Lawrence and Ripon continued the oldest football rivalry in the state when they met at Ripon’s Ingalls Field the Saturday before last. Ripon took the early lead with a 6-yard touchdown run at the end of their first drive. Sophomore Andrew Schneider recovered a fumble close to the end of the first quarter allowing the Vikings to pull back with a 28-yard field goal by kicker Bryan Althouse. But Ripon extended their lead in the second quarter with another successful drive into the LU end zone.
Halfway into the third quarter, freshman Derek Micke took the Vikings deep into Ripon territory with a 51-yard punt return. Quarterback Eric Aspenson connected with Dominique Lark to take the game into the fourth quarter with LU trailing by just 4. Lark would go on to break his leg later in the game. It is likely that he will be out for the season.
The comeback was short-lived as Ripon’s Bob Faulds ran in a 22-yard touchdown on the Red Hawks’ first drive in the closing quarter. Lawrence’s offense was unable to permeate the Ripon defense as Ripon held on to extend their recent winning streak in the rivalry. The Vikings will look to bounce back from the defeat when they face Carroll College this Saturday at the Banta Bowl.
Football comes up short against Ripon
