RIPON – The Delhi Hawks had no interest in leaving Ripon without a win.

Late game antics from the once-beaten Ripon Christian Knights gave the Hawks hope, but it would go no further in a 37-21 Southern League victory Saturday at Ripon High.

The Knights used a sterling effort from Andrew Brown to peel away from the Hawks late in the final period. Brown scored on a one-yard plunge to culminate a night where he totaled 134 yards on four receptions and another 83 on 15 carries on the ground.

“We got a big game from Andrew,” Ripon Christian head coach Jon Vander Schaff said. “It seemed like whenever things looked down he made the play for us; on both sides of the ball.

“I don’t know how many yards he had, but some of those runs should have been stopped for five-yard losses and he turned them up for 20.”

Brown was instrumental in all of Ripon Christian’s late game productivity, but when Delhi went on a 13-play, 75-yard drive to open the game the Knights responded with a turnover on downs.

Spencer Hower would race 75 yards for a touchdown reception from Danny Vos with: 59 seconds left in the first and the Knights were finally on the board. Delhi missed a field goal attempt to end the first half, sending both squads into the intermission knotted at 14-14.

An interception in Ripon Christian’s first drive of the second half gave Delhi all the momentum it would need. The Hawks felt as if the game was theirs for the remainder of the contest. Ripon Christian’s final score inside the game’s last minute was the first bit of relaxation the Knights felt.

“Saying we were a little flat in the opening is an understatement,” Vander Schaff said. “We were flatter than a pancake and we paid for it. Delhi came out energized and believed in themselves and we knew that this could happen.

“The second half we came out and played a little bit better, but still ran out of gas at the end there.”

Vos finished the contest with 331 yards passing on 13-of-25 completions with three interceptions and three scores. Hower was his primary target with six balls for 140 yards and two touchdowns.