Game Notes at St. Norbert

RIPON, Wis. - Ripon and St. Norbert will meet for the 40th time on the gridiron this weekend in a series that dates back to 1919. The Red Hawks are entering the game with a 1-6 record (1-4 in the MWC) after losing three straight games for the second time this season. They will look to play spoiler against a St. Norbert team that is one of two remaining unbeaten teams in the Midwest Conference. The Green Knights are 4-2 overall this season and 4-0 in the MWC, while searching for their second consecutive conference championship.

Despite their record, in Ripon's last four games, the Red Hawks have either out-gained their opponent in total yardage, or have come within 40 yards of their opponent's yardage total. They have also achieved more first downs than their opponent in two of their last three games, which means they have been able to move the ball well, but have hurt themselves with penalties and turnovers when getting to scoring position.

"We need to continue to work on our consistency, which has been plaguing us all year," Head Coach Ron Ernst said. "I'm expecting our guys to play better this week and we just can't make critical mistakes at the wrong time."

Ripon's offense has gained more than 300 yards of total offense in three of their last four games, and has compiled more than 280 rushing yards three times during that span as well. The MWC's second-ranked rushing team, Ripon has averaged 353 rushing yards during the past two weeks.

A big reason for the offense's improvement has been the play of freshman quarterback Samuel Shroyer, who recorded a career-high 131 rushing yards last week against Beloit, while also scoring a touchdown for the third time in the last four games.

"Sam has been doing a very good job running the offense," Ernst said. "He brings a lot of quickness to the field and has a great ability to get out of trouble. He's getting better and continues to get a better handle on the offense each week."

Shroyer's recent play has also opened up running lanes for his teammates out of the backfield. Fullback Cody Chase is averaging 68.5 rushing yards during the last four weeks, and has scored three touchdowns during that span. Freshman running back Austin Bunders leads the team in rushing with 397 yards on the year, despite ranking fifth on the team in carries with 27. Bunders leads the MWC in yards per carry (14.7), while ranking fourth in all-purpose yards per game (102.0), sixth in rushing yards per game (66.0), and is also third in kickoff return average (23.6).

"With Shroyer giving our team more of a running threat at the quarterback position, that has given the rest of our backs more room to run, which is very critical," said Ernst.

Defensively, Ripon will have their hands full with a St. Norbert offense that is second in the MWC in scoring (40.5 ppg), and is coming off back-to-back games in which they have hung more than 60 on the scoreboard. The Green Knights are also fourth in the league in total offense (442.7 ypg), and third in rushing offense (230.0 ypg).

St. Norbert is led by running back Elijah Fort, who is fourth in the MWC in rushing yards per game (83.0), while also tied for third with seven rushing touchdowns. His teammate, J.T. Crosby is second in the league in rushing touchdowns (9), while rushing for 5.7 yards per carry, in addition to tossing 11 TDs, which is fourth in the conference. Five of those touchdowns have gone to Samuel Staehling, who has caught 12 passes for 437 yards for an average of 36.4 yards per reception.

One thing Ripon's defense has done well in recent games is disrupting the pass game by forcing interceptions. The Red Hawks have recorded six interceptions in their last four games. Senior defensive back Patrick Barany currently ranks fourth in the MWC with three interceptions on the year, while linebacker Hunter Gruenwald has picked off two passes. Barany is also tied for third in the league for passes defended (9).

"Our defense is looking to eliminate big plays. We have done an adequate job in creating turnovers, but there's always room for improvement," Ernst said. "We need to create even more turnovers and do a better job getting off the field on third down and give the ball back to our offense."

Saturday's game will kickoff at 1 p.m. at Schneider Stadium in De Pere, Wis. It can be seen live at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/ripon/, with LiveStats available at http://www.snc.edu/athletics/teamfiles/livestats/xlive.htm.