MERCED — Revenge was sweet for Ripon Christian, which shook off a slow start to crush Stone Ridge Christian 35-6 on Friday night.
Ripon Christian improves to 2-0 with its second blowout victory and avenged a 14-13 loss in the process.
Stone Ridge opened scoring with 4:21 to go in the second quarter when Bryce Louters hit Ethan Moradzedeh for a 10-yard touchdown. Those proved to be its only points for the night after the conversion pass failed.
Ripon Christian’s balanced offense took over from there. Willem Hoekstra answered with a 1-yard run with 15 seconds left in the half, and Andrew Vander Weide’s point-after kick gave the Knights the lead for good.
Ripon Christian padded the lead with 21 points in the third quarter, with Michael Kamps — who finished with 120 yards rushing — scoring on 3- and 65-yard runs. Seth McGovern then recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff, running it back 2 yards to complete the third-quarter barrage. Mark Ozenbaugh completed the conversion pass to Kamps.
Sophomore fullback Max Steele put the finishing touches on the dominant effort with a 3-yard touchdown late in the fourth quarter. He ended with 71 yards rushing, and Ripon Christian totaled 212 on the ground with Ozenbaugh throwing for 131.
Ripon Christian’s stifling defense held Stone Ridge (1-1), also the Knights, to 33 yards of offense — three coming on 24 rushing attempts.
Ripon Christian hosts undefeated Summerville for a big test in next week’s pre-league finale.