Ripon High School was involved in a very intense rivalry with Ripon Christian at their game on Friday night, where the Indians lost in a tightly contested conference game. Both teams were well acquainted with each other; hence, the Indians approached the game with a focus on pre-game preparation and the goal of making improvements, even though they ultimately lost.

Ripon was all about effort and development leading up to the match. Junior Jude Viss reflected the team’s mentality when he stated that, “We are all training harder than the day before, trying to get better every day, especially with this rivalry.” The players also recognized that they were still getting accustomed to a more disciplined offensive system this year. “Our offense this year has been focused on plays unlike other years; this means we have to work together to win,” Viss stated, building on his earlier point.​

Senior Tipeti Paini discussed the importance of fundamentals during practice that contributed to the team’s success in the game. “Our team heading into this game knows that in order to be successful, we need to focus on the little things, and the bigger things will fall in line,” Paini explained, mentioning how the literal overkill was centered on highlighting the very basics of the game. He then shared his thoughts on the collective effort, saying, “The biggest lesson I’ve learned within teamwork is that it’s always bigger than just you… You can’t do it all yourself.”

Ripon lost to Ripon Christian 71–29. The scoring breakdown by quarter shows Christian gradually taking control 9–13 in the first, 6–15 in the second, 10–27 in the third, and 4–16 in the last. Despite defeat, the Indians aim to grow their team chemistry for the rest of the season, using tough games as motivation to improve for future matchups.