A third-period scoring explosion was too little, too late as the Grinnell College football team lost a 48-21decision to Ripon College in a battle of unbeatens Saturday at Rosenbloom Field.
Ripon, 3-0 overall and 2-0 in the Midwest Conference, shot out to a 27-0 halftime lead before the contest was delayed 2½ hours due to lightning.
Grinnell, 2-1 overall and 1-1 in the league, came out on fire once play resumed. The Pioneers erupted for 21 points in the third period, but Ripon scored the same amount of points to take a 48-21 lead into the final frame
Mike McCabe ’13 (pictured) had a hand in all three Grinnell touchdowns, throwing for two and running for another. He completed 15-of-26 passes for 238 yards. Logan Granera ’13 had nine catches for 195 yards, with the latter statistic ranking fifth on the Pioneers’ all-time list for receiving yards in a game.
Defensively, Marquis Bradley ’11 had 13 tackles for Grinnell, Jeremy Wiles ’14 added 11 and Ryan Fletcher ’11 came up with eight.
Jake Marshall had three touchdowns for the winners, and Matt Schmalzer rushed for 116 yards on 12 carries.
Ripon broke out to a 14-0 first-period lead in a physical contest that saw the two teams combine for 24 penalties. The Red Hawks added two more touchdowns in the second period for the 27-0 edge.
The visitors went up 34-0 early in the third period before Grinnell pieced together an 11-play, 57-yard scoring drive that was capped by a 25-yard TD pass from McCabe to Granera. McCabe also had a 14-yard completion to Harpreet Singh-Mann ’12 during the drive. Mike Bogard’s ’12 extra point made it 34-7 with 6:57 left.
Grinnell’s next score was set up by a Ripon fumble. After McCabe completed a 26-yard pass to Granera, the quarterback ran it in from 2 yards and Bogard made the extra point to bring the hosts within 34-14 with 6:19 remaining.
Ripon struck back with a touchdown before the Pioneers answered with a six-play, 72-yard drive. It was concluded with a 49-yard scoring pass from McCabe to Granera, and Bogard’s kick made it 41-21 with 3:28 left. Ripon scored once more in the period to account for the final score.
Grinnell takes to the road next Saturday to play Lake Forest College in a 1 p.m. contest.
