APPLETON, Wis. - Ripon's football team defeated Lawrence University for the 18th consecutive season Saturday afternoon, winning 14-7 to retain the Doehling-Heselton trophy, which is given to the game's winner annually since 1987 and is named after legendary Ripon and Lawrence coaches Carl Doehling and Bernie Heselton, respectively. In what is considered the oldest college football rivalry in the state of Wisconsin, the Red Hawks out-gained Lawrence in total yardage (256-216), while also holding the edge in rushing yardage (217-98).

After a scoreless first quarter, Ripon (4-5, 3-2 MWC) took the first lead of the game on a one yard touchdown run by Julian Patton with 5 and a half minutes remaining in the first half. After a Lawrence three-and-out, Ripon got the ball back and embarked on a 10-play, 66-yard drive, capped by an 11-yard touchdown pass from Patton to Cameron Mignone 23 seconds before halftime to give the Red Hawks a 14-0 advantage.

Lawrence (2-7, 1-4 MWC) made a game of it in the third quarter, scoring on a 16-yard pass from D'Andre Weaver to William Nichols mid-way through the period to cut Ripon's lead in half, but the Red Hawks 'D' would tighten up the rest of the way, helping to secure the victory.

Patton led Ripon with 116 yards on 27 carries (4.3 ypc), including the TD, while Tyler VanDeVelde finished with 43 yards on 11 carries. Patton also threw for 39 yards, with Mignone grabbing two passes for a team-high 24 yards and his TD.

Defensively, Ripon was led by Hunter Gruenwald, who recorded a team-high 11 tackles, and his second interception of the season. Lane Barnes added eight tackles, while Tyler Robida and Vince Stensrud each had five. The Red Hawks consecutive games with a sack streak ended at 11 games.

Lawrence's leading rusher was Weaver, who gained 55 yards on 12 carries. Weaver also completed 9-of-20 passes fro 118 yards, while Trevor Spina caught two passes for a game-high 45 yards.

Ripon will bring their 2017 season to a close next weekend when they'll travel to Cornell College. That game will begin Saturday at 1 p.m. in Mount Vernon, Iowa, and can be seen live at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/ripon/.