After a long and exciting season, it is here: the end of the football regular season. With that, many schools have already determined whether they will make the playoffs or not. This includes undefeated Sonora High School who qualified for the playoffs, and Orestimba High School who could not qualify with a 2-8 record. For Ripon High School, their playoff aspirations were neither confirmed nor denied going into the game. In order to guarantee their playoff spot, they would need to beat Hilmar High School on Halloween night. However, they would fall to Hilmar by a score of 21-33.
The game continuously went back and forth, as both teams continuously exchanged the lead. To begin the game though, Ripon High’s offense did not have a strong start. They went three and out on their first drive and threw an interception on the second. However the defense stood strong against the Hilmar offense and only allowed a field goal by the end of the first quarter, keeping the game well in reach.
By the end of the first quarter, the RHS rushing attack finally got into gear and was able to get into Hilmar territory. On the third play of the second quarter, Junior QB Andrew Shaw, rushed for a one yard rushing touchdown. After a successful two point conversion, the score was 8-3. Despite finally gaining some momentum in the game, Ripon High would give up a 44 yard touchdown pass, making the score 9-8. 
Both teams’ offenses would be able to score prior to the end of the second half, however Ripon would have an impressive 31 yard touchdown catch, while Hilmar would settle for a field goal at the end of the second quarter, giving Ripon a 14-12 lead heading into halftime.
With the lead heading out of halftime, there was a sense of optimism among the fans, players, and coaches of Ripon High School. However penalties would ensue RHS in the second half, allowing Hilmar to score twice and take the lead in the third quarter. Despite giving up two touchdowns, Ripon High never gave up as they attempted a fourth quarter comeback win. After a methodical rushing attack, featuring a variety of players, RHS was able to get a score to begin the fourth quarter making the score 26-21.
Hope and optimism returned to the Ripon High sideline, seeing as a comeback was 100% possible. After a fumble by Hilmar that was recovered by Ripon, the Indians were in Hilmar territory, primed to score. Those dreams of a comeback would come crashing down, after several controversial no call penalties against Hilmar, Ripon had a turnover on downs in the redzone. One of the plays where there was no penalty against Hilmar, RHS QB Andrew Shaw, would suffer an injury leaving him out the rest of the game. Fans, coaches, and players of Ripon were furious by the officials’ decisions to not penalize Hilmar for what many believed were several personal foul penalties. 
The game would end with Ripon High losing 33-21 to Hilmar,. Despite the loss, Ripon High was still able to qualify for playoffs to play Liberty Ranch High School on Nov. 14. The RHS varsity football team played Liberty Ranch in the first round of the playoffs in 2024, where they lost by a score of 35-0.
Junior RB and OLB (Outside Linebacker) Matthew Gaines, said in response to going up against Liberty Ranch, “There’s going to be [a feeling of] revenge for what happened last year. I’d say we got pretty badly destroyed last year, 35-0, and we just need a revenge game. We need to lock in. Next two weeks, we need to practice hard. Look at the film, study them, and we need to come back and hopefully try to beat them.”
The season has been up and down for the RHS football team. After starting the season 4-1, they finished the year 5-5. However in most of their losses, they have only lost by one to two possessions. Ripon High must be able to finish out these close games though, if they hope to make a run in the playoffs.
