GALESBURG, Ill. - Ripon and Knox combined for just 23 first downs and 499 yards of total offense Saturday afternoon, as the two teams were locked in a defensive battle for most of the day. In the end though, Knox walked away with the win, getting out to a 13-0 halftime lead, before holding on for a 13-6 victory.

Thirty-one percent of Knox's 241 yards from scrimmage came on the second play of the game, as Matt McCaffrey found Malik Hamilton for a 74-yard touchdown pass less than one minute into the contest. Knox (3-0) added to their lead in the second quarter when McCaffrey found Hamilton again for a 21-yard touchdown pass. Those two plays marked Hamilton's only two catches in the game.

After trailing 13-0 at halftime, Ripon's defense continued to buckle down and give the Red Hawks a chance. With six minutes left in the third quarter, Ripon's offense seized that opportunity, scoring from 11 yards out on a TD pass from Sam Shroyer to Cameron Mignone.

Ripon (0-3) had a couple more chances to make something happen in the final quarter, driving the ball inside Knox's 30-yard line on two separate occasions, but both drives would ultimately stall.

Julian Patton led Ripon with 65 yards on eight carries (8.1 ypc), while Tyler VanDeVelde added 35 yards on six carries (5.8 ypc). Shroyer completed 5-of-9 passes for 46 yards and his touchdown to Mignone, who led the Red Hawks with three grabs for 66 yards.

Defensively, Ripon was led by Hunter Gruenwald's seven tackles and one forced fumble, which was recovered by Bennett Groves. Senior Vince Stensrud recorded the team's only sack, giving him 11 for his career, which is tied for ninth in program history.

McCaffrey led Knox with 41 yards on 11 carries, while also completing 14-of-21 passes for 176 yards and the two scores to Hamilton.

The loss snaps an 18-game winning streak against Knox, which dated back to 1987, which was four years before current Ripon Head Coach Ron Ernst took over the program. Ripon still leads the all-time series 41-6.

Ripon will try to break into the win column next weekend when they'll host Grinnell College. That game will begin Saturday at 1 p.m. at Ingalls Field in Ripon and can be seen live at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/ripon/.