GRINNELL, Iowa - The Ripon College defense continued its dominating ways Saturday afternoon in a 53-7 win at Grinnell College. The Red Hawks forced eight turnovers in the game (four interceptions and four fumble recoveries), while holding Grinnell to just 182 yards of total offense, en route to their third consecutive victory. Ripon has outscored their opponents by a combined score of 151-10 during that winning streak.

Ripon's offense also showed what it could do when it's clicking on all cylinders, scoring a touchdown on six of their first nine drives against Grinnell (1-3). The Red Hawks (3-1) finished with 442 yards of total offense, including 343 on the ground for the Midwest Conference's top rushing attack.

Austin Bunders put Ripon on the board just five minutes into the game when he scored from 11 yards on the game's opening possession, capping off a nine-play, 73-yard drive. The Red Hawks defense then forced a punt on Grinnell's first possession, which resulted in a 66-yard return touchdown by Cameron Mignone, which marks Ripon's first punt return for a TD since 2010.

Kyle Jobke added to Ripon's lead mid-way through the second quarter with a 35-yard field goal. Five minutes later, Austin Bunders found paydirt for the second time of the day on a 10-yard run. Ripon extended their lead to 30-0 just before halftime on a 17-yard touchdown pass from Julian Patton to Griffin McNeal.

The Red Hawks continued to pile up the points in the second half, as Tyler VanDeVelde scored on a nine-yard run on Ripon's first possession after halftime. Patton would throw his second TD of the day later in the third quarter, finding Tias Larson on a 64-yard strike. Julian Herrera then added an 11-yard touchdown run to give Ripon a 51-0 lead after three quarters.

Ripon's defense recorded a safety in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter. Grinnell's only points came with just 18 seconds remaining in the game on a one-yard touchdown plunge by Matt Siff, which snapped Ripon's streak of consecutive quarters without allowing a touchdown at 13.

VanDeVelde led all rushers with 106 yards on just 12 carries (8.8 ypc), while Bunders gained 97 yards on 10 carries (9.7 ypc). Patton completed 3-of-6 passes for 92 yards and the two touchdowns, while also gaining 16 yards on the ground.

Ripon's defense was led by Ethan Hoffman's seven tackles and one fumble recovery, while Lane Barnes added six tackles and one forced fumble. Freshman Tyler Bair also made his presence felt with his first career sack and first career fumble recovery, in addition to four tackles (two for a loss). Armando Mosqueda also recorded an interception in his first game back from missing the last two due to injury, while Cameron Gruenwald and freshman Matt Johnson each finished with one interception. Bennett Groves intercepted a pass for the third consecutive game.

Ripon is now averaging 44.8 points per game, while allowing an average of 10.3 points. They will try to keep their momentum going next weekend as they'll open their five-game conference schedule at St. Norbert College. That game is scheduled for 1 p.m. in De Pere, Wis., and can be seen live at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/ripon/.