Box Score RIPON, Wis. - The Ripon College football team nearly erased a 22-point second half deficit against Concordia-Chicago Saturday afternoon, but ran out of time, falling to the Cougars 28-20 in what was the season-opener for both teams.

Trailing 28-6 mid-way through the third quarter, the Red Hawks were able to regroup thanks to Mother Nature, as a lightning storm forced both teams to the locker room for the next hour and 15 minutes. When the Red Hawks came back onto the field, they were a more focused unit, scoring a touchdown a minute and a half after the delay on a 19-yard touchdown pass from freshman Julian Patton to Cameron Mignone to cut the lead to 28-13.

Ripon's defense then held Concordia to a three-and-out on the ensuing possession and received a good bounce on the punt, which netted just 11 yards to set the Red Hawks up in great field position. Eleven plays and 30 yards later, the Red Hawks were in the end zone again, scoring on a one-yard plunge by Tyler VanDeVelde, which cut the lead to eight with 13 minutes remaining.

The Red Hawks defense would make three more defensive stands in the game, getting the ball back for its offense each time, but a pair of late interceptions thwarted any comeback visions they may have had.

"I was very proud of the way our players battled and never gave up, which shows the character of our players," Ripon Head Coach Ron Ernst said. "We made some adjustments during the game and played better in the second half, so we just have to build on that and be more consistent in the future.

Ripon out-gained Concordia in total offense, 396-311, including 340-102 on the ground, but the four Red Hawks' turnovers were just too much to overcome. Patton led Ripon with 107 yards on 16 carries (6.7 ypc), which included a 24-yard touchdown run. Entering the game due to an injury to Ripon's starting quarterback Sam Shroyer, Patton also completed four passes for 39 yards and the touchdown to Mignone. VanDeVelde added 90 yards on 14 carries (6.4 ypc), while Cody Chase carried the ball eight times for 74 yards (9.2 ypc).

Defensively, Ripon was led by Lane Barnes' 13 tackles. Hunter Gruenwald added 11 tackles, while senior Brandon Bartel recorded seven tackles, including one sack to give him 14.5 in his career, which ranks third in school history, just 2.5 shy of the school record.

Concordia-Chicago's quarterback Shane Virnala completed 20-of-30 passes for 209 yards and four touchdown, three of which went to Leroy Bridges, with the other caught by Ryan Allison. Lance Moise gained 83 yards on 25 carries to lead the Cougars.

Ripon will try to get into the win column next weekend when they'll host UW-LaCrosse on Saturday at 1 p.m. That game will be played at Ingalls Field in Ripon and can be seen live at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/ripon/.