After an impressive win against Orestimba on homecoming, Ripon High’s varsity football team and the students of RHS had a sense of confidence that had not been felt in a long time. However on Oct 10 2025, the RHS varsity football team went up against rival Ripon Christian, in which they lost 21-35. This game showed the deficiencies of the team, but also showcased the fight and resilience of the team.
The game started off well for RHS, as the offense drove down the field with an efficient running game to score a touchdown on their opening drive. A scene Ripon High has seen all season, However things would begin to unravel after that. The RHS secondary struggled all night to stop Ripon Chrisitans passing attack. R.C gashed Ripon High down the middle of the field several times in the first half, allowing R.C to score 21 points by the end of the first half. On the offensive side of the ball, the rushing attack allowed Ripon High to stay in the game. Although the rushing attack wasn’t as formidable as Ripon High students have been accustomed to seeing this season, they still were able to generate plenty of positive gains. By the end of the half the score was 21-14 with R.C leading.
Coming into the beginning of the second half Ripon Chrisitan received the football to start on offense. In order to give Ripon High a chance to comeback and win the game, the defense would need to step up. Ripon High would unfortunately have several penalties that would allow Ripon Chrisitan to score to begin the half. After that however, the defense would hold strong against R.C with an incredible performance from the defensive line against the run.
On the offensive side of the ball, RHS focused on their own run game. While the run game was an effective part of the game for Ripon High, penalties limited the teams offense throughout the second half.
Junior RB and OLB(outside linebacker) Matthew Gaines, stated on the penalties, “I feel like we need to be disciplined more. The penalties really killed us, the personal fouls, and all those. They really killed us, and then there’s just little mistakes.”
In the fourth quarter, the RHS offense was able to score a 29 yard touchdown pass to senior wide receiver, Mike Evans. With the score being 28-21 in the fourth quarter, Ripon High had a chance for a comeback win against one of their biggest rivals. However Ripon High’s offense never saw the field again, and the game ended with a score of 21-35.
With this loss does come heartbreak for many fans and players. However, it allows the team to look at their mistakes and fix them so that they won’t affect them in the future. After an impressive start to the season, the team and fans must be confident that this team can fix their flaws shown throughout the game.
