Game Notes at Augsburg

RIPON, Wis. - After a nine and a half month wait, Ripon's 2018 football season has finally arrived. The Red Hawks will kickoff the season on Saturday at Augsburg University in Minneapolis in what will be the first meeting on the gridiron between these two teams.

Ripon finished last season with a 5-5 record, and a 3-2 mark in the Midwest Conference, winning four of their last five games, including their final three contests of the year. Augsburg finished last season on the opposite end of the spectrum, losing five of their last six games to finish with a 4-6 record (2-6 in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference).

"We've been practicing for quite a while now this preseason and our players are tired of beating on each other," Ripon Head Coach Ron Ernst said. "We try to do as much as possible to keep things fresh in practice, but we need to play somebody in an actual game to really see where we're at, and I'm glad the season will get kicked off this weekend."

Despite their 4-6 record last season, Augsburg Head Coach Frank Haege has been able to turn around the program in his 14 years with the Auggies. After recording just one victory in each of his first two seasons, Haege has led the team to a .500 or better record six times in the last 11 years, including four of the last seven. Haege holds a 53-77 record at Augsburg, but is 17-11 in non-conference games.

"Augsburg is a very good football team and they're well coached," Ernst said. "They execute very well and play in one of the top Division-III conferences in the country, so they're going to be a great challenge for us."

One of Augsburg's top returning players is Senior Wide Receiver Nick Heenie, who was one of the MIAC's top playmakers last season. The Senior fom Victoria, Minn. finsihed last year with 62 catches for 983 yards and a team-high 15 touchdowns, while averaging 15.9 yards per reception.

Ripon doesn't lack playmakers either however, as Sophomore Quarterback Julian Patton earned Second Team All-Conference honors in his first year with the team, rushing for team-highs of 846 yards and 13 touchdowns, while also passing for 537 yards and nine scores. Patton rushed for more than 100 yards in three different games, including a 200-yard, three-touchdown effort in a blowout victory at Beloit.

With 81 players currently on Ripon's roster, the Red Hawks have one of their largest squads in nearly a decade. Fourty-six of those 81 players are freshmen, but that doesn't mean the team lacks experience on offense, as they return 10 of 11 starters from a year ago. Defensively, it's a different story, as the team has five returning starters, but just one that is not a defensive back.

"I feel good about where we are as a team," Ernst said. "Because of the experience of our offense, they're way ahead of where they were last year at this point. Defensively, we're probably a little behind because of the number of players that we lost from last season on that side of the ball."

Both teams have lost three of their last four season openers, with each school hoping to reverse that trend this weekend. In order to change that, Ripon will just have to focus on what they are trying to accomplish.

"We have to execute and limit our mistakes, but they're going to be a great challenge for us," Ernst said. "I always want to make our non-conference schedule as challenging as possible, and we love playing schools that are similar both academically and athletically to Ripon.

Saturday's game will begin at 1 p.m. and can be seen live at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/augsburg/, with LiveStats also accessible at that link.

"I like our players' attitude, focus, and attention to detail," Ernst said. "We're in a good place right now as a team, and I'm excited to kick this thing off."