RIPON, Wis. -,One week after a dominating performance in a conference-opening victory over defending Midwest Conference champion Macalester, the Ripon College football team was on the other end of things Saturday afternoon, losing to St. Norbert College by a score of 48-14. The Green Knights outgained Ripon 487-214 in total offense, while forcing five Red Hawks turnovers.

The only remaining unbeaten team in the MWC, St. Norbert (6-0, 2-0 MWC) didn't waste much time getting on the scoreboard, as Jack Becker threw a 57-yard touchdown pass to Matt Freeman on the game's first play from scrimmage. Freeman added another touchdown later in the opening quarter when Matt Harrity found him on the sidelines to complete a fake field goal for six points. SNC added a third touchdown when running back Brad Boockmeier found Becker in the end zone for a three-yard score and a 21-0 lead after one quarter of play.

Ripon got things going in the second quarter, putting together a 10-play, 77-yard drive, which was capped off by a seven yard touchdown run by Logan Grahn. That is as close as the score would get the rest of the day. A 26-yard field goal just before halftime gave St. Norbert a 24-7 lead at the break, while a touchdown pass from Becker to Brett Olson and another field goal gave the Green Knights a 34-7 lead at the end of the third quarter.,

SNC added two more touchdowns in the final quarter, including a third touchdown pass by Becker and a four-yard run by Brad Boockmeier. The Red Hawks added a late touchdown on a four yard pass from Grifin McNeal to Brandon Barnes, but it was too little, too late.

"This is just one game and there's still a lot of football to be played," Ripon Head Coach Ron Ernst said. "We know the areas we need to improve on as a football team, and it all starts with preperation during the week."

Ripon was led by Nathan Kuehl's 65 yards on 10 carries (6.5 ypc). Defensively, Decker Thompson led the way with eight tackles (seven solo). Dakotah Kirchenwitz also had eight tackles (six solo), with 2.5 going for a loss and one of those going for a sack. Brandon Bartel and Tony Michelon also recorded sacks for the Red Hawks.

Boockmeier led St. Norbert with 105 yards on 15 carries (7.0 ypc). Becker added 52 yards on 10 carries (5.2 ypc), while also completing 17-of-24 passes for 205 yards and three TDs. Frank Latzera recorded two of SNC's four interceptions.

"We have to take what happened today and learn from it and apply it to next week," Ernst said. "If we do that, we'll be alright."

The Red Hawks will try to get back on the winning track next weekend when they'll travel to Carroll University. That game will begin Saturday at 1 p.m. in Waukesha, Wis. and can be seen live at http://portal.stretchinternet.com/ripon/.