RIPON, Wis. - Ripon entered Saturday's game against arch-rival Lawrence College having defeated the Vikings seven consecutive years and 11 of the last 12. The Red Hawks made sure to extend that streak to eight consecutive and 12 of 13, as they walked off Ingalls Field with a 53-7 victory in their 2007 season finale.

"I was real proud of our kids. They played hard for 60 minutes, which was our main goal going into the game," head football coach Ron Ernst said. "We had a very good game and I knew that if we played like we were capable of playing, we would be in good shape, which we did."

The Vikings (4-5, 4-5) had the first opportunity to do something with the ball, as they received the opening kickoff, but after six plays and a punt, the Red Hawk offense was in business instead. Ripon (7-3, 7-2) took their first drive of the game 62 yards in eight plays, capped off by a 25 yard touchdown run by Scott Perkins for the first score of the contest. The two teams played evenly for the rest of the first quarter, but Ripon broke the game wide open in the second period, scoring 20 points in the first eight minutes of the quarter.

Andrew Fink put the Red Hawks up 13-0 on a seven-yard touchdown run. After a Lawrence punt, Perkins added his second rushing touchdown, taking it 11 yards to the house. Ripon got the ball back again two plays later, as Joshua Kraemer intercepted a Lawrence pass, giving him five interceptions for the second consecutive season. Kraemer now has 11 picks in his career, moving into ninth place in Ripon history for interceptions in a career.

I'm just glad he's on our side. He's a great kid that works very hard and has a great work ethic," Ernst said. "He's tremendously athletic and he's getting everything he deserves because he's just that type of person."

Kraemer's first of two interceptions on the day helped set up another TD run by Perkins, his third of the game. After the two-point conversion, the Red Hawks took a 27-0, which is where the score stood as the two teams headed to the locker rooms for halftime.

Ripon added to that lead in the second half, as quarterback Matthew Miller punched it in from four yards out. The onslaught continued later in the third quarter when John McGuire got into the action scoring the longest touchdown of the day, a run of 46 yards, making the score 40-0.

Lawrence made things easy on the Red Hawks to begin the final period. As they were about to punt the ball away, the snap sailed over the punter's head, and Lawrence recovered on their own three-yard line for a turnover on downs. One play later, Ripon was in the end zone again, this time on another run by Miller, who replaced Tygh Walters as the signal caller in the first half. Miller would score once more later in the quarter, giving him the hat trick and a 53-0 lead for the Red Hawks. Lawrence added a touchdown late, but it wouldn't matter, as the Red Hawks enter the off season on a very bright note.

"Whenever you have a rivalry game, it's always a special thing and any time you beat one of your biggest rivals, it's that much sweeter," Ernst said. "It means a lot to the players and the alums and the seniors will remember this game for the rest of their lives and that's what's important."

Ripon dominated the game in nearly every statistical category, out gaining the Vikings 534 to 125. The Red Hawks also recorded 28 first downs, while Lawrence managed just six. Ripon's rushing offense was running strong as usual, compiling 401 yards on the ground to only 37 for the Vikings. Ripon was led by Perkins who gained 119 yards on 17 carries, putting him over 1,000 yards rushing for the season, which marks the first 1,000 yard season by a Red Hawk since Luke Hagel in 2002. Miller completed seven of his 11 passes for the Red Hawks for 123 yards in what was his best game as a Red Hawk. Kris Raisleger led the defense with seven tackles, including a sack, giving him 4.5 for the year. With just two players graduating on both sides of the ball, the Red Hawks are very optimistic about what next season will bring.

"We've established ourselves as a pretty good team and we have a lot of players coming back next season, but we have to become more consistent and get stronger in order to take the next step in our hunt for a conference championship," Ernst said.