A big second half for Ripon put Saturday's game out of reach as the Red Hawks topped Beloit 48-10 at Strong Stadium. 

The Buccaneers took an early lead in the game courtesy of a Rafael Cervantes 13-yard field goal with just under six minutes left in the first quarter. Ripon responded to claim the lead with a touchdown less than three minutes later. The Red Hawks would hold the lead the rest of the way. 

Ripon added a second touchdown early in the second quarter before the Bucs turned defense into offense. Lens Bernadel scooped up a Red Hawk fumble to bring Beloit's offense back onto the field at their own 33-yard line. A nine-play drive was capped by Jacob Shafer's three-yard touchdown scamper. Cervantes's kick sailed through the uprights for the extra point to cut the deficit to four, 14-10 as halftime neared. 

A couple big gains out of the backfield for Ripon led to a quick score for the Red Hawks to push the lead to 21-10 heading into intermission. 

The Red Hawks put up 27 points in the second half to put the game out of reach. 

Shafer was 12-28 for 207 passing yards. His favorite target on the day was AJ Fitzpatrick with five receptions for 53 yards. Bryan Casado was the most efficient in the passing game with 69 yards on two catches. Out of the backfield, Silas Say took the handoff on 14 occasions averaging nearly four yards a carry. 

Kruz Vargas and Raydarriuz Kelley shared team-high honors with nine tackles, each with four solo and five assisted. Bernadel registered a tackle for a loss, a forced fumble and fumble recovery to lead the Buc defense. Kelley, Tre'von Colvin and Jeffrey Beard added tackles for a loss in the game. 

The Bucs will head to Lake Forest Saturday, November 6 before returning home for the season finale on November 13. Both games are slated for a 1 p.m. kickoff.