Game Leaders
Team Stats
Passing Yards
Rushing Yards
Turnovers
Time of Poss.
CHICAGO, Illinois — The Ripon football program dropped a 21-6 decision at the University of Chicago on a cold, wet and rainy Saturday afternoon at Stagg Field.
For the second consecutive week, points were at a premium as both Ripon (2-4, 2-3 MWC) and Chicago (3-3, 3-2 MWC) used strong defensive outings to limit the opposition.
After a Ripon punt to open the game, Chicago drove 82 yards in just 4 plays, culminating in a 73-yard touchdown pass from Jack Ruff to Aden Nava to put the host Maroons up 7-0.
Ripon would answer soon after, however. After turning Chicago over on downs, the Red Hawks utilized the short field to their advantage as Jack Berens scampered in from 2 yards out to cap off an 8-play, 35-yard drive. Ripon was unable to tie the game as the point-after attempt was missed.
Ripon trailed 7-6 at the break after a sloppy first 30 minutes which included four total punts and four turnovers on down sandwiched around the pair of touchdowns and a missed Ripon 35-yard field goal attempt that was blocked by Chicago.
The Maroons extended their lead to 14-6 on the first drive of the second half, going 67 yards in 12 plays for a 23-yard touchdown pass that chewed up over six minutes of clock.
On the ensuing Ripon possession, Chicago forced a punt. Ripon returned the favor, but Berens lost a fumble on the following drive to set Chicago up with a short field. The Maroons cashed in, scoring their third and final touchdown of the day on a 4-yard touchdown run by Nava with 14:32 remaining in the game.
The Red Hawks' final three possessions of the game ended in a punt and a pair of turnovers on down to seal the Chicago win.
Berens completed 14 of 27 passes for 151 yards. He was also sacked five times. Connor Ramage was the leading rusher for Ripon, accumulating 27 yards on 12 carries. Alex Mosqueda continued to be Berens' go-to target, collecting 6 catches for 98 yards.
Defensively, Clay Ritschard tallied 12 tackles for Ripon's only double-figure tackler of the game.
Jake Davies blocked a Chicago field goal attempt in the fourth quarter for the first blocked kick of his career.
Chicago had 16 first downs to Ripon's 8. The Maroons had a sizeable yardage advantage in the running game, stacking up 162 yards to Ripon's 34. Total offense was 351-185 in favor of the hosts.
Ripon had a significant advantage in penalties, as the Red Hawks had a season-low 1 penalty for 15 yards. Chicago had 11 penalties for 65 yards.
NEXT UP: Ripon returns home to face Lake Forest on Saturday, October 21 at 1 p.m. Saturday's game will serve as the official Grand Opening for Ripon's new Hopp Stadium.
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