Game Notes

RIPON, Wis. - Ripon will continue one of their longest-standing football rivalries this weekend when Beloit College pays them a visit in what will be the 102nd meeting between the two teams, with the first coming in 1893. Ripon holds a 68-29-4 edge in the all-time series, and have won their last 10 meetings against the Buccaneers, with Ripon's last loss in the series coming during the 2005 season.

Beloit enters Saturday's contest having played in some of the highest scoring games the Midwest Conference has seen this season. The Buccaneers rank second in the MWC in scoring offense, averaging 37.5 points per game, with former Ripon quarterback Jake Marshall in his first season as the team's offensive coordinator. The Buccaneers defense has allowed 38.8 points per game, which ranks ninth in the league. Beloit is 2-4 overall and 1-3 in the MWC, with the winning team scoring at least 34 points in all six of their games. Beloit has allowed more than 30 points in all but one game this season, and have scored at least 20 in every game.

The Buccaneers are led by Senior running back Mason Dixon, who is the second-leading rusher in the MWC, averaging 121.5 yards per game. He is also tied for second in the league for rushing touchdowns with six, despite playing just four games. Dixon is averaging 5.1 yards per carry this season. In three career games against the Red Hawks, Dixon is averaging 101.7 rushing yards per game.

""Dixon has gained a lot of yards for Beloit during the last three years, so we'll have to get a lot of hats on him because he's not going to be tackled by just one player," Ernst said. "He gives a great second, third, and fourth effort, so we have to rally to the ball and give him as little space to run as possible."

Although Beloit has the third-best rushing offense in the MWC (221.2 ypg), they also have the fourth-best passing offense in the conference (254.0 ypg), due to the play of quarterback Danny May, who is fourth in the MWC with 224.7 passing yards per game. May has also thrown for 11 touchdowns, which is second in the league, and has completed 65.8 percent of his passes, also second in the MWC. May's top receiver, Michael Nolden, leads the conference in both receptions (36) and receiving yards (570), while ranking second in receiving touchdowns (6).

"Beloit has a potent offense with some very good skill-position players, so we're going to have to come ready to play," Ernst said. "May is very athletic and has the ability to both throw and run the ball well and they have some good receivers that are very good."

Ripon enters Saturday's game with a 1-5 record and an identical 1-3 mark in the MWC, but their offense is beginning to improve. Despite last week's 51-29 loss at Lake Forest, Ripon out-gained the Foresters in total yardage, 436-409. That included a season-high 425 rushing yards by the Red Hawks, which marked the team's highest rushing total in two years. Ripon enters the weekend atop the MWC in rushing yardage, averaging 248.3 yards per game. They will face a Beloit defense that is ninth in the league against the run, allowing 233.2 rushing yards per game.

"Our offensive line played better last week and our backs ran well, while hitting on a couple big plays that Lake Forest had trouble defending," Ernst said. "With the offensive line playing consistently better last week, we'll hope to take that performance and improve on it this weekend."

Freshman Austin Bunders is coming off the first 100-yard game of his career, gaining 148 yards on just 10 carries last week at Lake Forest. Despite ranking fifth on the team in carries with 25 on the year, Bunders leads the team in rushing with 370 yards, which is 69 more than the second-highest total. His yardage total ranks ninth in the MWC, while his 14.8 yards per carry is second in the league, and tops among players with at least seven carries. Bunders has rushed for at least 86 yards in three of Ripon's last four games. Despite Ripon's great rushing total last week, there is always room for improvement from the entire team.

"I want to see us play more consistently as a team because it seems like if our offense plays well in one half, then our defense doesn't, and vice versa," Ernst said. "We have the ability to be a good football team, but we just haven't been consistent enough. Once we do that, we'll be in good shape."

Saturday's game will begin at 1 p.m. at Ingalls Field in Ripon and can be seen live at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/ripon/.