RIPON, Wis. - Ripon's football team opened Midwest Conference play Saturday afternoon with a 24-6 loss to St. Norbert. The game was tightly contested throughout, until two fourth-quarter touchdowns helped the Green Knights pull away. In what was one of the most physical games of the season, St. Norbert out-gained Ripon on the ground by a 274-232 margin.
Ripon (1-4, 0-1 MWC) was the first team on the board, as the capitalized on a short field and
Kyle Jobke kicked a 45-yard field goal mid-way through the opening quarter. That lead lasted until the final minute of the period, when St. Norbert's Nate Ihlenfeldt scored his first of three touchdowns on the day, rumbling 56 yards for the score. The Green Knights (2-2, 1-0 MWC) added a 28-yard field goal at the end of the half to take a 10-3 lead into intermission.
Jobke cut SNC's lead to four mid-way through the third quarter on a 32-yard field goal, sending the teams to the fourth quarter with St. Norbert leading 10-6. Ihlenfeldt then took over with touchdown runs of 19 and 11 yards in the final 13 minutes to put the game away.
The Red Hawks were led by
Cormac Madigan's 145 yards on 26 carries (5.6 ypc), while
Walter Bryant gained 44 yards on five carries (8.8 ypc). Defensively, the Red Hawks were led by
Armando Mosqueda's 10 tackles, all of which were solo.
Quincy DiLoreto added six tackles, with two going for a loss.
Ihlenfeldt finished the game with 241 yards rushing on 29 carries (8.3 ypc), while also recording a game-high three catches for 17 yards. The Midwest Conference's top-ranked passing offense of the Green Knights was held to 116 yards through the air, as they completed 7-of-14 passes. St. Norbert's defense was led by Maccabee Barrett's 13 tackles and one forced fumble. Joe Peterson and Joe Jung each came up with an interception for the Green Knights.
Ripon will be in action again next weekend when they'll travel to Lake Forest College on Saturday. That game will begin at 1 p.m. in Lake Forest, Ill., and can be seen live atÂ
https://portal.stretchinternet.com/ripon/.
Â