Game Leaders
Team Stats
Passing Yards
Rushing Yards
Turnovers
Time of Poss.
DE PERE, Wisconsin — The Ripon football program struck first on Saturday afternoon but was unable to score again as the Red Hawks fell to St. Norbert 23-7 at Schneider Stadium in the season opener for both teams.
After a short punt gave Ripon (0-1) the ball at the SNC (1-0) 29-yard line, the Red Hawks needed just two plays before senior quarterback Jarrett Zibert found freshman DeMarcus Conner for a 24-yard touchdown pass with 6:30 remaining in the first quarter.
Ripon went on a 13-play, 60-yard drive with two minutes remaining in the first half before missing a 35-yard field goal attempt which would have given the Red Hawks the lead. Their first play of the second half was intercepted and Ripon never had a drive of longer than 20 yards the remainder of the game.
The Red Hawks were limited to 207 yards of total offense, with 176 of those yards coming through the air. Zibert went 13-30 for 153 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Conner was the team's leading receiver, hauling in 6 catches for 61 yards and a touchdown. Six different Red Hawks caught a pass.
Connor Ramage led the ground attack with 13 carries for 62 yards.
Clay Ritschard led the defense with 11 tackles. Jake Davies had a pair of tackles for loss while Jaden Shackelford, Gavin Engh and Ryan Barajas each had sacks.
The Green Knights were led by Peyton Lyon who completed 28 of 44 passes for 234 yards. Delton Zuleger had three rushing touchdowns, while Austin Miller chipped in 10 catches for 87 yards.
NEXT UP: Ripon begins Midwest Conference play next Saturday (September 9) as the Red Hawks travel to Grinnell. Kickoff from Rosenbloom Field is scheduled for 1 p.m.
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