GALESBURG, Ill. - Ripon's football team got out to a 20-0 lead in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter Saturday afternoon, before coasting to a 20-14 victory at Knox College in what was the conference-opening game for both teams. The Red Hawks gained 275 yards of total offense, which was split nearly right down the middle with 140 on the ground and 135 through the air. They also held Knox to 206 yards of total offense, including just 86 passing yards.

Ripon took advantage of a Knox missed field goal in the opening quarter, taking the ball 79 yards in nine plays on the ensuing possession, which ended with a two-yard touchdown plunge by Mason Verley to break a scoreless tie. Last week's star Connor Ramage added to that lead mid-way through the second quarter when he found the end zone from seven yards out.

The Red Hawks continued to add to that lead in the third quarter on an Erik Flores field goal from 30 yards away. Flores would add a 29-yard field goal in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter to put Ripon up by 20 with 13 minutes remaining. Knox made things interesting with a pair of touchdown runs in the final nine minutes, but time would run out on the Prairie Fire.

Ramage led Ripon with 88 yards on 13 carries (6.8 ypc), while Jaylend Brown and Verley rushed for 32 and 21 yards, respectively. Making his first career start, Jarrett Zibert completed 13-of-20 passes for 135 yards. His top receiver was Tiegan Bothun, who made a team-high four receptions for 51 yards. Defensively, Ripon was led by Zach Bunders' seven tackles, including 1.5 for a loss. Quincy DiLoreto recorded the Red Hawks' only sack.

Knox was led by quarterback Kaile Williams' 107 yards on 14 carries, which included a 79-yard touchdown run for the Prairie Fire's first TD. Williams also completed 8-of-18 passes for 101 yards. Knox recorded four sacks on the day, including two from William Gutknecht.

Ripon will try to remain undefeated next weekend when they'll play their first conference home game of the season against Cornell (Iowa) College. That game will begin at 1 p.m. at Ingalls Field in Ripon, and can be seen live at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/ripon/.