Box Score GOODMAN – Freshman running back Justin Crawford ran for 259 yards on 42 attempts and tied a single-game school record with four rushing touchdowns to carry Northwest to a 28-14 road win over Holmes Thursday night.

Northwest improved to 2-4 overall (2-1 north, T2nd) while Holmes dropped to 2-4 and 1-2 in the division. The Rangers also extended their all-time lead in the series to 41-19-2.

Holmes jumped ahead 7-0 less than 3 minutes into the game when Dre Massey broke away for a 59-yard touchdown run to cap a 7-play, 83-yard drive. 

Northwest, who's gotten off to a slow start in its first six games, was held scoreless in the first quarter and has only scored 3 points all year in the opening 15 minutes. 

Crawford's first of four touchdown runs midway through the second quarter tied the game at 7-7, capping a 10-play, 62-yard drive in which Crawford carried it on all 10 snaps. 

After allowing 132 yards in the first quarter to the Bulldogs, the Ranger defense settled in and played outstanding football the final 45 minutes. They allowed just 11 yards in the second quarter to go into the locker room tied at 7-7.

Northwest had a chance to take some momentum into the half, driving it down to the Holmes 2-yard line thanks to a pass interference penalty, but Crawford and the Rangers were stopped on consecutive plays with no timeouts left and the clock ran out.

Neither team could find the scoreboard in the third quarter and the score remained tied.

The Rangers finally broke through in the fourth quarter with 21 big points, taking advantage of a pair of Bulldog turnovers and turning them into Crawford touchdown runs of 31, 7 and 16 yards. 

Holmes cut the lead to 21-14 with 10:17 to play on Jamario Benson's 16-yard run and made a big stop on 4th-and-4 when the Rangers were driving deep in Bulldog territory. 

The two biggest plays of the night, however, came from Corey Brown, when he stripped Benson, and D'Andre Brown, when he hammered Odell Spencer and caused him to muff a punt. 

Crawford then put the icing on the cake with 1:41 to play when he rushed in from 16 yards out to tie a single-game school record with his fourth rushing touchdown of the night. 

Northwest outgained Holmes 350-290 on the night, paced by a season-high 270 yards on the ground. Making his first collegiate start in place of an injured Karsten Miller, Kyle Morgan managed the offense effectively by completing 9 of 16 passes for 80 yards to six different receivers.

Terry Caldwell led the Ranger defense with 14 tackles and pushed his total up to a MACJC-leading 71 on the year. Malik Hawkins followed with 11, Kendall Carr had 10 and Brown had nine. 

Northwest will host Mississippi Delta (3-2, 2-1) on Thursday, Oct. 9 at 6:30 p.m. on Armed Forces Appreciation Night. The winner of the game will own sole possession of second place in the north division.

Watch live at NJCAATV.com/nwccrangers. Live stats at www.sidearmstats.com/northwestms/football.