LA CROSSE, Wis. - In what was the first meeting between Ripon and UW-La Crosse in 81 years, Ripon fell behind early and couldn't recover, falling to the Eagles by a score of 65-14. The Red Hawks fell behind 55-0 after three quarters, before Ripon outscored UW-L 14-10 in the final period.

UW-La Crosse's first points came on the opening drive of the game, which ended in an 11-yard touchdown run from Tarek Yaeggi. After a 76-yard punt return for a touchdown by Ryan Kruser, the Eagles got on the scoreboard again on a pair of TD runs by Tyler Jenkins making the score 28-0 before the first quarter was over.

UW-Lacrosse (2-0) added two more touchdown passes and a field goal in the second quarter and another touchdown and field goal in the third before Ripon's Hunter Gruenwald scored the team's first points on a touchdown reception from his brother, Cameron Gruenwald. After another Joshua Fischer field goal gave UW-L a 58-7 lead, Samuel Shroyer scored Ripon's other TD on a 23-yard run, but it was too little, too late for the Red Hawks.

The Eagles achieved 24 first downs in the contest, compared to 13 for the Red Hawks. UW-L also gained 536 yards of total offense, including 320 on the ground, averaging 6.7 yards per carry. Ripon gained 234 total yards of offense, with 161 coming on the ground.

Ripon (0-2) was led by Tyler VanDeVelde's 56 yards on three carries (18.7 ypc). Sam Georgeson added 27 yards on seven carries, while Shroyer's only carry of the game resulted in his TD.

UW-La Crosse was led by Jenkins' 105 yards on 14 carries (7.5 ypc), while Bailey added 49 yards on four totes (12.2 ypc). Yaeggi completed 9-of-13 passes for 137 yards and a touchdown, while Nick Holcomb led the way with game-highs of four receptions for 49 yards and a touchdown.

The Red Hawks will try to put this game behind them as they jump into conference play next week at Monmouth College for what will be their third consecutive road contest to start the season. Kickoff is set for Saturday at 1 p.m. in Monmouth, Ill. and can be seen at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/ripon/.