Ripon College Days

The Red Hawk football team garnered a resounding victory in their final home game of the season last Saturday. The non-conference win over Macalester College allowed the Red Hawks to complete the season with a 5-4 record (4-4 in the Midwest Conference) and brought their average back above .500 for the year.

The win was not just important to the Red Hawks football team, but for Head Coach Ron Ernst as well.

With the victory Saturday, Ernst became the winningest coach in Ripon College football history.

Ernst came into the game with 94 wins, which tied his record with that of former head coach Carl Doehling. He came out holding the lead with 95 career wins attributed to his career with the Red Hawks.

Ernst's achievement is especially noteworthy, since it took Doehling 32 years to amass 94 wins. Ernst earned his 95th in only his 15th season as coach.

This was also the last home game for Red Hawks senior football players, and it turned out exactly the way they hoped.

The Red Hawks got an early lead Saturday, starting the game with 22 unanswered points.

The Scots only score came midway through the second quarter on a 70-yard hook up between Macalester quarterback Scott Martinson and wide receiver Tyler Schweke.

Sophomores John McGuire and Bill Olm led the Red Hawks in rushing with 99 yards and 50 yards respectively. The Hawks posted 297 yards rushing overall.

Red Hawk quarterback junior Bob Faulds completed seven of 12 for 102 yards in the air with one touchdown pass to senior wide receiver Austin Friedrich.

The Hawks played tough on both sides of the ball, however, with freshman defensive back Brad Fehly recovering a fumble and grabbing two interceptions. The Red Hawk defense forced seven turnovers throughout the game while the Scots only came away with one.

This game marked the end of a brutal 0-9 season for the Scots of Macalester College.

The coordination between the team's defense and offense seemed to be a key aspect to the Red Hawk's success.

"We work together to win games," says Faulds, who says teamwork is a huge asset to the program.

Senior defensive back Tony Falk agrees with Faulds and says, "The team stands behind each other."

Faulds notes the team still has room for improvement, however. "We need to work to stay more consistent throughout games," he says.

Falk simply says, "We've been one big play away from winning a couple of games this year. We need to make the big plays."

The Red Hawks hope to carry the momentum of this last win with them as they travel to Knox College next Saturday to finish out the regular season.

"We hope to build up momentum after yesterday's win to keep our streak going," says senior Frank Montemurro. "We want to finish on a winning note to set up next year's team."

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