By Luciano Gonzalez

A is for Attitude. The Indians had a harsh preseason schedule and despite coming out 1-4 they

showed great attitude by coming out and beating Himar in the league opener.

B is for Brotherhood. While the Indians were a Junior heavy team they were able to come together and create a sense of brotherhood within the team.

C is for comeback. The Indians turned their season around once they beat Hilmar at home.

D is for defense. Ripon’s defense was anchored by Senior Harrison Salvador along with Juniors Cody Haines, Matthew Ysit, and Leonel Reyes.

E is for effort. All season the Indians never gave up and they always left everything on the field.

G is for Gametime Rituals. Before every game the Indians would recite the team prayer which would pump them up going into the game.

H is for Hilmar. Ripon’s only league loss from last year which they avenged at the “Whiteout” game this season.

I is for Indian for Life. The seniors on this team will always remember the memories they made as a Ripon football player and cherish the time they spent on the team.

J is for Juniors. The Indians had over 20 juniors on their team and most of them had to start despite no varsity experience. The juniors stepped up big this season.

K is for Kicker. Sophomore Thomas Siditkun helped the Indians with the kicking duty contributing extra points, field goals, and onside kicks all season.

L is for Lathrop. The Indians got their first win of the season by defeating the Lathtrop Spartans 45-25 in a preseason thriller.

M is for Mud Bowl. In the second to last game Ripon played football Escalon in a mud bowl that everyone will remember. The Indians came out with a halftime lead, but the Cougars were able to slip and slide their way to a 14-9 victory.

N is for Nick Price. Junior Nick Price led the Indian offense this season tossing 6 TDs along with 829 passing yards. Price also delivered by running for 141 yards and a TD.

O is for Offense. The run game was the staple of the Ripon’s offense which was led by backs Ryan Fugit, Jacob Duxbury, and Javi Hernandez.

P is for Play Latch. On the bus ride home from Sutter Senior Mario Roach yelled the words “Play Latch”  which ignited the whole team to sing Sam Smith’s Latch which ultimately becoming the Indians victory song.

Q is for Quitters. The Indians had a strong summer turnout of over 50 players, but along the way lost over 10 players. Only the committed players were able to tough it out and complete the season.

R is for Riverbank. Homecoming night was an exciting one as Ripon absolutely annihilated Riverbank 52-6. Everyone got to play in this one and enjoy the victory.

S is for Seniors. Only 12 seniors were on this years team. The main contributors being Robert Taylor, Harrison Salvador, Matt Kaiser, Trent Murphy, Mario Roach, and Justin Wilson.

T is for Team Dinners. This years team dinners were full of many laughs, skits, and good food. Probably for most players the best part of the season.

U is for Utility Player. Jacob Duxbury was Ripon’s Jack of all Trades delivering both on offense and defense. On offense Duxbury played both running back and receiver ending with over 900 yards as a junior and 9 total TDs. On defense Duxbury was a key member of the secondary making 41 tackles while playing safety and cornerback.

V is for Victories. Unfortunately the Indians only had three victories this season, but fought hard every game. With an unforgiving preseason and a tough TVL league Ripon did its best.

W is for Wiener Socials. The team spent it’s Saturday nights at Ysit’s house roasting wieners on an open fire while joking around and creating memories.

X is for the X-Receiver. Senior Trent Murphy filled in a X this year and was able to haul in 141 yards and 1 TD. Murphy proved to be a good target for Price.

Y is for Ysit. The Junior middle linebacker tailed 89 tackles which led the team.

Z is for the Z-Receiver. Senior Mario Roach, a transfer student, was Ripon’s main Z slot receiver and he got 140 yards of receiving along with a TD.