RIPON — Ripon put up 28 second-quarter points Friday and got the disappointing taste out of their mouths from last week’s heart-breaking loss to Escalon with a 56-15 Trans-Valley League blowout of Hughson at Stouffer Field.
“We have worked all week long on our defense,” Indians coach Chris Musseman said. “We knew they were going to try and throw and we haven’t seen a lot of that this year. So, we worked hard on it and our kids executed the plan great.
“We needed this after what went on last week. We weren’t ourselves and we made a million mistakes. This was a good get-right game for us. The things we struggled with last week, like our decision making, we worked on hard all week and they responded great.”
Brandon Rainer had two big plays in the second-quarter blitz for Ripon (4-1 TVL, 8-1 overall). He got the ball rolling when he covered the ball on a muffed punt. Ripon scored on the next play with a 31-yard scamper from Ryan Daggett (9 of 11 passing, 193 yards, three touchdowns; five carries, 74 yards, touchdown) with 9:05 left in the first half.
“Daggett had a great game,” Musseman said. “He looked the quarterback we know he is and he was making his reads good and getting rid of the ball on time.”
Rainer had the most eye-catching play of the quarter when Roland Davis blocked a punt and Rainer hauled it in inside the Huskies 5-yard line for the easy touchdown with 2:42 left in the second quarter and a 35-7 lead.
“I was coming off the edge and I heard the sound of the ball hitting Roland,” Rainer said. “I looked up and immediately saw it and I caught it and ran it in.
“On the first one I was sprinting down there and ball flew up and I grabbed it.”
On the blocked punt, Davis started as a deep man but came up at the last second when the strategy was changed.
“I dropped back to catch the punt,” Davis said. “Our coach changed the call and we all adapted well to it.
“I was sprinting through and got 5 yards behind the line and I saw him picking up the ball and I knew I had it.”
Gregory Clark made an interception on the ensuing Hughson drive, setting up a last-second 11-yard scoring pass from Daggett to Davis with 9.2 seconds remaining in the half for a 42-7 lead.
Defense led to the other second-quarter score for the Indians when the Hughson punter muffed a snap and could only manage a punt of minus-6 yards under pressure. Dorian Dougherty took in a 29-yard pass from Daggett on the next play for a 28-7 lead with 7:01 remaining in the half. 
“The line was giving us a lot of time to throw,” Daggett said. “And all the running backs were getting to their holes and running hard.
“Everything went well and we executed well.”
Davis (three receptions, 70 yards two touchdowns; one carry, 33 yards, touchdown) and Daggett hooked up one more time when Davis pulled in a 42-yard scoring throw on a screen pass with third down and 12 yards to go late in the first quarter. Davis rounded out the scoring midway through the third period with a 33-yard touchdown run on which he broke four tackles going up the sideline.
Derric Roy celebrated his birthday with a pair of touchdowns — one to start the scoring parade in the first quarter when he bounced outside for a 24-yard touchdown run and the other when he returned the second half kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown.
Roy and Nico Ilardi each added an interception.
Hughson (2-3, 5-4) scored on a 48-yard touchdown run by Jacob Johnson in the first quarter and on a 12-yard run by Carlos Arreola in the third period.
Ripon travels to Modesto Christian next Friday with first place on the line as the Crusaders are undefeated and the Indians have one league loss. 

SCORING SUMMARY
Hughson 7 0 8 0 — 15
Ripon    14 28 14 0 — 56
 
First quarter
R — Derric Roy 24 run (Nathan Valdez kick), 8:57.
H — Jacob Johnson 48 run (James Romero kick), 5:19.
R — Roland Davis 42 pass from Ryan Daggett (Valdez kick), 0:59.
 
Second quarter
R — Daggett 31 run (Valdez kick), 9:05
R — Dorian Dougherty 29 pass from Daggett (Valdez kick), 7:01.
R — Brandon Rainer 2 blocked punt return (Valdez kick), 2:42.
R — Davis 11 pass from Daggett (Valdez kick), :09.2.
 
Third quarter
R — Roy 89 kickoff return (Valdez kick), 11:45
H — Carlos Arreola 12 run (Jacob Johnson run), 9:37.
R — Davis 33 run (Valdez kick), 6:21.