Ripon, WI – Knox and Ripon are both seeking their first wins of the season when the teams get together for a Midwest Conference game on Saturday at Ingalls Field.
The Prairie Fire (0-4, 0-3 MWC) tries to rebound from a 34-13 MWC loss on September 22 at Lake Forest College after leading 13-7 at halftime. The Foresters (3-1, 3-0 MWC) scored 28 unanswered points in the second half to earn the victory.
The Red Hawks (0-4, 0-3 MWC) are coming off a 46-21 defeat a week ago against preseason Midwest Conference co-favorite Illinois College (4-0, 3-0 MWC) in Jacksonville, Illinois. Prior to the loss at IC, Ripon dropped a pair of close games – by a combined 10 points – at Carroll University (30-24) and at home against St. Norbert College (35-31).
The Prairie Fire also stayed close with St. Norbert College (3-1, 3-0 MWC) in a week two road game. Knox trailed just 17-14 with about 12:00 remaining in the fourth quarter when the defense forced a fumble by the Green Knights. However, the possession came to a halt on an interception and SNC responded with a touchdown to increase its lead to 24-14 with 8:56 to play.
Both teams scored another touchdown in the fourth quarter and St. Norbert came away with a 31-20 win.
Knox lost 48-6 at home in week three to previously unbeaten Carroll University (3-1, 2-1 MWC). The Pioneers showed why they have the top ranked defense in the Midwest Conference by holding the Prairie Fire to 87 passing yards and 219 total yards of offense.
Lake Forest, third in the MWC in both total offense and total defense, won its third straight game with the victory against Knox. The Prairie Fire had 269 total yards of offense, 209 coming via the pass. First-year quarterback Luke Oosterbaan (Palos Heights, IL, Marist)was 18-of-34 passing for 194 yards and two touchdowns with one interception.
Junior wide receiver Dustin Armstrong (Cincinnati, OH, Country Day) continued his solid play for the Prairie Fire with nine catches for 114 yards. He’s sixth in the MWC in receptions per game (5.5) and ninth in receiving yards per game (74).
Junior running back Derek Mortensen (Crystal Lake, IL, Crystal Lake South) had 66 yards on the ground against Lake Forest. He’s second in the conference in total yards rushing (387) and fourth in rushing yards per game (96.8).
The Foresters held the Knox run game in check, surrendering just 60 yards. That was a season-low for the Prairie Fire, which averages 143.5 rushing yards per game. Lake Forest passed for 271 yards and added 246 on the ground.
Senior Mike Schroeder (Glenview, IL, Glenbrook South) set a new school record for career kick return yards against Lake Forest. He had four returns for 124 yards, increasing his career yardage to 1,527 to break the previous Knox football record of 1,526 by Neil Magruder between 2002 and 2005.
Schroeder ranks second in the league in yards per kick return (25.4), just behind the conference leader Whaley of Carroll (25.5). He’s the only player in the conference with a kick return for a touchdown so far this season. Schroeder also ranks fourth in all purpose yards per game (130.8).
The versatile Schroeder also had an interception on defense and made eight tackles against Lake Forest. He’s 19th in the MWC in tackles per game (6.5) and 12th in passes defended per contest (0.75).
Ripon, a prolific running team, leads the MWC in rushing with an average of 275.8 yards per game. The Red Hawks held the Blueboys, who are averaging 50 points per game, to 10 in the first half. IC got rolling in the second half with 36 points – 14 in the third quarter and 22 in the fourth.
Senior All-American linebacker Mike Hendrick (Smithton, IL, Freeburg) had a season-high 16 tackles at Lake Forest. He’s had double-figure tackles in all four games so far this season for a total of 53, including five tackles for a loss. Hendrick also has two sacks, one forced fumble, and one interception. He leads the MWC in total tackles; ranks second in tackles per game (13.2), tackles for a loss and tackles for a loss per game (1.25); and 12th in sacks per game (0.50).
Along with his duties as a linebacker, Hendrick serves as the Prairie Fire’s punter. He’s ranked fifth in the league in average yards per punt (35.8) and has the third-longest punt in the MWC so far this year, a 57-yard boot against Carroll.
The Red Hawks had 27 first downs and rushed for 320 yards on 70 carries, or 4.6 yards per rushing attempt. The Ripon defense allowed Illinois College 24 first downs and 220 yards rushing on 35 attempts (6.3 yards per carry). IC, with 236 passing yards, outgained Ripon in total yards 456 to 418.
RC quarterback Tom Sawyer led the Red Hawks’ ground game with 30 carries for 116 yards and two touchdowns. He also completed 7-of-18 passes for 98 yards and threw one interception, the only turnover in the contest.
Michael Crusan added 73 rushing yards on nine carries (8.1 average yards per rushing attempt) for the Red Hawks. Two other running backs had at least 10 carries for Ripon: Connor Greenwald (12/55 yards) and Max Hermann (10/36 yards/1TD).
Two receivers accounted for all 98 of RC’s reception yards. Tommy Zak caught five passes for 51 yards and Eric Langman had two for 47.
The Prairie Fire lost a close game at Ripon last season, 26-20. Knox is seeking its first win against the Red Hawks since 1987.
Pregame notes of the game against the Red Hawks, courtesy of Ripon College, are available by clicking here (PDF).
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