After a tough loss against Ripon Christian, Ripon High’s varsity football team tried their best to shake off their doubts. However, in a thrilling game on Oct 17 2025, the RHS varsity football team fell to 5-3 after a devastating 20-46 loss at Sonora. This game had a promising first half, but after some troubles in the second half the RHS team ultimately fell short.
After a turnover on downs on Ripon High’s opening drive, Sonora’s team responded with a rushing touchdown making the score 0-7. RHS didn’t let this stop them from bouncing back with a rushing touchdown scored on their second drive of the night. Unfortunately, a missed PAT left the team trailing 6-7. Sonora’s team put up a relentless run game, leading to a breakout 51-yard rushing touchdown bringing the score to 6-13. The RHS defense was key in the second quarter. An interception made by Senior Tipeti Paini led to a rushing touchdown which tied the score.
Paini who is G (Guard) and DT (Defensive Tackle) states “We came out strong in the first half, you know how we wanted to”
Offensively, both teams showed out and pushed the ball down the field. However, for both of the defenses, it was difficult to keep up with the big yardage plays, resulting in a 20-27 score at the half with RHS trailing Sonora.
The second half opened with Sonora receiving, where their offence really started to pick up production. The RHS offense seemed to struggle converting on downs, which led to a lot of missed opportunities to score. Huge rushing and passing plays let the Sonora offense stack up some more points and demonstrated successful play calling, however missed extra points did limit their scoring. The game seemed to be far from reach for Ripon, and they continued to have troubles keeping possession of the ball. The RHS defense couldn’t find ways to stop Sonora’s persistent offense, which let Sonora score 3 touchdowns in the second half, and gave them the final 20-46 win.
This loss was hard like most, especially after coming off another loss at home the week prior. Senior LT (Left Tackle) Wyatt Swift stated “We definitely have the talent we just need to bring everything together and I think we’ll make a good run in playoffs”. Mistakes from this game only gives Ripon more outlook on how to adapt and finish out the season strong. Confidence and morale have to stay present to help this team pull off some wins with their final 2 games looming ahead.