LAKE FOREST, Ill. - Despite out-gaining Lake Forest in total offensive yards (436-409), the Ripon football team lost to Lake Forest on Saturday by a score of 51-29. The Red Hawks rushed for 425 yards, which is their most rushing yards in a game in two years, but couldn't overcome three costly turnovers, including two lost fumbles.

Both offenses were high-octane from the outset, as the first five drives of the game all resulted in points, including four touchdowns. Lake Forest (4-2, 2-2 MWC) started the scoring with a 22-yard touchdown run by the Midwest Conference's leading rusher Joey Valdivia. Ripon (1-5, 1-3 MWC) answered with a two-yard touchdown from Logan Grahn, which was answered by a 24-yard Lake Forest field goal. Ripon would take their first lead of the contest on the ensuing possession, which was capped by a six-yard run by quarterback Samuel Shroyer. That lead lasted all of two minutes, as Jagan Cleary found Alex Pasiewicz for a 28-yard touchdown to give LFC a 16-14 lead after a wild first quarter.

The second period saw the Foresters take command of the game, scoring three consecutive touchdowns, the first coming on a 60-yard TD pass from Cleary to Pasiewicz, and the other two on five-yard runs by Valdivia.

After trailing 37-14 at the half, Ripon mounted a furious comeback in the third quarter, outscoring Lake Forest 15-0 in the period on an 18-yard touchdown run by Brent Anderson and a one-yard plunge by Cody Chase, which was followed by a two-point conversion to cut Lake Forest's lead to eight.

That's as close as Ripon would get, as Lake Forest iced the game with a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns, the first on a three-yard run by Valdivia, and the other on a five-yard pass from Cleary to Charlie Quinn.

Valdivia finished the game with 132 yards and four scores, while Cleary completed 19-of-25 passes for 229 yards and three touchdowns. Pasiewicz added four catches for 123 yards and two TDs.

Ripon had four players rush for more than 50 yards, led by Austin Bunders, who gained 146 yards on just 10 carries (14.6 ypc). Brett Garst added 64 yards on nine carries, while Shroyer and Chase finished with 63 and 55 yards, respectively. Defensively, Tyler Robida led the Red Hawks with 11 tackles, while Brandon Bartel recorded one sack, giving him 11.5 for his career, which moves him into eighth in school history.

The Red Hawks will try to turn things around next weekend when they'll return home to play Beloit College. That game will begin at 1 p.m. at Ingalls Field and can be seen live at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/ripon/.