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RIPON, Wis. - For the third consecutive season, the Red Hawk football team has won their first three Midwest Conference games of the season. They'll try to make it four straight on Saturday, when they'll travel to Carroll University to face the Pioneers. Carroll will be in a must-win situation, after losing to Monmouth College 41-20 last week, for their first MWC loss of the season. The Red Hawks remain tied atop the conference standings with Monmouth and St. Norbert, while the Pioneers are lurking a game behind, in second place.
Last year, Carroll handed Ripon their first MWC loss of the season, a 28-26 defeat at Ingalls Field during Homecoming. That win gives the Pioneers a 27-26-5 advantage in the all-time series, which has seen the home team win 11 of the last 15 outings, but with the road team winning each of the last two seasons. That bodes well for Ripon, who has won seven of their last eight conference road games.
"Some of the upperclassmen may remember last year's game against Carroll a little bit, but as a team, we're just trying to focus on the present and try to just get better as a football team," head coach Ron Ernst said. "Last year, we did not play well on that given day, but we're improving each week and that's what we'll continue to strive to do."
The good news for the Red Hawks is that a lot of the offensive play makers for last year's Carroll team have since graduated, including Bryce Crocker, who ran for 178 yards on 34 carries in last year's game. The Pioneers return six of their 11 starters on offense from a year ago, while also returning five starters on defense.
"The kids that are replacing last year's starters are all very good players," Ernst said. "Defensively, they return some very good players, who all have great speed. It will be a great match-up with our offense in terms of us trying to run the ball."
Another position that Carroll has had to replace this season is at quarterback, where sophomore Chris Casper has assumed the starting role. Casper has been up-and-down this season, throwing for four touchdowns and five interceptions. He also ranks third in the conference with 817 passing yards.
"We're going to try to mix it up and bring pressure on the quarterback. He's a good player that throws the ball well and has shown some good athleticism," Ernst said. "He's a quarterback that concerns us with his ability to make plays, so we have to make sure that we bring our A-game."
The Red Hawk offense has rushed for at least 150 yards in 12 of their last 13 games, with the only time that they failed to reach that mark coming against Carroll last season. After starting slow this season, the Ripon offense put 45 points on the board in last week's win against Illinois College. That was nearly double their previous-high for points in a game this season.
"Consistency will be a big thing for our team during the remainder of the season," Ernst said. "At times, we've played great, but other times we haven't played up to our ability. I would like to think that we'll become more consistent as the year goes on."
Saturday's game will begin at 1 p.m. in Waukesha, at Carroll's Schneider Stadium. It can be seen via pay-per-view webcast at www.midwestconference.tv.
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