RIPON, Wis. - Ripon's football team scored a touchdown on the opening drive of the game Saturday afternoon and never looked back, defeating Beloit College 49-7 in their most lopsided victory of the season. The Red Hawks finished the game with more than twice as many yards of total offense as the Buccaneers, out-gaining them 451-219.

"I felt good about our team in all three phases of the game today, and it was a solid win across the board for us," Ripon Head Coach Ron Ernst said. "Our offense really stepped up and moved the ball extremely well and our defense held Beloit scoreless until the final minutes."

Ripon's first drive went 65 yards on nine plays, culminating in a one-yard touchdown plunge by Austin Bunders five minutes into the game. The Red Hawks doubled their lead late in the opening quarter when Tyler VanDeVelde found paydirt from nine yards out. Bunders would add a second touchdown run of 11 yards mid-way through the second quarter to give Ripon a 21-0 halftime lead.

The second half was more of the same, as Bunders scored his third rushing touchdown of the game mid-way through the third quarter on a 24-yard run. He would add to his stellar day just minutes later catching a pass down the sideline from Cormac Madigan and spinning out of trouble to find the end zone on a 69-yard touchdown reception. Madigan chipped in with an eight-yard touchdown run to start the fourth quarter. Bennett Groves would also get into the scoring action a minute and a half later, recovering a Beloit fumble and returning it 41 yards for the score, and a 49-0 Ripon lead. Beloit's only points came on a one-yard run by Ethan Hansen with just over four minutes remaining in the game.

Bunders finished the day with 143 yards on 13 carries (11.0 ypc), while Madigan gained 77 yards on 10 carries (7.7 ypc). VanDeVelde and Tyler McCoy also chipped in with 46 and 37 rushing yards, respectively, as Ripon finished the game with 346 yards on the ground. Madigan also completed 3-of-6 passes for 100 yards, including his long touchdown to Bunders.

"Our seniors had a very good day, which was really exciting to see," Ernst said. "We just have to build on this performance and finish the season strong."

Ripon's defense was led by Tyler Vandehei's 11 tackles and one forced fumble. Zach Gustafson added seven tackles, while Lane Barnes had five, to go along with one fumble recovery and one interception.

Beloit was led by Ethan Hansen's 76 yards on 29 carries (2.6 ypc), while Nano Reyes carried the ball 13 times for 44 yards (3.3 ypc). As a team, Beloit averaged 2.8 yards on their 45 carries. Jeff Vazquez and Trey Bishop led the Buccaneers defense with seven tackles apiece.

Ripon will try for their third win in a row next weekend when they'll travel to Lawrence University in what is the oldest college football rivalry in the state of Wisconsin. That game will begin at 1 p.m. in Appleton, Wis., with the winner taking home the Doehling-Heselton trophy, which has resided in Ripon for the last 19 years. It can also be seen live at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/ripon/.