Ripon and Ripon Christian hobbled into their Week 10 showdown with key players out with injuries on Friday, but both squads are feeling good going into the postseason.

The 11th edition of this rivalry clash is the most consequential and competitive of the series, with Ripon leaving its neighbor on Maple Avenue with a 38-28 victory and likely the No. 3 seed for the Sac-Joaquin Section Division VI playoffs.

The Knights (1-5 Trans Valley League, 5-5 overall) entered the week ranked third in the division by MaxPreps, and Ripon (3-3, 5-5) was fourth. MaxPreps ratings and rankings are used to help the SJS seed postseason qualifiers. Brackets will be released live on Sunday on the NFHS Network starting at 1 p.m.

Ripon battled through a challenging non-league schedule with quarterback Andrew Shaw missing three of those games, leading to a four-game losing streak. Shaw has been rounding into form, and Ripon is rolling into the playoffs having won three in a row.

“We’ve had a tough schedule and a tough time dealing with injuries all year,” Ripon coach Cole Williams said. “Our guys have fought and have come together. We’ve been focusing on execution, and we’re not quite there at all phases of the game in every game, but we’re seeing big strides in spots, for sure.

“Our offense did very well tonight, thankfully, because our defense didn’t quite get the job done. There are always things to work on, but I think we’ve made huge strides from where we were a few weeks ago.”

The offense punted just once and avoided turnovers. Shaw was a big reason for the efficiency, as he finished 8-of-13 passing for 153 yards and a 28-yard touchdown toss to Gavin Duran (three catches, 80 yards), who also had the game sealing interception

Shaw was also Ripon’s rushing leader with 114 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries. Fullback Kael Rangel ground out 84 yards on 16 attempts. Matthew Gaines added a 20-yard touchdown scamper, while reeling in three passes for 54 yards.

“We just have a lot of momentum right now,” Shaw said. “Excited about what we got going. I think we’re really jelling as a unit, and we’re starting to play a lot more physical and better brand of football.”

Shaw made the two biggest plays back-to-back, helping keep Ripon Christian at arm’s length.

The Knights did well to make a game of it after trailing 14-0 in the first quarter and by as much as three scores, 31-14, midway through the third. A 40-yard TD jaunt Jack Schaapman closed them in 31-28 with 9:37 left in the game.

Ripon Christian threatened to get the ball back and the opportunity to take the lead Ripon faced a third-and-19 situation.

That was when Shaw hurled a perfect pass to Duran for 22-yard gain.

“Gavin’s always the first read,” Shaw said. “I was rolling out, and I kind of knew it was going to be Gavin, so I let it fly.”

On the next play, he faked a handoff to Gaines on a sweep and dashed 52 yards up the middle untouched on a read-option play for the final touchdown of the game with 5:58 to go.

“We had a different play called, but we had a numbers advantage on the left side, so I just audibled out of it and kind of called my number there,” Shaw said. “We got some fantastic blocks on the inside, and that just cleared a great hole for me.”

Ripon Christian continued to battle, however.

It wasn’t until Duran’s pick in the end zone that Ripon could begin to comfortably celebrate. The Knights were on the Ripon 14-yard line, and quarterback Josiah Van Vliet lobbed a jump ball for 6-foot-4 sophomore tight end Jeremiah Lambdin. The 5-8 Duran reached up with one hand to bat it down and came down with possession of the ball.

Ripon ran two plays before Shaw knelt out the rest of the clock.

“We went bear, which means I’m basically in space,” Duran said. “(Van Vliet) threw the ball up, I got a hand on it and I was watching the ball and it just fell right into may hands. It felt amazing.”

It was an otherwise breakthrough effort for Van Vliet and the rest of the Ripon Christian offense, which was held to just 44 points in its previous six TVL games. The last time the Knights scored at least 28 was in a 28-14 win over Division VII favorite Calaveras back on Sept. 11.

Van Vliet finished with a season-high 228 yards on 15-of-21 passing, hitting Stadtler Postma (five receptions, 69 yards) and Lambdin (five receptions, 80 yards) once each for touchdowns.

Flyback Talen Tameling added four catches for 75 yards, with an additional 29 rushing yards.

“This team never gives up,” RC coach Phil Grams said. “I think we’re playoff-ready through all this.”

Ripon Christian has been without its projected top two tailbacks, Jax Booth (shoulder) and Tyler Van Elderen (broken ankle), and starting flyback Mason Clark (knee). That has forced fullbacks Brayden Hughes (five rushes, 22 yards) and Schaapman (five rushes, 43 yards, two TDs) into more featured roles out of the backfield.

“We don’t have a depth chart,” Grams said. “It’s a flow chart.”

After losing to Ripon Christian the past two seasons, Ripon is back on the winning side, while improving its record against the Knights to 9-2.

“Really good team win for us,” Shaw said. “They got us last year and the year before, so coming out tonight and getting it done feels great. We’re really excited for the playoffs.”