LINDEN — Ripon got its big non-league win out of the way, and head coach Jamie DeBruyn hopes his Indians can carry it over to the rest of the season.

Ripon knocked off defending Sac-Joaquin Section Division V champion Linden 3-1 Tuesday, and how it happened is what pleases DeBruyn the most.

Carlos Perez tied the game at 1 for Linden in the 50th minute, yet Ripon quickly recovered by answering with two over the next eight minutes.

“That’s probably the best thing we got out of it,” said DeBruyn, who went into the season worried that he’d be unable to replace one of the state’s top goal scorers in graduate Eric Cavanaugh. “We let them score right away in second half and we didn’t hang our heads and pout about it. We stayed with our guns and put one in four minutes later.”

Senior defender Matt Ratto headed in the deciding goal in the 54th minute off of Arik Anaya’s free kick from the corner. Four minutes later, Johnny Dedonatis hooked up with Alec Vitale for the insurance score.

Anaya dropped in the first goal 22 minutes in off a feed from Matty Gay.

While it’s still too early to tell if it was a statement victory for the Indians they know it’s a quality win. Linden (1-1) edged annual section contender Patterson 1-0 in its opener last week.

“They’re obviously one of the stronger teams in the section, so to go into their place and win was a definite bonus for us,” DeBruyn said.

Ripon plays host to Delhi at Mistlin Sports Park Thursday starting at 4:30 p.m.

In Ripon, the Knights (1-0-1) picked up their first victory in come-from-behind fashion. Kyron Loving pushed Turlock Christian ahead in the 25th minute.

Alex Blankers made it a 1-1 tie going into halftime, but Ripon Christian began to pick up steam after a mounting a wide 16-5 margin on shots.

Greg Mulder gave RC the lead off the second-half kickoff. Anton Sonke and Scott Faure capped the final score. Keeper Ben De Ruiter finished with three saves.

In Los Banos, Manteca (0-2) struggled to get started but fared much better in the second half. Alex Barragan scored the Buffaloes’ lone goal in the 55th minute, but the Tigers had mounted a 3-0 by halftime.

“In the second half we came out and looked really good,” Manteca coach Justin Coenenberg said. “We played them pretty evenly.

French foreign-exchange student Florin Lambert had seven saves at goal for the Buffaloes, who open their own tournament Thursday night against Bret Harte. Kickoff is scheduled for 6.

At Franklin, Benjamin Gonzalez’s header found net for the Cougars’ only goal. Despite the loss, second-year coach Carlos Gaspar was happy with how his squad fared against a Division-I powerhouse.

“The score doesn’t mean anything,” Gaspar said. “They had two offsides goals.”

Weston Ranch’s frosh-soph team fell, 7-0.