FULTON – Northwest rolled up 593 yards of total offense and sophomore linebacker Alfred Dickens intercepted a pass at the goal line as time expired to help the 8th-ranked Rangers escape Eaton Field with a 31-24 win Thursday night over Itawamba.

Northwest improved to 4-0 overall (2-0 north) and remains one of only two unbeaten teams in the MACJC (No. 1 Co-Lin). Itawamba fell to 2-2 overall and 1-1 in the division.

The Rangers looked to run away with the game early as Gardner Minshew hit Ryan Golden in stride for a 75-yard touchdown strike on the opening play from scrimmage to make it 7-0.

Kwadra Griggs was then intercepted on the Indians' first drive and Tito Windham returned it 34 yards down to the ICC 22-yard line to put the Rangers in business. After a 15-yard completion to Todd Wilson and a pass interference penalty, Northwest was setup at the 2-yard line.

Looking to jump ahead by two scores, the game quickly shifted in momentum when a high snap on 2nd-and-goal sailed over Justin Crawford's head and was picked up by Artez Williams who raced 82 yards to tie the game at 7-7.

Jim Speights gave Northwest a 10-7 lead with 8:20 to play in the half, connecting on a 26-yard field goal.

ICC quickly answered on its ensuing drive, taking it 79 yards over 12 plays, capped by Dontavis Bruce's 21-yard touchdown run for a 14-10 lead.

Northwest would take a 17-14 lead into the half after falling behind by four, using a pair of long completions to Jacob McCrary and Golden to setup a record-setting 7-yard touchdown run by Crawford. With the touchdown run, Crawford became just the seventh Ranger in school history to go over 2,000 yards rushing in a career.

Minshew's 11-yard touchdown pass on the Rangers' opening drive of the second half stretched the lead to 24-14 before a Zach Ellis field goal made it 24-17 after three quarters.

Itawamba rallied to tie the game at 24-24 with just under 12 minutes to play, driving 61 yards on five plays, capped by Griggs' 9-yard touchdown strike to Dominic Walker. 

Northwest attempted to answer on its ensuing drive, going 72 yards on 14 plays and eating up nearly 7 minutes off the clock, before a 20-yard field goal miss by Speights. 

After forcing a quick ICC three-and-out, Crawford's 61-yard run, followed up by Max Joseph's 6-yard touchdown run, put the Rangers back in front 31-24 with 3:34 to play.

With ICC out of timeouts, Northwest got the ball back and drove it deep into Indian territory before turning it over on downs with 1 minute left. ICC caught a huge break when a Ranger player had a helmet come off, automatically stopping the clock prior to fourth down. 

Griggs and the Indians had one, final chance and drove it down to the Northwest 31-yard line with quick outs to the sidelines to stop the clock. But mysteriously, on 3rd-and-1 and at least a yard and a half short of the first down, officials signaled a first down and to stop the clock with 10.6 seconds left.

Griggs' last-second heave into the end zone was originally caught right around the goal line before Dickens knocked the ball out and made the game-saving interception to seal a 31-24 road win.

Defensively for Northwest, Malik Hawkins had 15 tackles, Devante Davis followed with a career-high 13, Quondarius Qualls had 10 and Dickens added six.

Crawford ran for 269 yards and a touchdown on 33 carries, his fifth 200-yard game. Minshew was 19-for-32 for 315 yards and two scores, hitting Golden four times for 116 yards, McCrary five times for 83 yards, Chapman five times for 59 yards and Todd Wilson three times for 40 yards.

Northwest will host No. 11 Hinds (3-1) next Thursday night, Sept. 24 at 6:30 p.m.