ST. PAUL, Minn. - Ripon turned the ball over four times, including three fumbles, sealing their fate in Saturday's wild 47-31 loss to Macalester. In a game that featured nearly every scoring play imaginable, Macalester scored 21 points off turnovers, while out-gaining the Red Hawks in total yardage, 432-222. Ripon out-gained Macalester on the ground, 127-117, marking the 12th consecutive game in which Ripon has finished with more rushing yards than their opponent.

Macalester (5-2, 3-0 MWC North) struck first, going 86 yards in 10 plays on the game's opening drive, which was capped by a 10-yard touchdown run by Jeremy Stephan. Mid-way through the quarter, Ripon got on the board on a career-long 43-yard field goal by Kyle Jobke. Later in the period, Macalester took a 9-3 lead on a safety after Ripon pounced on their own fumble in their end zone.

Three minutes into the second half, Macalester added another TD on a 75-yard pass from Christian Adams to Sam Bordo. Eight minutes later, the Scots took a 21-7 lead when Adams found Alec Beatty for a TD from 13 yards out. Ripon's Cameron Mignone then proceeded to take the ensuing kickoff 98 yards for a score and a 21-10 halftime deficit. That marks Ripon's first kick return for a touchdown since the 2008 season, when Josh Kraemer accomplished that feat twice.

In the third quarter, the two teams traded scores, with Macalester taking a 28-10 lead on a 19-yard touchdown pass from Adams to Jack Streibich. Ripon answered later in the period on a three-yard run by Brandon Barnes, capping an 11-play, 66-yard drive.

The scoring didn't really get started until the final quarter, which saw 33 of the game's 78 points scored. Macalester took a 34-17 lead in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter when Adams found Streibich for a 21-yard score. On the ensuing possession, Macalester blocked a Ripon punt, recovering it in the end zone for a 41-17 lead. Reese Bresson was the player that recovered the punt for a TD, and he would score for a second time three minutes later on a 16-yard TD pass from Johnny Bice. Shephard Kuranda and Carlos Pittman rounded out the scoring in the game's final minutes, catching touchdown passes of 34 and 39 yards, respectively, from Griffin McNeal.

Julian Patton led Ripon with 42 yards on seven carries (6.0 ypc), while Barnes finished with 41 yards on a team-high 10 carries (4.1 ypc). McNeal completed 2-of-3 passes for 73 yards, with both of his completions going for touchdowns.

Ripon's defense recorded two sacks on the day by Hunter Gruenwald and Lane Barnes, extending the team's streak to 10 games with at least one sack. Gruenwald led the team with 13 tackles, with 3.5 going for a loss. Ethan Hoffman recorded the only interception for Ripon's defense, while Lane Barnes recovered a fumble, returning it 13 yards.

Adams completed 20-of-32 passes for 291 yards and four touchdowns for Macalester, while Alec Beatty was the Scots' leading receiver with seven grabs for 78 yards. Jacob Jones led Macalester in rushing with 50 yards on 10 carries (5.0 ypc).

The Red Hawks will return home next weekend for their 2017 home finale against the University of Chicago in the two teams' first meeting since 1987. That game will begin at 1 p.m. on Saturday at Ingalls Field in Ripon and will also serve as Senior Day in which we will be honoring the team's 10 seniors for their hard work and dedication to the Ripon College football program. That game can be seen live at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/ripon/.