DE PERE – St. Norbert College turned in a dominant second half as the Green Knights pulled away to claim a 23-7 win over Ripon College in a non-conference game at Schneider Stadium.
 
The two former Midwest Conference archrivals were locked up in a 7-7 halftime tie before a field goal late in the third quarter pushed St. Norbert ahead. Two fourth-quarter touchdowns sealed the win for the Green Knights in the final game of a home-and-home non-conference series. St. Norbert and Ripon are currently not scheduled to meet in 2024 or 2025.
 
Ripon moved inside the St. Norbert 10-yard line and had a first-and-goal at the Green Knights' 7. St. Norbert held the Red Hawks on downs, but punted after three plays. A short kick gave Ripon the ball back at the St. Norbert 29, and the Red Hawks needed just two plays to score on a 24-yard touchdown pass from Jarrett Zilbert to Demarcus Conner with 6:30 left in the first quarter.
 
St. Norbert pinned Ripon deep in its own territory early in the second quarter, forcing a punt from its own 1-yard line. The Green Knights took over at the Ripon 34 and needed seven plays to score, converting on a 1-yard plunge by Delton Zuleger with 6:55 left before halftime.
 
Ripon took the ensuing possession and marched to the St. Norbert 18, but Erik Flores' 35-yard field-goal attempt was wide left with 2:10 left before halftime. Each team had one more possession before halftime and settled on a 7-7 score at the break.
 
St. Norbert stopped Ripon on the first three possessions of the second half before getting untracked offensively to take the lead. A 36-yard pass from Peyton Lyon to Austin Miller put St. Norbert in a first-and-goal situation. The Green Knights eventually settled for a 22-yard field goal from Tyler Juergensen for a 10-7 lead with 2:20 left in the period.
 
The Green Knights then hit on another big pass play early in the fourth quarter, when Lyon hit Mitch Van Vooren on a 37-yard play to the Ripon 3. Zuleger scored from a yard out two plays later for a 16-7 lead with 10:05 left. St. Norbert then recovered a Ripon fumble at the Red Hawks' 14-yard line. The Green Knights needed four plays to score on yet another 1-yard from Zuleger to salt the game away with a 23-7 lead with 8 minutes left.
 
St. Norbert outgained Ripon 281-207 in total offense. Lyon completed 28 of 44 passes for 234 yards, with his completion total tied for third-most in a game in school history. Austin Miller caught 10 passes for 87 yards, while Van Vooren had six catches for 64 yards. Paul Bageanis added six catches for 37 yards. Zuleger rushed for 33 yards on 13 carries with three touchdowns.
 
The Green Knights' defense had solid pressure on Ripon's quarterback throughout the game, registering seven sacks. Sam Barnett and Daylan Lujan had two sacks apiece, while Alex Campbell, Kyle Santos and Justin Benoit each had one. Barnett finished with a team-high eight tackles.
 
Ripon was led by Jarrett Zibert, who completed 13 of 30 passes for 153 yards with one touchdown and one interception but was sacked six times. Connor Ramage led the Red Hawks on the ground with 61 yards on 13 carries.