Game Notes vs. Finlandia

RIPON, Wis. - For the second consecutive week, the Ripon College football team will be playing a team that the program has never played in its 127-year history, as the Red Hawks will host Finlandia University on Saturday in what will be their 2018 home opener.

Both teams are coming off a loss in last week's season opening game. Ripon fell 31-28 at Augsburg on a field goal in the final minutes, while Finlandia was on the losing end of a 31-3 decision against Concordia (Wis.). Despite the loss, Ripon feels good about where they're at as a team. They outgained Augsburg on the ground 293-204 last weekend, marking the 16th consecutive game in which Ripon has rushed for more yards than their opponent.

"I saw a lot of good things, but we also made some mistakes that we'll be able to learn from. Our players walked off the field knowing we could have won that game because we had the opportunities," Ripon Head Coach Ron Ernst said. "We've had a great week of practice the last few days, so I anticipate that we'll play extremely well on Saturday. The players and coaches are all pretty excited about the remainder of the season and the future of our program."

That future will include many of the team's 45 freshmen, which makes up more than half of this year's roster. Those freshmen received their first taste of college football last week, with 23 of them receiving playing time. For many of them, the stage wasn't too big, as six first-year players recorded at least three tackles. That included Defensive Back Devin Smith, who recorded five tackles, while also forcing a fumble at the end of the third quarter, which he also recovered, to keep the Red Hawks in the game.

"Those freshmen have earned playing time, and I saw a lot of good things from them on Saturday," Ernst said. "At one point, we had six freshmen on the field together defensively, and they all played really hard. There were some mistakes made, but they're all correctable, and there's tremendous potential there. They all needed to get their first college game out of the way so they understand just how fast and physical the game can be at this level."

One player that was not on the field last year, but isn't new to the program is Sophomore Running Back Austin Bunders, who played in his first game last weekend since missing all of last season with an injury. On just his second carry of the game, Bunders broke free for a 29-yard touchdown. The Almond, Wis. native, who averaged 12.8 yards per carry as a freshman two years ago, added a 40-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 28. He finished the game with a team-high 103 yards on just nine carries, while also catching two passes for 49 yards.

"It was great to see Austin back on the field performing at a high level once again," Ernst said. "Just as the entire team does, Austin has a tremendous future ahead of him, and we're just excited to see him playing again."

This weekend, Ripon welcomes a Finlandia team that has allowed more than 30 points in three of their last five games, dating back to last season. The Lions went 3-3 last season, and are first-year members of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA).

Despite losing their season opener by a score of 31-3, Finlandia still has its fair share of playmakers, with no one more explosive than freshman defensive back Marvin Anthony, who recorded a game-high 13 tackles, including nine solo. Anthony also intercepted a pass at the end of the first half, returning it 47 yards.

No matter what Finlandia does, Ripon's goal will remain constant - focus on themselves.

"We have a good football team, but we need to clean up our mistakes. All of our players need to do their job, execute, hang onto the football, and do the things they've been taught, while also playing with a tremendous amount of enthusiasm and excitement, which they did last week," Ernst said. "I'm more worried about what we have to do in order to play better. It doesn't matter who we play, I'll always be more worried about the things we can control in order to be successful."

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