Game Notes vs. Lawrence University

RIPON, Wis. - In what is the oldest college football rivalry in the state of Wisconsin, Ripon will take the field against Lawrence University Saturday afternoon for what will be the teams' 116th meeting dating back to 1893. The winner of this annual contest has received the Doehling-Heselton trophy since 1988, named for former legendary Ripon and Lawrence coaches, Carl Doehling and Bernie Heselton, respectively. That trophy has resided in Ripon for the past 16 years, as Lawrence's last win in the series came in 1999. Ripon leads the all-time series 62-46-7 and have averaged 44 points per game in their current 16-game winning streak against the Vikings.

"This game is important for a lot of reasons in addition to the rivalry because it's the last game of the year and we want to end the season on a positive note and send our Seniors out the right way," Ripon Head Coach Ron Ernst said. "We've had the opportunity to win this rivalry game several years in a row and we'd like to keep that streak going."

Ripon (1-8, 1-6 MWC) is coming off their closest loss of the season, a 31-28 defeat at Cornell in which their comeback bid fell just short. In that game, freshman running back Austin Bunders continued his efficient play, rushing three times for 47 yards and two touchdowns. He now leads the Red Hawks with 479 rushing yards on the season, despite ranking fifth on the team in carries (34). The Almond, Wis. native has made the most of his opportunities, ranking 10th in the MWC in rushing yards per game (59.9), sixth in all-purpose yards per game (105.4), and third in kickoff return average (25.8). His yards per carry of 14.1 rank second in the league and is tops among players that have carried the ball more than six times. Bunders has rushed for at least 86 yards in three games this season with a high of 145 on just 10 carries at Lake Forest.

"Austin is a young man that possesses great speed, so we want to get the ball in his hands in the open field as much as we can," Ernst said. "If we can do that, he can make things happen because he's someone that we consider to be a great playmaker."

Bunders is part of a Ripon rushing attack that ranks second in the MWC with 234.7 yards per game. That has not translated into as many wins as Ripon had hoped, but the Red Hawks continue to work on improving the team, and it has showed as they have scored more than 27 points in two of their last four games, including last week. Ripon has scored at least three rushing touchdowns in four of their nine games this season, and have found the end zone on the ground in each of their last four contests.

"We played very well last week, but just didn't execute when we needed to, so we want to get that fixed by playing more consistent football, and end the season on a positive note," said Ernst.

Defensively, Ripon ranks fifth in the MWC at stopping the run (172.4 ypg). A big reason for that is the play of the defensive line, led by junior Brandon Bartel, who recorded a sack last week to give him 12.5 for his career, which is just five shy of breaking the school record. Fellow defensive lineman Vince Stensrud enters Saturday's game with nine career sacks, which is two shy of Ripon's top 10 in that category.

Another defensive player that has played well this season is senior defensive back Patrick Barany, who leads the team with three interceptions, ranking seventh in the MWC. Barany has also defended 10 passes, which is tops on the team and is tied for fourth in the conference.

"Those defensive players have been playing well this year," Ernst said. "Defense is about recognizing what the other team is trying to do and making plays, which is something those guys have been doing and we need them to step up and do the same thing on Saturday in order for us to win."

The Ripon defense will face a Lawrence team that seems to be improving from recent years with a 3-6 overall record and 2-5 mark in the MWC. The Vikings rank third in the MWC in rushing offense (215.2 ypg), while also ranking third in both total defense (362.0 ypg) and pass defense (165.4 ypg) and fifth in scoring defense (26.3 ppg).

"They're an improved team and are very fundamentally sound," Ernst said. "We generally try to worry about executing our game plan and not so much what the other team is going to do, and if we execute like I know we're capable of, then we'll be fine."

Saturday will be the final game at Ingalls Field for the team's 11 seniors. It will also be a chance for next year's returning players to gain some momentum and feel good about themselves heading into the 2017 season, which will begin with four of their first five games at home.

"The biggest thing we need to do on Saturday is play consistently and make plays when they present themselves," Ernst said. "We have lacked consistency this year and haven't made plays when we needed it the most, which is what we're striving to do."

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