BELOIT, Wisconsin — The Ripon football program scored a touchdown on its first five drives on Saturday and never looked back en route to a 52-17 victory at Beloit College inside Strong Stadium.
Ripon (4-5, 4-4 MWC) wasted no time putting points on the board and sending a statement from the opening kick. After receiving the opening kickoff, the Red Hawks drove 69 yards in 9 plays, capping off the drive with an 8-yard touchdown pass from Jack Berens to Bryce Braunel for the sophomore's first career receiving touchdown. Erik Flores converted the PAT and Ripon led 7-0.
After turning Beloit (2-7, 1-7 MWC) on downs at midfield, Berens once again led the offense on a scoring drive, needing just 7 plays to go half the field. He found his favorite target, Alex Mosqueda, for a 26-yard touchdown pass, doubling Ripon's lead after another Flores extra point.
On the ensuing drive, Ripon got the ball back in one play. Deven Soerens picked off Beloit QB Jacob Shafer for the freshman's first career interception, giving Ripon the ball at the Bucs' 37-yard line. For the third consecutive drive, Ripon turned possession into points as Connor Ramage plunged in from one yard out to extend the Red Hawks' advantage to 21-0 with 3:46 remaining in the first quarter.
Beloit would not lie down, however, responding with a scoring drive of its own on the following possession. While the Bucs had the ball inside the Ripon five-yard line, the defense stood tall and held Beloit to a 25-yard field goal with 13:09 remaining in the first half.
Ripon continued its string of big plays, needing just three plays to score its fourth TD of the afternoon. Berens once again found Mosqueda, this time for a 50-yard strike, as the Ripon offense added to its lead once again to make it 28-3.
After another Beloit turnover on downs in Ripon territory, the Red Hawks went 9 plays in 65 yards for another score, this time as Berens found Jarrett Zibert for an 11-yard TD pass.
Ripon led 35-3 at the half, eclipsing its season-high in points in just 30 minutes of football. The Buccaneers had -2 rushing yards in the first half and only 166 total yards compared to Ripon's 297.
The onslaught continued in the second half. After forcing a punt from Beloit to open the third quarter, Ramage converted a fourth down near midfield and Berens found DeMarcus Conner the very next play for a 43-yard touchdown reception to cap off a 5-play, 55-yard drive. Flores' sixth successful PAT of the day enhanced Ripon's lead to 42-3.
Following the third Beloit punt of the afternoon, Ripon methodically drove down the field and found paydirt again. Ramage scored his second of the day, doing so from 7 yards out to finish off a lengthy 16-play, 79-yard drive that chewed up nearly 9 minutes of clock. As such, Ripon led 49-3 with 2:45 remaining in the third quarter.
With a host of backups and underclassmen on the field for Ripon in the fourth quarter, the Red Hawks continued to put points up. Aidan Keyes, taking snaps for the first time as a collegiate quarterback, led the Red Hawks down the field in a drive that ended with a successful 27-yard field goal try by Flores – his 10th point of the afternoon.
On the ensuing possession, Beloit found the end zone for the first time. After Donovan Richardson rushed 45 yards down to the Ripon 10, Drake Marquez punched it in from 3 yards out with 8:50 remaining in the game.
Beloit tacked on one more touchdown in the late stages of the fourth, going 65 yards in 7 plays for a 6-yard touchdown strike from Shafer to Jose Guillen with 3:34 remaining in the game.
Berens, in just three quarters of work, completed 15 of 21 passes for 220 yards and a career-high 5 touchdowns. Mosqueds hauled in 100+ receiving yards for the fourth time this season, catching 5 balls for 106 yards and a pair of scores.
In the ground game, Ramage had his best performance of the season, racking up 161 yards and a pair of scores on 30 attempts.
Defensively, it was a balanced effort for Ripon. Clay Ritschard had a team-high 9 tackles, while Desean Smith tallied 5 tackles, 2.5 tackles-for-loss, 1 forced fumble and 1 sack. In addition to Smith, Gavin Engh and Braedy Picard each added a sack as well.
Ripon had a healthy 30-19 advantage in first downs and earned a significant advantage in rushing yards (234-110). Through the air, the Red Hawks had 244 passing yards to the Bucs' 213.
Total offense was well in Ripon's favor as the Red Hawks had a season-high 478 yards of offense, limiting Beloit to 323.
Ripon was excellent in converting on third and fourth downs, going a combined 10-16 on third and fourth downs while holding Beloit to just 4-17 in the same situations.
NEXT UP: Ripon closes its season next Saturday (November 11) with a road contest at Lawrence. Kickoff from the Banta Bowl is slated for 12 p.m.
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