The Lake Forest College football team was defeated 27-14 at Ripon College on Saturday. Forester junior Joey Kropp returned a punt 41 yards for the first score of the game and added a 50-yard kickoff return later in the contest.
Kropp fielded a 38-yard, line drive punt on the left hash and quickly weaved, untouched, through the Ripon coverage unit, along the left sideline, and into the end zone with 51 seconds to play in the opening period. The extra point attempt by sophomore Jon Gurchak was good and the visitors led 7-0.
After forcing a Red Hawk three-and-out, Kropp returned another punt seven yards to the Forester 39, setting up a 10-play, 61-yard drive that ended with a 36 yard touchdown pass from senior Mike Lewis to classmate Mike Peters. Peters was one of three receivers lined up on the right side of the formation and he was wide open on a post route deep over the middle of the field. Gurchak was successful again on the extra point and the Foresters had a 14-0 lead with 9:57 to play in the second quarter.
Ripon responded with an 11-play, 72-yard touchdown drive and the score at halftime was 14-7.
The Red Hawks scored touchdowns on their first two possessions of the third quarter and reached the end zone again with 1:49 to play in the contest.
Peters caught five passes for a career-high 104 yards on the day. Lewis had 16 completions for 215 yards but was picked off three times. Sophomore Anthoney Prestly was the Foresters' leading rusher with just 28 yards.
Senior linebacker John Dillon led the Lake Forest defense with 10 tackles, including one behind the line of scrimmage. Junior linebacker John Preston was next on the squad with nine tackles, including seven solos. The Foresters were unable to force any Ripon turnovers after coming up with 19 interceptions and six of their opponents' fumbles in the first eight games of the season.
gurchak averaged 40 yards on his three punts on the day.
The Foresters are now 7-2 overall and 6-2 in Midwest Conference play. Ripon raised its overall record to 6-2 and league mark to 5-2.
After a weekend off, Lake Forest will close out the season against St. Norbert College (7-1, 7-0 MWC) on Saturday, November 16. The Foresters' Senior Day and Parents Day game will begin at 1:00 p.m.
