RIPON, Wisconsin - In the last game of the season for the Prairie Fire football team, they fell to Ripon 38-19.
The Redhawks won the opening toss and opted to receive the ball. On the first possession, the Prairie Fire defense forced a punt on a seven-play drive. On the ensuing drive, the Knox offense had a great opening drive. Sophomore Ty Straw ran the ball on three straight plays to give Knox a first down. After an incomplete pass, Ty Straw was given the ball again and it resulted in a touchdown to put Knox up 6-0. On Ripon's second possession, the Prairie Fire defense forced another punt with a pair of stops from Hunter Baquet and Garrett Rau. Ripon's third possession of the first quarter resulted in a TD that made the score 7-6.
At the start of the second quarter, the Prairie Fire had a strong 10-play drive that ultimately did not result in any points. Hunter Lee did reel in a nice 20-yard pass from Jacob Amaro. Ripon's Tyler VanDeVelde responded with a touchdown to put Knox at a 14-6 deficit heading into halftime.
Knox would receive the ball to start the second half and they would hand the ball off to Ty Straw for eight yards on the short, six-play drive. On Ripon's possession they would go four-and-out courtesy of a pass breakup by Evan Economos. A highlight of the third quarter was a fantastic 52-yard touchdown pass from Amaro to Kobe Shutter to cut the deficit to eight. Later on in the third, a blocked punt by Joey Auger would give the Prairie Fire great field position. The Prairie Fire would capitalize with a 20-yard TD to Hunter Lee. At the end of three quarters Knox trailed 21-19.
VanDeVelde would score another TD to put Ripon up 28-19 and it was all Ripon from there as they held on for the victory.
Amaro passed for 219 yards and a pair of touchdowns and Straw carried the ball for 50 yards and a score. Shutter also reeled in two passes for 63 yards. On the defensive side, Logan Hollis racked up 18 total tackles and Hunter Baquet added 11 tackles.
"In their final game in the purple and white, our seniors led a very emotional effort against a very good Ripon squad," said head coach Damon Tomeo.
With a young team, the Prairie Fire will look to build on this season next year! They will also look to continue the legacy of the strong leadership of the senior class.
