COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Northwest football held firm at No. 5 for a second straight week in the NJCAA rankings released Tuesday. 

This marks a 28th consecutive week being ranked in the NJCAA Top 10, the longest active streak in the MACJC.

The Rangers (1-0) defeated Pearl River 34-21 on the road last Thursday but failed to move up in the polls. Third-ranked Trinity Valley (3-0) and fourth-ranked Iowa Western (3-0) leapfrogged the Rangers in the Top 5, moving up from No. 4 and No. 7, respectively.   

Northwest's victory against PRCC marked the first win of the 2017 season, as the Rangers' season opener against Hinds was declared a no-contest due to inclement weather from the remnants of Hurricane Harvey.

Arizona Western (2-0) remains in the top spot with 138 points and six first place votes. The Matadors are followed closely at No. 2 by East Mississippi (2-0), who defeated Gulf Coast 49-10 last Thursday in Scooba, receiving three first place votes.

Holmes is ranked seventh after routing Southwest Mississippi 67-34 and Copiah-Lincoln rounds out MACJC representation, checking in at 13th after a 34-6 victory at Coahoma.

Northwest visits Itawamba (0-2) on Thursday, Sept. 14 at 7 p.m. in the north division opener for both teams. It's also First Responders Night, with free admission for all first responders and their families.

Thursday's game can be watched in high definition at nwccrangers.com/watch and can be heard on Country Legends 106.9 WHKL-FM. Live stats are also available.

NJCAA Top 20 Poll (9/12/17)
1. Arizona Western
2. East Mississippi
3. Trinity Valley (TX)
4. Iowa Western
5. Northwest Mississippi 
6. Mesa (AZ)
T-7th. Holmes
T-7th. Tyler (TX)
9. Lackawanna (PA)
10. Snow (UT)
11. Garden City (KS)
12. Central Lakes (MN)
13. Copiah-Lincoln
14. Blinn (TX)
T-15th. Independence (KS)
T-15th. Northeastern Oklahoma A&M
17. DuPage (IL)
18. Georgia Military
19. Dodge City (KS)
20. Monroe College (NY)