WAUKESHA, Wis. - Fifteen-plus seasons and 150 games and counting. That is how long it took Ripon head coach Ron Ernst to reach the very important milestone of 100 career victories. In his 16th season, Ernst reached the mark with a 21-14 win at Carroll College, giving the Red Hawks a 4-0 start in the Midwest Conference.

The Red Hawks got on the board first, on a 1-yard plunge by quarterback Bob Faulds, which marked the only score in the first quarter. The second quarter featured even more big plays by the Red Hawks. With 9:35 left in the first half, fullback Scott Perkins got his number called and made the most of it, running for a 62 yard touchdown. Four and a half minutes later, Perkins found the endzone once again, on a three yard score, giving Ripon a commanding 21-0 lead. Perkins finished with 185 yards on 21 carries, but the game was far from over.

Carroll finally got on the board with just over one minute to play in the first half, as Dan Clay found Josh Gould for a 14 yard touchdown pass, cutting the Red Hawk's halftime lead to 14 points.

Each team played tough defense for much of the second half, but Carroll broke into the scoring column once again with 9:57 left in the game on a 2 yard run by Bryce Crocker, making this game much closer than people thought it would be. After Carroll couldn't muster anything on their next drive, Ripon got the ball back with 3:30 remaining, and did what they do best, run the football. The Red Hawks were able to get two first downs on that final possession to run out the clock. With the win, Ripon keeps pace with both Monmouth and St. Norbert who are also 4-0 in conference play.

Ripon will try to keep their MWC unbeaten record in tact next weekend, as they'll host Beloit College for the Red Hawk's homecoming game at Ingalls Field. The game can be heard live on WRPN-AM, as well as streamed live on their website, www.wrpnam.com.