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Offense comes alive, but early mistakes hurt RC
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LE GRAND – Ripon Christian received a rude Southern League welcome from the host Le Grand Bulldogs on Friday.

The result here was a 48-12 loss.

The Knights (0-1, 0-4) were betrayed by mistakes and turnovers, particularly early on.

“(The Bulldogs) didn’t dominate us,” RC coach John Vander Schaaf said. “We did move the ball on them.”

Le Grand (1-0, 2-2) jumped out to a 7-0 lead when quarterback Alex Bucio connected with Zachary Moreno on a 5-yard pass play.

Seconds later, the Bulldogs were back in business as the Knights turned the ball over. Bucio was quick to hook up with Daniel Guizar on the 22-yard touchdown strike.

Le Grand rode that momentum into the second quarter. Aaron Salcedo’s 76-yard run coupled with another Bucio-to-Moreno pass play propelled the Bulldogs to a 28-0 lead.

Ripon Christian finally responded with a score in the third quarter.

Quarterback James Vander Schaaf found Aaron Fay on a 22-yard scoring strike.

The Bulldogs maintained their momentum in the second half, building a 35-7 advantage on Guizar’s second touchdown.

The Knights answered back with another touchdown late in the game on Isaac Norman’s 9-yard run.

Coach Vander Schaaf will be spending the upcoming week preparing his young squad – RC is junior-dominated with no more than five players on the roster with varsity experience, he noted – against the visiting Mariposa County Grizzlies.

“We played hard (at Le Grand),” he said, with hopes that his Knights will continue the effort.

Ripon Christian will square off against Mariposa County at Stouffer Field.