Game Notes vs. Lawrence

RIPON, Wis. - Saturday's game is one of the most historic rivalries in all of college football when Ripon and Lawrence take the field for their annual contest, which will be the 118th meeting on the gridiron between the two schools in what is the oldest college football rivalry in the state of Wisconsin. Ripon leads the all-time series 64-46-7, with the first meeting taking place in 1893, which was just the third football season in the history of Ripon College.

"Rivalries like this are great for college football because there's a sense of excitement and energy in the air," Ripon Head Football Coach Ron Ernst said. "Alums and former and current players will tell you that this is a very intense game every year, and we're excited for Saturday afternoon to get here."

Another interesting thing about this rivalry is that the winner takes home the Doehling-Heselton trophy, which has been given to the winner every year since 1988. It is named for former legendary Ripon and Lawrence coaches, Carl Doehling and Bernie Heselton, respectively. That trophy has had a permanent home in Coach Ernst's office for the last 18 years, as Lawrence's last win in the series came in 1999. Ripon has won 21 of the last 22 meetings, while Coach Ernst has won 23 of the 27 games he has coached against Lawrence.

"This is a different team and a different year, so our past meetings don't matter much when we take the field this weekend," Ernst said. "There's a lot at stake for us, in addition to the rivalry. We're playing to finish as high as we can in the Division, this is our Senior Day, and Lawrence wants to get on track and win this game to spoil that. We need to take care of what we do well and play our best game of the season."

Ripon enters Saturday's game with a 5-3 record, and a 2-2 mark in the MWC North. A win could move them as high as a second-place tie in the conference standings. The Red Hawks have won five of their last seven games, but are coming off a 35-6 defeat at the University of Chicago.

Lawrence carries a 2-6 record into this weekend's contest, while holding a 1-3 mark in the MWC, meaning they could finish as high as a tie for third in the MWC North with a win. The Vikings defeated Beloit 32-27 last week, snapping a six-game losing streak in which they allowed at least 35 points in every game.

Despite scoring six points in their game last week, Ripon is still within reach of their single season scoring record. With 309 points on the year, the Red Hawks already rank 10th in school history, and are 96 points shy of breaking the school record of 406 points, which was set in 2010. Ripon's league-leading 318.9 rushing yards per game rank third in Division-III, and would rank fourth in school history for a single season.

"The nice thing about our slot-bone offense is that no one else in our conference runs an option offense like that, so our opponents don't have much time to prepare for it," Ernst said. "Our players do a great job of executing, and we're getting the right players in the right spots to be successful, so we're going to keep doing what we're doing."

One reason for Ripon's offensive success this season has been the play of freshman quarterback Cormac Madigan, who leads the Midwest Conference in rushing with 106.1 yards per game. With 849 rushing yards on the year, he is 151 shy of becoming just the 11th player in program history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season. Madigan has also scored 13 rushing touchdowns, which is already tied for ninth in school history, and is seven shy of breaking the school record of 19, which was set by current Ripon quarterbacks coach Jake Marshall in 2010.

Defensively, Ripon has been just as impressive this season, allowing 19.2 points per game, which ranks fourth in the MWC, while ranking third in rushing defense (114.5 ypg), which would rank ninth in program history. One of the staples of that defense, Linebacker Ethan Hoffman is one of 14 players that will be recognized for Senior Day on Saturday. A three-year starter for the Red Hawks, Hoffman has recorded 211 career tackles, which is just four shy of the 10th-most in program history. He has registered 78 tackles this season, which is 11 shy of the 10th-highest single season total in program history, and is 22 shy of becoming just the sixth player in school history to record 100 in a season.

"Ethan has been such a big part of our defense during the last four years," Ernst said. "He's such a smart player and is a student of the game, which is like having another coach on the field. He's a huge part of our success during the past few years."

Ripon's defense has also been one of the most opportunistic in college football this season. The Red Hawks rank second in Division-III in turnovers forced with 28, which would rank sixth in program history, and is 13 shy of the school record. The Red Hawks also rank fourth in D-III with 16 interceptions, which is four shy of eighth place in school history. Ripon is the only team in the MWC to have more than one player in the top 10 in the league for interceptions, as they have five players ranking in the top seven. Bennett Groves is tied for the conference lead with four INTs, while Lane Barnes, Devin Smith, and Cameron Gruenwald each have three, and Armando Mosqueda ranks seventh with two interceptions this season.

"That's an indication to other teams that if you try to throw the ball against us, you'll run into peril," Ernst said. "We have a really strong secondary, and the players have done a great job, as have our position coaches, including Coach (Jon) Petkoff and Coach (Dan) Lueck."

Saturday's game will begin at 1 p.m. at Ingalls Field in Ripon, and can also be seen live at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/ripon/.