LAKE FOREST, Ill. - Saturday's game came down to the wire, with Lake Forest scoring the winning touchdown with 19 seconds remaining to escape with a 34-27 win against the Red Hawks. Ripon out-gained the Foresters in total offense (358-303), while also out-gaining them in rushing yards (219-95) in a game that featured two ties and three lead changes.

For the fifth time in their six games, Ripon (1-5, 0-2 MWC) scored the first points of the contest, as Tyler VanDeVelde found paydirt from one yard out on the game's opening drive, which spanned 11 plays and 75 yards. Lake Forest (5-1, 2-0 MWC) tied things up later in the quarter on an 11-yard touchdown pass from Bill Degnan to Michael Dean. Two and a half minutes later, the Foresters were in the end zone again on a 63-yard punt return by A.J. Jackson.

LFC added to their lead early in the second quarter on a 28-yard field goal from Michael Bounds, but Ripon answered with a 44-yard TD run by Austin Bunders to cut that lead to three mid-way through the second quarter. Cormac Madigan then gave Ripon the lead with three minutes left in the half on a 41-yard run to give the Red Hawks a 20-17 advantage. That lead would be short-lived, as Jackson's spectacular day continued with an 85-yard touchdown return on the ensuing kickoff.

After neither team scored in the third quarter, Lake Forest stretched their lead to seven points on a 43-yard field goal by Bounds. Ripon would tie the game with a minute and a half remaining, as they went 71 yards in four plays, capped by a two-yard touchdown run by Dionisio Herrera. That set the stage for Jackson to put an exclamation point on his performance, as he caught a 28-yard touchdown pass from Degnan with 19 seconds to play, giving the Foresters the victory.

Bunders finished with 95 yards on 13 carries (7.3 ypc). Madigan added 54 yards on the ground, while also completing 8-of-14 passes for 139 yards, completing at least one pass to seven different players. The Ripon defense was led by Reece Schreckengust's 10 tackles, while Armando Mosqueda added nine tackles and one interception. Audie Ethington and Zach Gustafson each recorded a sack for the Red Hawks.

Lake Forest was led by Jackson's six catches for 118 yards and the game-winning touchdown, in addition to his two return TDs, as he finished with 359 All-Purpose Yards. Degnan completed 12-of-21 passes for 208 yards and two touchdowns. Stone Matthews led the Foresters with 42 rushing yards.

The Red Hawks will try to rebound next weekend when they'll travel to Macalester College. That game will begin at 1 p.m. in St. Paul, Minn., and can be seen live at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/ripon/.