Ripon scored early. Ripon scored often.The return of junior TE Chris McGinley, who missed two games with a hamstring injury, was a very thin silver lining to a cloud that bore a striking resemblance to a lopsided 41-6 loss on Nov. 3 against Ripon College.
The 2-6 Vikings scored only once: on a TD pass from sophomore QB R.J. Rosenthal to McGinley at the end of the first half.
Ripon struck first, scoring on a 33 yard field goal on the opening drive. They went on to score 20 unanswered points. Three more TDs in the second half sealed Lawrence’s fate.
Sophomore free safety Jacques Hacquebord was knocked out of the game with a broken collarbone after returning a kick-off for 53 yards. He will miss the remaining two games of the season. Hacquebord entered the Ripon game ranked fifth in the nation in interceptions, and has been an integral part of the Viking’s superb pass defense.
Lawrence’s largest liability has been their rushing defense. The Vikings gained 76 yards on the ground, while giving up 212 yards. Lawrence is ninth in the league in rushing defense, averaging 173.6 yards per game.
Sophomore wide receiver Zack Michael was held to just three catches for 53 yards. Rosenthal’s “go-to” guy is seventh in the nation in receiving yards per game at 120.4, and is on pace to eclipse the school’s single season record for receptions, which currently stands at 67, set by Paul Gebhardt ’78.
Aside from the return of McGinley, other bright spots in the game were freshman defensive back Jason Holinbeck, who had 11 tackles and 2 interceptions on the day. Before leaving the game, Hacquebord had 86 yards in punt and kick off returns and 5 tackles on the defensive end.