RIPON, Wis. - Ripon's football team is coming off its best season in three years. The Red Hawks finished 7-3 last season, which included a perfect 6-0 record at home, marking the first time they've gone undefeated at the friendly confines of Ingalls Field in 10 years. This season, Ripon is hoping to take an even bigger leap, as the team was picked to finish second in the Midwest Conference North Division in the MWC Preseason Coaches Poll.

"The biggest thing we want to do is try to put ourselves in position to make plays," Ripon Head Coach Ron Ernst said. "We have to take advantage of our opportunities when they present themselves, and if we do that, we're going to be in pretty good shape."

The Red Hawks scored 399 points last season, which is the second-most in program history. Their 39.9 points per game led the MWC and ranked 22nd among 247 NCAA Division-III teams.

This year's squad returns just three starters on offense and six on the defensive side of the ball, which scored three touchdowns last year to contribute to Ripon's near-record point total.

"We have to get better on both sides of the ball and we must meet the challenge in big games and big moments," Ernst said. "Our defense played very well last year and made big plays when we needed them. We must continue to build on that, with our job being to get off the field as fast as we can and give our offense the ball in the best field position possible."

QUARTERBACK
One player that burst onto the scene last year was Quarterback Cormac Madigan, who was named MWC North Newcomer of the Year and First Team All-Conference after leading the league in rushing with 1,109 yards as a freshman. He also tied for the team lead in rushing touchdowns with 13, while throwing for 318 yards and three more scores. Now entering his sophomore season, the team is excited about Madigan's prospects in his first full year as a starter.

"I want Cormac to continue to progress because he'll have new people around him this season," Ernst said. "He certainly has the toughness and smarts to succeed."

An Academic All-Conference performer, Madigan is the team's only returning quarterback. Freshman Michael Emery received some reps in Spring ball last semester after transferring mid-way through the year, while freshmen Brock Turkington and Benjamin Vogeler are both brand new to the team.

"Like every other position, each player has to be ready to play," Ernst said. "Emery played Spring ball for us, so he has a leg up on the others, but he must continue to improve, while the other freshmen will have a learning curve."

FULLBACK
Ripon finished last season second in the nation in rushing yardage, averaging 319.9 yards per game. They scored four rushing touchdowns per game and averaged 6.1 yards per carry thanks in large part to Madigan and Fullback Tyler VanDeVelde, who is returning for his senior season after receiving his first All-Conference nod last year. VanDeVelde finished second on the team in rushing yards (639), while tying Madigan for the team lead in rushing touchdowns (13). He also caught six passes for 51 yards.

"Tyler is very tough and is a tremendous leader," Ernst said. "He has run this type of offense all through High School, so we will rely heavily on him because of his experience and he continues to get better every year."

Other fullbacks waiting in the wings include sophomores Kevin Thao and Drake Burton, who combined for 29 carries and 158 yards last season.

"Those two showed some good things and will get some opportunities again this year," said Ernst.

RUNNING BACK
The Red Hawks return one of their two starting running backs from a year ago, as Junior Austin Bunders will look to play a prominent role in this offense yet again. After missing all of the 2017 season with a knee injury, Bunders proved that he was all the way back last year, rushing for 604 yards and seven touchdowns, while leading the team with 7.8 yards per carry. The Academic All-Conference performer also led the team in receiving with 11 catches for 215 yards (19.5 avg.) and one touchdown.

"Bunders is one of the fastest players in the Midwest Conference," Ernst said. "He is very tough and is going to get the job done, so we're excited to have him back on the field."

Other players vying for that other running back spot include sophomores Dionisio Herrera and Aaron Landry. Fellow sophomore Walter Bryant could also bolster that position after making the switch from wide receiver.

"We have some talented young players who will have the opportunity to step up and Herrera and Landry are two players that can get the job done," Ernst said. "We're not exceptionally deep, so those guys will get thrown into the fire rather quickly."

WIDE RECEIVER
After graduating both starting receivers from last year, Ripon does not have a wideout on this year's roster who caught a pass last season. Senior Shephard Kuranda, Junior Eric Doll, and Sophomores Braden Folbrecht and Academic All-Conference performer Mike Burke have been in the system for a while now, while Sophomore Desmond Turner is making the switch to receiver from defensive back. The team is also bringing in six freshmen at the position. Kuranda is the only receiver on the roster with a reception in his career, as his only catch went for a 34-yard touchdown two years ago.

"The talent is there, but there's not a whole lot of experience," Ernst said. "This is an opportunity for players that have worked hard in our program to be on the main stage and we're going to see who steps up."

OFFENSIVE LINE
Arguably an even more uncertain position than wide receiver is on the offensive line where the Red Hawks lost all five starters from last season. Junior Tim Ladewig has the most starting experience of the bunch, after filling in last season due to injuries, but fellow juniors Austin Anderson and Nathan Showers, and sophomores Jack Kitterman, Ryan Heistan, Andy Marsden, Garrett Doederlein, Zach Fischer, and Mason Lesley have all been in the system for at least a year and will have an opportunity to show what they can do, along with a slew of freshmen.

"Every position on the offensive line is wide open. The players that are returning have an advantage because they know the terminology," Ernst said. "The talent is there, so the five guys that we put on the field are all going to be pretty good. We're going to challenge them very quickly in our preseason practices."

DEFENSIVE LINE
Every starter on the defensive line will also be different from last season, but several returners have gotten playing time in the past. Senior Ryan Bansemer recorded 11 tackles, including four for a loss, and one sack in a reserve role last season, while Sophomores Zach Gustafson and Quincy DiLoreto recorded 13 and 12 tackles, respectively, with Gustafson also forcing a fumble. Sophomore Trevor Buteyn also saw some playing time, with two of his seven tackles going for a loss.

"I feel pretty good about our talent at Nose Tackle with Bansemer coming back, and several of those guys received live game experience as freshman, which is invaluable," Ernst said. "All of those guys are going to have to step up, and much like the offensive line, this is going to be their opportunity to really show us what they can do."

LINEBACKER
Senior Jon Ryback is Ripon's only returning linebacker, meaning he will be looked at as one of the team's leaders. He is coming off a season that saw him tie for third on the team in tackles with 44, while recording five for a loss, including one sack. Ryback also forced one fumble, while recovering another.

He will be joined by several guys who although they don't have many career starts under their belt, have received plenty of playing time. Sophomores Tyler Bair, Reece Schreckengust, Brad Guell, and Cameron Doerfler will all look to make a name for themselves in an expanded role. Bair recorded 16 tackles last year, including two for a loss and one sack, while also recovering a pair of fumbles. Schreckengust added 14 tackles and one forced fumble, while Guell notched 11 tackles, one sack, and the team's only safety.

That group will be joined by Junior Travis Schleisner and sophomores Hunter Simmers and LJ Ayson, along with a host of freshmen to make up a very deep unit.

"This is the best group of linebackers we've had at Ripon College in a long time, but we have a lot of youth at the position," Ernst said. "Ryback has experience, so we'll lean on him, but we played a lot of guys as freshmen last year and we had another great recruiting class at that position, so I feel pretty good about our talent there."

DEFENSIVE BACKS
As unsettled as some positions are going into the season, the same can't be said about Ripon's defensive backfield where the team returns all five starters in cornerbacks Cameron Gruenwald and Bennett Groves and safeties Lane Barnes, Devin Smith and Armando Mosqueda. Those five players accounted for 19 of the defense's 20 interceptions, while also forcing 10 fumbles, recovering four more, and scoring three touchdowns. That helped Ripon finish sixth in the nation in turnovers forced with 33 on the year.

Gruenwald and Groves, a Senior and Junior, respectively, have started across from each other for the last two years. Groves led the team with five interceptions last season and has seven in his two years with the team. Gruenwald finished last year with four picks, and has recorded nine in his three years as a Red Hawk. The duo also combined for 16 pass breakups, three forced fumbles, and one blocked kick (by Gruenwald) last season.

"We have the best pair of cornerbacks in the conference, with both players being extremely smart and physical," Ernst said. "We're going to rely on both of them very heavily because they are like coaches on the field."

Arguably the best defensive back on the team is Senior Lane Barnes, who earned Third Team All-Region last year, on top of his First Team All-Conference selection, as he led all of Division-III in forced fumbles with seven. He also finished second on the team in tackles with 78 (53 solo), including 12 for a loss, two sacks, three interceptions, five pass breakups, two fumbles recovered, and one blocked kick. Barnes enters his final season with the Red Hawks with eight career interceptions and five defensive touchdowns to his name.

"Barnes is a game-changer who does things a lot of people take for granted," Ernst said. "He does the little things and is such a tough competitor and one of the strongest workers we have in the weight room, while holding other players accountable."

Mosqueda is also entering his senior season. The Academic All-Conference selection finished last season with 33 tackles (28 solo), including 4.5 for a loss, to go along with three interceptions and one fumble recovery, which he returned 75 yards for a touchdown. He has six career interceptions.

"Mosqueda finished last season very strong and I'm excited to see him have an injury-free Senior year," Ernst said. "If he can do that, I think he'll be one of the best Free Safeties in the conference."

The other returner in the secondary is the youngest of the bunch, as Sophomore Devin Smith cracked the starting lineup in his first year with the team, finishing the season with 22 tackles, four interceptions, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovered.

"I'm very excited about Devin," Ernst said. "He's a tremendously hard worker who did some really good things last year and knows our system extremely well. He could turn out to be a very good defensive back for us."

Adding depth at defensive back will be cornerbacks Matt Johnson, Marcus Hartnett, and Academic All-Conference performer Karl Boddy, along with safety Logan Bidlingmaier, among others.

"At the college level where most teams are throwing the ball a lot, it's huge to have all five starters returning in the defensive backfield, but we also have other guys that have been part of the program for a few years and they understand what we're trying to do, so our depth is also very good there."

SPECIAL TEAMS
For the fourth year in a row, Gruenwald will likely serve as the team's punter. He averaged 37.3 yards per punt last season, with 11 of his 34 kicks landing inside the 20-yard-line and five traveling 50 yards or more, including a career-long of 69 yards, which is tied for the school record. Gruenwald's career punting average of 37.0 ranks third in program history.

Junior Kyle Jobke seized placekicking duties last season, making 5-of-9 field goals, including both of his kicks from 40 yards or more, with his career-long of 42 yards coming in Ripon's season finale victory against Knox College. He also converted 48 of his 50 extra point attempts.

"I feel really good about our kicking game," Ernst said. "Gruenwald is an excellent punter and is very consistent and Jobke took the kicking position last year and made it his, so I'm excited to see what he can do this season."

SCHEDULE
Ripon will face arguably the toughest Midwest Conference schedule this season, as they are the only team that is slated to play both the top MWC North and MWC South Division teams from the Preseason Coaches Poll. The Red Hawks also have just four home games, while playing six on the road. Their non-conference opponents are Augsburg University in the season opener at home, and at Finlandia the following week.

"We have a very tough challenge in front of us, with a stretch of games in the middle of the season where we're playing some of the best teams in our conference," Ernst said. "I don't feel there's a team that can't beat us, but I also feel like we can beat every team on our schedule, and one thing I've learned over the years is that we better show up every Saturday ready to play because any team can knock off any other team on any given day."

Ripon's 2019 season opener will be Saturday, September 7 at 1 p.m. against Augsburg at Ingalls Field in Ripon, and can be seen live at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/ripon/.