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RIPON, Wis. - Ripon and Knox enter Saturday's contest headed in opposite directions. The Red Hawks have won three consecutive Midwest Conference games, dating back to last season, while the Prairie Fire have lost seven consecutive league games and 11 of their last 12. All of this means nothing however when the two teams take the field to face each other between the lines.
"Whenever a team starts taking their opponent for granted, they're going to jump up and bite you. They've always played us very hard and their players always give their very best against us," head football coach Ron Ernst said. "We've had some close games with them in the past, so this isn't a team to fool around with. We've just got to play up to our level. If we do that, we'll be fine."
The Red Hawks may think they're looking in a mirror when they face Knox. The Prairie Fire run the exact same style of offense as the Red Hawks, so there won't be too many surprises for either team on Saturday. That gives both teams an advantage of having faced that style of offense day in and day out.
"I believe that we have one of the best offensive systems around and to practice against that every day gives us a little bit of an advantage," Ernst said. "We've got a pretty good handle on what type of scheme they're trying to run and when you practice against that type of stuff every day, it's just going to make you better. They run the option very well and have some weapons that we need to be concerned with, so we've got to come ready to play."
The quarterbacks won't have to ice their arms much after the game. Ripon currently ranks first in the Midwest Conference in rushing yards, averaging 182 yards per game on the ground. Knox isn't far behind, ranking second in the league with an average of 164.5 rushing yards per game. This doesn't mean, however, that these teams won't air it out occasionally, as they will pick their spots for the big play.
"We want to establish the run and get people committed to stopping it and that's when we take advantage of the passing game. We've thrown the ball a little bit more this year, partly because we have the weapons to do so," Ernst said. "We have a very smart quarterback and receivers who can go up and get the ball. If we can run the ball and throw the ball, defenses are going to be forced to stop one or the other and it's going to be real tough to do that."
The Prairie Fire have a young team that is learning on the field each week. One player that has learned a lot in his time at Knox is senior running back Aaron Willits, who leads the team with 140 rushing yards. Willits also has two catches on the season, both going for touchdowns. Defensively, Knox is led by junior defensive end Tighe Burke, who has eleven tackles on the season, five of which have been for a loss, to go along with two sacks.
"Knox has worked very hard on their recruiting from year to year and they've got some good athletes on their team. They're still young in some spots, but they're also a well coached team, which should help them," said Ernst.
At this point in the season, both teams still have a shot at the conference championship, making Saturday's game that much more important. A goal for every team is to win the conference crown and to do so, the Red Hawks must play at the level that they're capable of playing.
"In this league, there hasn't been a conference champion with two losses. You pretty much have to run the table, so it's important to win these games, especially at home. It's also important for us to continue to improve as a football team and correct any mistakes that we're making," said Ernst.
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