|
Red Hawks Hope To Challenge For Conference Crown
One game. That is all that stood in the Ripon College football team's way of their first Midwest Conference Championship since 2001. The Red Hawks finished 2008 with an 8-1 record in the MWC, which was good enough for second place, a spot that they've finished in the conference standings in each of the last three seasons.
"We're knocking on the door, we just have to put ourselves in the position to win a conference championship," head football coach Ron Ernst said. "We have been there towards the end of the season the last three years, but haven't gotten it done. We have to continue to improve every week so that when the game comes that could determine the conference champion late in the year, we'll be in a position to win."
This year, the Red Hawks hope to get over that hump. In order to do so, they'll have to overcome the loss of 12 starters from a year ago, including eight on the offensive side of the ball. That may sound like a lot, until you look at who will be suiting up in the red and white this season.
"One thing a team can't replace is experience, which we lost a lot of, but we feel great about the kids we have coming back. We will be improved at some of our positions because of the players we have returning that will get the chance to become a starter," said Ernst.
Many returning players already have game experience, either as a starter, or a key reserve. Once pre-season practice begins, each player will likely improve even more, as there will be a battle for virtually every position.
"My philosophy has always been to start each season with a clean slate for everybody. We've had players that were starters one year, but didn't start the following year because either we recruited somebody better or somebody within the program outworked and outperformed them," Ernst said. "Right now, there are 22 positions open and we have a lot of talent coming back, so I'm just excited to get started.
QUARTERBACK
Junior Matthew Miller (Chicago, Ill./Guerin Prep) will be one of the leading candidates to be under center when the season begins. He gained invaluable experience last year, starting the final nine games after a season-ending injury to senior starter Tygh Walters. In Walters' absence, Miller finished sixth in the conference in total offense, passing for 933 yards and rushing for 371 more. In addition, Miller threw for seven touchdowns and found the end zone 11 times on the ground, including four times in one game.
"I think Miller's one of the best quarterbacks in the Midwest Conference. He has the most experience at the position and proved himself in some key situations last year," Ernst said. "He does what we ask him to do and he'll only get better."
Backing him up will be sophomores Jake Marshall (Valders, Wis./Valders) and Ben Chester (Green Bay, Wis./Southwest), who bring some depth to the position, despite their lack of game experience.
"I feel very confident about our quarterback situation," Ernst said. "I would feel very good about any of the three in a live game situation."
RUNNING BACK
Once again, Ripon's bread and butter will be in the backfield, where they hope to improve on last season's 2,527 rushing yards, which is third in school history for a single season. Senior Andrew Fink (Juneau, Wis./Hustisford) is the team's top returning rusher, gaining 436 yards last season, while scoring five touchdowns, which also ranked second on the team.
"Fink will certainly be a leader on this year's team. He's not a boisterous young man, but he does a great job of leading by example and he has a great work ethic," said Ernst.
Joining Fink as a slot back will be sophomores Ben Garland (Glen Elyn, Ill./Glenbard West), Josh Pasek (Sleepy Hollow, Ill./Dundee Crown) and Brad Johnson (Bear Creek, Wis./Manawa).
Pasek served as an all-purpose player last season, rushing for 201 yards and four touchdowns, recording team-highs of 12 receptions for 213 yards and two scores, while even throwing for a touchdown. Garland will also try to build on a successful season that saw him rush for 166 yards and three touchdowns, while catching seven balls for 144 yards and one TD.
"In this offense, you need three or four really good slot backs to run the football and I think we have that with this group," Ernst said. "We didn't have any seniors at this position last year, so everyone is coming back with a lot of experience."
FULLBACK
Whomever lines up at fullback in 2009 will have big shoes to fill, as two of Ripon's top three rushers from last season (Scott Perkins and Jon Larsen) were both lost to graduation.
Filling that void will be a quartet of players. Sophomores Dominique Burnett (Chicago, Ill./Curie), T.J. Pierce (Green Bay, Wis./Ashwaubenon) and Matt Schmalzer (Appleton, Wis./Xavier) and senior Tyler Ruppert (Clintonville, Wis./Clintonville) will all battle for playing time at one of the most vital positions in the Red Hawk's slot bone offense.
"Perkins and Larsen were a tremendous 1-2 punch, but I believe the kids that are returning have the ability to be just as good," Ernst said. "They will all challenge for playing time and I don't think we will have much drop off at that position. Each one of them brings a different running style to the field, so I feel pretty good about what we have there."
WIDE RECEIVER
The Red Hawks will also have a pair of new starters at the receiver position, but they're hoping they won't miss a beat as several talented players are primed to step up. Juniors Craig Bednarek (Berlin, Wis./Berlin), David Ross (Muskego, Wis./Muskego) and Nicholas Pesik (Stoughton, Wis./Stoughton) all return, as do sophomores Todd Shifflett (King City, Mo./King City) and Max Gamerdinger (West Allis, Wis./Nathan Hale).
The player with the most experience of that group is Bednarek, who snagged four catches for 115 yards last season. That included a 42-yard touchdown, his only score of the season.
"We lost some good receivers from last year's team, but they were being pushed pretty hard by some of our younger players, who are going to be pretty good," Ernst said. "We have five or six players that can step in and do a great job and they have the potential to be even better than last year's receivers."
OFFENSIVE LINE
Left Tackle Joshua Novak (Denmark, Wis./Denmark) is the only offensive lineman to return for the 2009 season, as the other four were lost to graduation. Novak, who is entering his junior year, was named Second Team All-Conference last year and was a big reason for the 303 points that were put up by the Ripon offense, which ranks eighth for a single season in Ripon history.
"Novak will be the anchor of the offensive line and will be called upon to do a lot of different things. He'll be asked to be the leader of the O-Line and I certainly think he has the ability and temperament to do just that," said Ernst.
The rest of the line is a bit of a question mark, as several players will fight it out for the remaining four spots in what could be one of the most intense position battles in the pre-season.
"This group is very focused and I've never had a group of players work as hard as this particular group has this offseason," Ernst said. "We have a great group of freshmen coming in, along with the returning players who received a lot of playing time last year by rotating in with the seniors."
DEFENSIVE LINE
The Red Hawks return all but one player from the defensive line, with many of the returners already having a couple years of starting experience under their belt. Two of those players will be juniors Kyle Roy (Fredonia, Wis./Random Lake) and Jeff Trinka (Big Bend, Wis./Mukwonago), who combined for 54 tackles, 3.5 sacks, one forced fumble and one fumble recovered last season.
Also bringing experience to the defensive line will be senior Paul Braun (Mayville, Wis./Mayville) and junior Zach Hayes (Carpentersville, Ill./Dundee Crown). That duo combined to record 40 tackles and two sacks in 2008, with Hayes also recording an interception and fumble recovery.
"My expectations of the defense will be much higher this year than last and we will have several players that will step up and contribute," Ernst said. "The defense may have to be better, especially early in the season while the offense gains more experience and becomes more comfortable."
LINEBACKERS
The linebacking position is the only spot on the field where the Red Hawks return every starter. Seniors Ryan Andersen (Racine, Wis./St. Catherine's) and Adam Firgens (Suring, Wis./Suring) will once again join junior Tim Dreger (Verona, Wis./Verona) on a linebacking core that saw them finish first, second and third on the team in tackles.
In addition to Andersen's team-best 90 tackles, he also recorded a sack and intercepted two passes. Firgens was second on the team with 71 tackles, to go along with two sacks, a pair of interceptions and a forced fumble. Dreger, who's 59 tackles ranked third, also recorded two sacks.
"The thing I enjoy about our linebackers is that they're all smart, fast and extremely coachable. They all did a great job last year and we've also added some very good linebackers who will be freshmen," Ernst said. "With so many good players at the position, I could potentially see us moving a linebacker to the defensive line to help our depth there, which is a good problem to have."
In addition to the "big three", Ripon also returns some younger players that got their feet wet last season as freshmen. Chase Drath (Greenville, Wis./Hortonville), Cory Watzig (Kewaskum, Wis./Kewaskum) and Jared Anderson (Denmark, Wis./Denmark) will try to use that year of experience to get more playing time and contribute even more as sophomores.
"The linebackers really gelled as a group last year and did an outstanding job. We changed some things schematically that helped them be in a better position to make plays and they're all a year older and a year better, so we're going to be pretty solid there," said Ernst.
DEFENSIVE BACKS
One of the biggest stories as the Red Hawks enter pre-season practices is the return of Mike Krause (Spencer, Wis./Spencer), who sat out last season with an injury. Krause, who was named to the All-Conference team as a linebacker in his first two seasons, will have to make the adjustment to a new position, as he will be moved to the defensive backfield where Ripon hopes to exploit his play-making ability.
"Krause is excited about the change and he's really pumped and ready to go. I think he'll cause some real problems for opposing offenses and it will be a lot of fun to see what he can do at that position," said Ernst.
The defensive backfield as a whole, essentially returns just two of their five starters. Junior Kurt Roeder (Beaver Dam, Wis./Beaver Dam) will be one of those returners, as he is likely start at cornerback for the third consecutive year. The other returner will be senior Joe Faulds (DePere, Wis./DePere), who broke into the starting lineup midway through last season. Roeder ended last year with 39 tackles, one interception and a fumble recovery, while Faulds recorded 26 tackles, an interception, a forced fumble and two fumble recoveries.
"Roeder brings the most experience of any player in our secondary and we're excited to see what he can continue to do," Ernst said. "Faulds also did an outstanding job when given the chance at free safety."
The other two spots in the defensive backfield will be up for grabs and could be decided between the likes of senior Peter Hollmaier (Oshkosh, Wis./Lourdes), junior Ben Werner (West Bend, Wis./West Bend West), sophomores Mujahid Thompson (Brooklyn, N.Y./New Utrecht) and Konrad Korth (Shiocton, Wis./Shiocton), among others, as well as a couple talented freshmen.
SPECIAL TEAMS
With the graduation of Joshua Kraemer, the Red Hawks will now have to do a team-wide search to find someone to replace the All-American, who was the primary kick returner for the past three years. That will be sorted out beginning in pre-season practice, when the coaches will begin evaluating who can be a difference maker with the ball in their hands.
"Beginning on the first day of practice, we're going to start to get a feel for who will do a solid job returning kicks," Ernst said. "Replacing Kraemer will be a very difficult task, but I believe that we have players in the program that are going to get the job done. They're going to have to grow into that position, much like he grew into that position when he was younger."
The team will also spend some time in the pre-season in search of a kicker, as Bob Wood was also lost to graduation. Adam Orth (Oconto, Wis./Oconto), Jacob Gahart (Elkhorn, Wis./Elkhorn) and Doug Schlies (Wausaukee, Wis./Wausaukee) are each in their first year of collegiate football and will compete for kickoff and placekicking duties.
"We really set the kicking position as a high priority in recruiting during the offseason and we have three very good kickers coming in. Whoever earns that position will do a very good job for us," said Ernst.
At punter, Roeder will handle the duties for a third consecutive season. Last year, he recorded an average of 35.3 yards per punt, including five punts over 50 yards. The junior currently ranks second on Ripon's career punting list with a 36.0 average.
"Roeder has been the most consistent punter we've had the past couple years and has done a great job for us and hopefully he'll continue that this season," said Ernst.
SCHEDULE
Ripon's 2009 schedule will again consist of the nine other conference schools and a non-conference match-up against UW-Oshkosh at Ingalls Field to kick off the season. They will also have home games against two of the other top three teams in the Midwest Conference standings from a year ago (Monmouth and Carroll), while having to go on the road for an always tough test against St. Norbert. The conference is once again shaping up to be a battle that may not be decided until the final week of the season.
"Monmouth is the defending champion, so they'll obviously be a team to beat, as will St. Norbert, who is always towards the top of the conference. Carroll and Beloit were both much improved and really had a good season and Illinois College and Lake Forest will also be teams to watch out for," Ernst said. "In our league, we have to come ready to play on any given Saturday in order to win."
|
