The Ripon football program has been competing for over a century, but Saturday was a day like no other.
For the first time in program history, Ripon played a football game at its on-campus stadium, though Cornell College spoiled the party and left Hopp Stadium with a 36-33 victory over the Red Hawks.
The day started out strong for Ripon (1-3, 1-2 MWC), who came out of the gates and recovered an onside kick on the opening kickoff. Quarterback Jack Berens marched the team down the field in six plays, capping off the drive with a 16-yard touchdown run by Connor Ramage to lead 7-0.
Cornell (2-2, 2-1 MWC) would have its first answer of many on the afternoon as their first drive of the game took 7 minutes off the clock. The 13-play, 79-yard drive ended with quarterback John Smith running it in for a 1-yard touchdown run on fourth and goal.
The scoring in the first quarter wasn't quite finished, however. After a Rams' punt near the end of the quarter, Ripon needed only three plays before Seth Bruzon hauled in a 30-yard touchdown pass to retake the lead for the Red Hawks.
In the second quarter, Ripon once again took advantage of a Cornell punt. To cap off an 8-play, 90-yard drive, Alex Mosqueda corralled one of his two touchdown receptions on the day, catching a 29-yard strike from Berens to give Ripon a 20-7 lead after the extra point was blocked.
Cornell couldn't have answered any sooner, as Smith found wide receiver Trey Birdsong for a 69-yard touchdown pass on the very first play of Cornell's drive, trimming the lead to 20-14.
After stopping Ripon on a fourth-and-short inside Cornell territory, the Rams took advantage and had one more score before half. With 17 seconds remaining before intermission, Smith found Cole Reed for a 6-yard touchdown pass, sending the Rams into the locker room with a 21-20 lead.
Ripon got the ball back after half and made the most of it. A four-minute drive ended in Berens finding Mosqueda once again, this time from 8 yards out. For the second time, the extra point was blocked and Ripon held a 26-21 lead with 10:50 remaining in the third.
Cornell turned Ripon over on downs near the end of the third quarter and promptly retook the lead at the beginning of the fourth with a 7-play drive that spanned 48 yards, as Logan Godfrey hauled in a 14-yard touchdown toss from Smith.
Ripon would not lay down as the Red Hawks reclaimed the lead for the final time of the afternoon on the following drive. They marched down the field in just six plays as Ramage plunged in from 13 yards out to give the Red Hawks a 33-29 lead with 10:19 remaining.
Next, Cornell went on an epic 12-play, 88-yard drive that chewed up over six minutes. Mixing in run and pass, Smith found Birdsong for the second time with a 47-yard touchdown pass. This gave Cornell a 36-33 lead and ended up being the game-winner.
On Ripon's next and final possession, Berens threw an interception deep into Rams territory and Cornell was able to salt away the remaining 2 minutes and 26 seconds for the win.
Berens completed 17 of 23 passes for 240 yards, throwing three touchdowns and one interception.
Ramage was efficient in leading the Red Hawks' ground game, accumulating 139 yards on 26 touches.
Mosqueda had his second 100-yard receiving game of the season, hauling in 8 passes for 106 yards. This was the third consecutive game that he found the end zone twice through the air.
Defensively, Clay Ritschard had a game-high 12 tackles while racking up 2 tackles-for-loss and one sack.
Smith led Cornell offensively, going 16-25 with 255 yards and 4 touchdowns. Birdsong was the top receiver, hauling in 4 catches for 150 yards and a pair of scores.
On the ground, Tony Gomez carried the ball 26 times for 116 yards.
NEXT UP: Ripon is on the road for the next two weeks, starting with a contest at Knox College on Saturday, October 7 at 1 p.m.
FOLLOW: Follow Ripon College Red Hawks Athletics on Facebook and @RiponRedHawks on Twitter for immediate updates, results and more. Go to riponredhawks.com for all information, releases and schedules.
Football Defeated in Inaugural Game at Hopp Stadium
/seasons/2023/boxscores/20230930_e47z.xml
2023
Cornell
36
Ripon
33
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cornell (2-2) | 7 | 14 | 0 | 15 | 36 |
| Ripon (1-3) | 14 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 33 |
Sep 30, 2023