If Ripon had a chance to claw their way back into a Trans-Valley League grudge match against longtime rival Escalon Friday night at Stouffer Field, it was dashed in three consecutive second-half possessions that ended in turnovers.

And the Cougars capitalized on those mistakes.

Bolstered by four turnovers and a balanced offensive attack, Escalon handed Ripon a 43-0 thrashing that put the Indians’ playoffs chances on the ropes.

Ripon head coach Chris Musseman said it was a combination of dropped passes that became tipped balls and eventual interceptions for Escalon (2-2 TVL, 6-3 overall) coupled with both old and new injuries that plagued Ripon (4-5, 2-3 TVL) on Friday night.

“We dropped too many balls and when we dropped them we actually tipped them into their hands,” Musseman said. “In a nutshell, we didn’t execute well on offense. Our defense fought really hard.

“That and our lack of depth, because we’ve gotten beat up pretty good this year. We were at the running clock portion of the game, and we still have two or three starting running backs out there because we just don’t have anyone left.”

After holding Ripon to a three-and-out on its first possession of the game, Escalon put together a seven-play, 30-yard drive for the game’s first score.

When Ripon suffered a second three-and-out on its second possession and gave Escalon prime field position with a second consecutive punt, the Cougars drove 46-yards in only six plays and gave Logan Anderson his second touchdown in less than five minutes.

Anderson would finish the game with 80 yards on 7 carries with the two scores.

And while Ripon struggled with stopping Escalon’s punishing running attack. Ryker Peters also finished the night with seven carries but racked up 107 yards on the ground to lead the Cougars, and Ripon didn’t fare much better against the pass.

Junior quarterback Donovan Rozevink relied on the big frame of 6-foot, 4-inch senior Owen Nash to impose Escalon’s will on Ripon, connecting with him for five first-half completions.

By the time the running clock expired, Rozevink — who connected on 14 of his 22 passing attempts for 221 yards and a pair of scores — had found Nash a total of eight times in the contest, and even managed to give Anderson his third touchdown of the night on a 20-yard strike.

The Indians will now try to get players healthy before traveling to Hughson, currently second in the TVL, next Friday to try and keep their hopes of a postseason berth alive.

“We get back to it on Monday. We’ve still got to go play Hughson, and if we can take that one, we’ve got a shot of getting into the postseason,” Musseman said. “We’ve just got to see who’s healthy come Monday and try and work our plan from there.”