

With Carroll knocking on the door with a first and goal from the six yard line early in the fourth quarter, the Pioneers failed to punch it in, leading to an 18-yard field goal to take a 20-19 lead. Not to be outdone, Ripon took the ensuing possession 51 yards on 11 plays, before stalling at the Carroll 22-yard line. That led to a 39-yard field goal by Jordan Remsza to give Ripon the lead for good. Remsza had entered Saturday's game without a field goal attempt in his career, but came through when it mattered most.

"Our defense came up big and made some key plays when we need it," Ernst said. "Remsza also did a tremendous job today as our kicker. He came up with a clutch kick that helped us secure this victory."

As is the case with most games in the Carroll-Ripon rivalry, the final minutes weren't easy. Ripon gave the Pioneers one final chance, as they began their final drive at their own 43 yard line with two and a half minutes to play. After the drive stalled at Ripon's 16-yard line, Raymaker lined up to attempt a kick from 33 yards with 38 seconds left on the clock. It would be wide left, sending the Ripon faithful home happy.

Connor Greenwald led the Red Hawks in rushing on the day with 98 yards on the ground, but it was Hafemeister who was the most efficient player on the field, scoring two touchdowns on just two carries. Eric Hussin added 77 yards rushing, while Sawyer completed 6-of-14 passes for 131 yards. Defensively, Ripon was led by Luke Morgan, who finished with 14 tackles. The Red Hawks also recorded two sacks in the game, coming on back-to-back plays by Saige Anderson and Damian Farr to end the first half with Carroll in Ripon territory.

The Pioneers were led by Arden's 136 yards on 22 carries (6.2 ypc), as he entered the game as the Midwest Conference's leading rusher. Quarterback Tyler Schovanec completed 12 of his 22 passes for 137 yards.

Ripon's win now sets up an early season match-up with St. Norbert College next weekend. That game will begin at 1 p.m. on Saturday in DePere, Wis. and can be seen live on http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/ripon.portal#.

"This is a tough conference. Any team can win on any given Saturday, so we have to be prepared every single week," Ernst said. "We have a very tough opponent in St. Norbert next week that has historically been an outstanding rivalry with us and has had some great teams in the past. I don't expect that to be any different next weekend."