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RIPON, Wis. - Ripon entered Saturday's game against Monmouth with a lot riding on the outcome of the game. The two teams entered the game in a three-way tie for second place with Carroll College, but when the dust settled at Ingalls Field, Ripon was in sole possession of second, thanks to a 27-20 win against the Fighting Scots.
"Our kids played hard for a full 60 minutes, which was a key to the victory," head football coach Ron Ernst said. "It's a huge win for our program because we've been in a lot of close games and coming out on top like this in front of a good crowd on Fall Break weekend was really a lot of fun."
That fun didn't exist in the opening quarter, as Monmouth (4-3, 4-2) got out to a 7-0 lead halfway through the first period. Alex Tanney found Matt Shepherd for a a 24 yard pass-and-catch, three plays after Monmouth's Marc Artozqui intercepted a Red Hawk pass in Ripon territory. The Red Hawks (5-2, 5-1) had an answer for that score, as they would all day, tying the game on a seven yard run by Andrew Fink. The game continued to go back-and-forth, as Monmouth took the lead again on another TD pass from Tanney, this time a 12-yard toss to Kramer Matzen. Tygh Walters then gave Ripon a 14-13 lead on their next possession, punching it in from one yard out, while capping the scoring in the first half.
Neither team would score in the third quarter, but Ripon was able to build on their lead in the fourth, as Walters scored again, this time from seven yards out. The extra point was mishandled, giving Ripon a 20-13 lead with 14 minutes to play. Monmouth answered right back on their next possession, on a third touchdown pass from Tanney, this time hooking up with Bobby Gibbs for a five-yard score to even the score at 20. Although Ripon didn't stop Tanney, they contained him, holding him to 199 yards passing, which is 68 yards below his season average.
"I think we tried to contain him as best we could. We gave him a lot of different looks and brought different things at him," Ernst said. "He made some plays, but our kids fought hard today and got the job done in the end."
And wait for the very end they did. The game remained tied until the final minute, when Tygh Walters found the end zone for a third time. Walters, who was knocked out of the game for a series earlier in the game, recorded the go-ahead score on another one yard plunge, with 25 seconds remaining, giving the Red Hawks the victory.
"Pound for pound, Tygh's one of the toughest kids we have on our team," Ernst said. "I'm very proud of him today. He makes great decisions most of the time, and that's what he's capable of when he does."
The final statistics were just as even as the game itself. Ripon out gained Monmouth in total yardage 301 to 288, while also achieving two more first downs, with 19. Ripon ran the ball 64 times for 258 yards, while Monmouth chose to go the passing route, throwing for 184 yards. Scott Perkins led the Red Hawk attack with 101 yards on the ground. John McGuire also had a nice day, gaining 63 yards on just nine carries.
"It was a good day for us and this is what our team is capable of. Our kids played their hearts out and gave us everything they had," Ernst said. "Monmouth's a very good football team, as are we, but it just came down to who was going to make plays at the end, and we did that."
The win now sets up a colossal showdown next weekend between the Red Hawks and St. Norbert College, who defeated Carroll 26-24 on Saturday to remain undefeated in the Midwest Conference. Ripon remains one game behind the Green Knights, but with a win next Saturday, Ripon would own the tiebreaker against St. Norbert, which could be huge in determining the conference champion.
"Now we are in a position where we have a shot at the conference title and we'll just try to focus on the things that are in our control next weekend and hopefully it will work out in our favor," said Ernst.
Next Saturday's game will begin at 1:30 p.m. in De Pere, Wis. and can be seen live via webcast at www.midwestconference.tv.
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