In one of the most anticipated football seasons in recent years with aspirations of state and national title hopes, Northwest fell well short of its goal by finishing the 2011 season at 6-3 overall. The Rangers closed the year with three consecutive wins in impressive fashion to finish in a three-way tie for second place in the north division, but a debatable tiebreaker scenario kept Northwest out of the state playoffs for just the second time in the last seven years.

Despite missing the playoffs, Northwest finished with a winning season for the 31st time in the last 32 years and was a regular in the NJCAA Top 20 Poll through the first seven weeks of the season. A streak of 19 consecutive weeks in the national polls was snapped on Oct. 12, but Northwest is back in the 2012 rankings before kickoff.

Northwest comes in at No. 11 to start the season and is one of four schools from the MACJC in the poll. Reigning national champions East Mississippi enter as the top-ranked team, followed by Mississippi Gulf Coast at No. 4 and Hinds at No. 8.

It marks a fourth consecutive season the Rangers will enter the year in the NJCAA Top 25, coming off preseason rankings of ninth (2011), 23rd (2010) and 19th (2009).

With a convincing, 45-7 win at Itawamba in the regular season finale, head coach Ricky Woods moved into second on the all-time wins list at Northwest with victory No. 27. In four seasons with the Rangers, Woods is 27-11 overall (19-5 north) with one north division title and two runner-up finishes.

A total of nine Rangers earned all-conference honors at seasons' end, and three went on to earn NJCAA All-Region XXIII honors. The Rangers were led by MACJC First Team selections Lance Ray, Donald Hawkins, Austin Douglas, David Conner and La'Darrick Anderson. Second team accolades went to Ryan Mossakowski, Teshadi Talton, Chase Carpenter and Jerome McClain.

The Rangers return 19 players from last year's team and welcome 31 new freshmen and five first-year players. Northwest is without all three of its NJCAA All-Americans from a season ago in Hawkins (First Team), Conner (Honorable Mention) and Ray (Honorable Mention) and will send all new faces in their spots for replacement.

"We have a lot of experience on defense, and offensively, we have guys like Domonique Harris, Teshadi Talton, Austin Douglas and Christian Chalmers back who make a big difference," Woods said. "You're just better when you play sophomores. But we have some good, young freshmen who will have to produce for us real quick and we're optimistic that we'll have a good season."

Northwest will also have a new-look football uniform for the 2012 season.

The Rangers will be bringing back the red jerseys for the first time since the 2007 season, with a little bit of a color change and new logo style on the front. The addition of the red uniforms now gives Northwest a total of five different uniform combinations to alternate home and away, keeping fans on their toes as to which game they'll first see the new tops.

The 2012 season kicks off on Thursday, Aug. 30 at Southwest Mississippi.

NORTHWEST OFFENSE
Returning Starters: 4

Northwest finished the 2011 season fifth in the nation in total offense at 485.4 yards-per-game, a third-straight year finishing in the Top 15 under offensive coordinator Jack Wright. The Rangers scored 40 points or more in six games, finishing the year averaging an impressive 41.6 ppg.

"I think we'll be in the Top 10 again this year after finishing fifth last year," Woods said. "We've got a good plan and will learn to adjust to our personnel. We'll try the best we can to build a plan around what we have within a plan that is already in place."

The Ranger offense was paced by Second Team All-State sophomore quarterback Ryan Mossakowski who threw for 2,422 yards (8th in a single season) and 26 touchdowns (T-5th in a single-season) while completing 60 percent of his passes. A transfer from the University of Kentucky, Mossakowski threw for 325 yards or more in four games and accounted for 33 total touchdowns.

The running game really shined the final five weeks, a huge compliment to the offensive line and coach Jim Jones, with Northwest going over the 200-yard mark four times. Northwest broke out for a a season-high 439 yards (third in single-game history) against Holmes in a 66-41 homecoming win, with freshman Al Hentz rushing 13 times for 207 yards and three touchdowns. Rising sophomore Teshadi Talton was the workhorse all season long, rushing for 814 yards and three touchdowns on 153 carries (5.3 average).

Sophomore Domonique Harris will take the snaps behind center this season, and the stage is set for him to have a breakout year. A dual threat through the air and on the ground, Harris saw action in five games a year ago. The 6-foot-5, 225-pound Southaven product completed 14-of-26 passes for 211 yards and two touchdowns and also rushed for 90 yards and three scores.

Northwest returns three on the offensive line in Austin Douglas, Christian Chalmers and Deshondrick Hines, compared to just one returner a year ago. Danterrius Young could also see time as a starter after filling in nicely for Hines last year after an injury. The guys in the trenches allowed just four sacks all year long and are expected to open holes again this year for a barrage of running backs. Entering the season, Northwest could easily start one of four different backs, and all are expected to share the load.

The biggest area of concern is the receiving corps, who will entirely be made up freshmen. In Scott Oakley's nine seasons with the group, this is the first time he will be without a single returner. The Rangers have boasted two NJCAA All-Americans in the past three seasons in Lance Ray and Michael Lindsey and have continued their production by going over the 2,000-yard mark in each of the last four seasons.

"We'll play eight receivers, so we've got more depth than we had last year," Woods said. "By the middle of the year they'll all become veteran players. Early on, we'll worry a little bit, but they're talented so I think we'll be ok."

NORTHWEST DEFENSE
Returning Starters: 3

A year after ranking third in the state in total defense and first in scoring defense, Northwest struggled in 2011 with a young group of guys and some unfamiliar positions. The Rangers surrendered 27.8 ppg (16.4 ppg in 2010) and held just three of nine opponents under 20 points on the year.

Despite giving up 322.9 yards/game, the Rangers played their best defensive football the final four games of the regular season in going 3-1 overall. Northwest outscored its opponents 162-76 down the stretch, holding Mississippi Delta scoreless and Itawamba to just seven points in the regular season finale.

Northwest had multiple bright spots on defense, racking up 61 tackles-for-loss, a whopping 26 sacks and closing the year by forcing 12 turnovers their final three games. Freshman defensive end Theodore Jackson IV was also named the NJCAA Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 19 – one of three Rangers to earn national accolades during the year (Lance Ray, Chase Carpenter).

This year's defense is experienced, hungry and ready to show out. The front has a lot of depth and eight guys that can play in addition to returners in the secondary who have a knack for finding the football.

Sophomore Randolph Williams was the team's third-leading tackler a year ago and had a solid debut season. Williams had 49 total tackles, including 13.5 for loss, six sacks and six quarterback hurries. He'll be joined by Jerome McClain, Jayson Saffold and Byron Scott up front on a unit that will all receive Division I offers.

Northwest loses an All-American at middle linebacker in David Conner, but in turn picks up a sophomore transfer in Desmond LaVelle from South Alabama. LaVelle will be the signal caller alongside fellow sophomores Dominique Price, who moved from the secondary, Demarcus Pegues, Justin Wright and J.D. Fondon.

Aaron Thompson and Al Hentz, a two-way guy last year, are both back in the secondary and will be the lone returning sophomores. Freshmen Ty Northern, Keith Reynolds Jr., Lawon Debardalaben and Terrell White are all names to become familiar with after having a good fall camp.

Under fifth-year defensive backs coach Trenell Edwards, the Rangers have picked off 60 passes in the last four seasons and have ranked in the Top 2 in the league in two of the last three years. Prior to Edwards' arrival in 2008, Northwest picked off only 25 passes between 2005-07.

NORTHWEST SPECIAL TEAMS
Returning Starters: 2

Chase Carpenter, an MACJC Second Team All-State selection as a freshman, and longsnapper Adam Hyland are both back in their same roles.

Carpenter averaged 40.2 yards/punt last year with 14 inside the 20 and five of 50 yards or more and also connected on 4-of-7 FGs and 45-of-49 PATs. He enters the year on the Fred Mitchell Award Watch List, and is expected to have a breakout sophomore campaign similar to All-American Kevin Buford in 2010.

MEDIA CORNER

For a sixth consecutive season, Ronnie Williams (play-by-play) and Keith Patterson (color) of Q93.7 FM will broadcast all Ranger football games locally on the radio dial. Selected games can also be watched online on the school's UStream. Fans can watch Live at www.ustream.tv/channel/nwcc-football and also follow live stats at www.sidearmstats.com/northwestms/football.

CONNECT WITH SOCIAL MEDIA

Fans can connect with Northwest football on various social media sites.

On Twitter/Instagram: @NWCC_Rangers
On Facebook: Northwest Rangers
On YouTube: NorthwestCC