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GALESBURG, Ill. - Ripon headed into Saturday's game at Knox College leading the all-time series 34-5. For at least part of the opening quarter, Knox looked as if they may win their sixth game in the 40th meeting between the two schools. They took a quick 7-0 lead, but that hope was squashed by the Red Hawks, who scored two touchdowns of their own in the opening quarter, en route to a 27-13 victory.
Knox (1-2, 0-2 MWC) took advantage of an early Ripon mistake to score the first points of the game, as the Prairie Fire scooped up a Red Hawk fumble on their first possession and rumbled 58 yards for the score. Ripon (2-1, 2-0 MWC) had a much better result on their second possession, going 56 yards on eight plays and scoring on a 19-yard Matt Miller run. Miller added a second rushing touchdown later in the first quarter, giving the Red Hawks the lead for good, and the sophomore quarterback was just getting started. Miller crossed the goal line again in the second quarter, scoring from two yards out, for the only points of the second period.
The Red Hawks added to their lead in the third quarter, as Miller scored from 15 yards out, his fourth and final touchdown of the game. That is tied for the second-most touchdowns by one player in a game in Ripon history. He carried the ball 28 times on the day, for 117 yards, while also completing 4-of-11 passes for 63 yards.
Ripon's defense was solid all day long, allowing zero points, until Knox's Mike Kizior found the end zone on a five-yard run with just over seven minutes remaining. The Red Hawks allowed 135 total yards in the game, holding the Midwest Conference's second-leading rushing team to 90 yards on the ground. They also recovered two fumbles and sacked the Knox quarterback four times. Adam Firgens led the way with 13 tackles, including two for a loss, one forced fumble, and one sack. Vince Spratte also got into the action with 12 tackles, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovered.
The Red Hawks will hope to carry this momentum into next week's game, when they'll be back at home against Illinois College for Family Weekend. That game will begin at 1 p.m. at Ingalls Field.
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