RIPON — Hard to believe the Ripon High Indians had their share of concerns entering Friday’s non-league game against Grace Davis.
“(The Spartans) were a tough team for us to prepare, especially the way they throw the ball around — we don’t see that too much,” Ripon coach Chris Musseman said.
Couple that with homecoming week, with teams usually being distracted and thrown off their routine.
“We may have lost a little bit of our focus earlier in the week, but we came back with a good Thursday practice.”
The results were a 46-0 drubbing of Davis on homecoming night.
The Indians (3-1) took care of business on both sides of the ball. On defense, they forced six turnovers.
Senior linebacker James Gaalswyk and junior defensive back Justin Hansen had two interceptions each.
On offense, Ripon’s ground game racked up over 400 yards led by Riley Machado, who tallied a game-high 120 yards on 19 carries.
Three first-half turnovers led to three of the five touchdowns posted by Indians.
After junior quarterback Daggett engineered the initial drive, capping the three-play, 45-yard drive by finding Michael Winters on the 31-yard score, the Indians were quickly back on the attack thanks to Dorian Dougherty’s interception at midfield.
That led to Roland Davis’ going-against-the-grain 10-yard touchdown run.
Hansen’s first pick-off of the ball was enough to set-up a 13-yard scoring run from Winters, his second of the game.
On the next Indians’ procession, Roland Davis broke off a long run midway through the second. Hansen scored from 11 yards out, providing his team with a 27-0 advantage.
Machado found pay dirt right before the half, punching one in from 10 yards out following the interception by Gaalswyk.
The second half for Ripon was much like the first, with a pair of third quarter take-aways being cashed in for scores.
Nathan Leslie’s fumble recovery led to a Machado 10-yard touchdown midway through the third quarter.
Sid Gall added the final touches for the Indians. His scoring run came not too long after Gaalswyk’s second interception.
Next up for Ripon is Sutter visiting Stouffer Field.