WESSON – Trailing by a touchdown at the half, Northwest held Copiah-Lincoln scoreless over the final two quarters and to 97 total yards as the Rangers rallied for 16 unanswered points to grind out a 23-14 road victory Thursday night to stay unbeaten.
Northwest improved to 4-0 with a third straight road win while Co-Lin fell to 2-2.
Co-Lin jumped out to a 7-0 lead early in the first, using a 62-yard connection from Hayden Davis to DeMartre Collins that setup an 18-yard touchdown pass to Malik Heath at the 9:29-mark.
The Rangers immediately responded with a lengthy, 20-play, 84-yard drive that chewed up 8:16 on the clock, capped off by the first of three rushing scores from
Kevin Perkins from 1-yard out.
Jacob Free was 8-of-12 on the drive for 58 yards.
Neither team could find an offensive rhythm in the second quarter, exchanging multiple punts before the Wolves struck again.
Free's interception on the Rangers' 29-yard line setup a quick 29-yard touchdown strike from Davis to Heath to give Co-Lin a 14-7 lead at the half.
Northwest took its second possession of the third quarter 55 yards to the Co-Lin end zone, with Free connecting with
Braden Smith and
Keshunn Abram two times apiece before Perkins punched it in on 4th-and-goal from five yards out. The ensuing PAT was blocked to keep it a 14-13 Wolves lead.
The Ranger defense forced back-to-back punts to quickly put the offense back on the field and the Rangers drove it down to the Co-Lin 17-yard line before having to settle for a 34-yard
Chris Taylor field goal to take their first lead, 16-14.
Co-Lin had the chance to retake the lead two possessions later, with a 48-yard connection deep into Ranger territory setting up a 35-yard field goal attempt for Ashton Garner. But his try sailed wide right to keep it a two point game.
After a big
Robert Hentz II sack pushed Co-Lin back to its 2-yard line, a shanked 23-yard punt gave Northwest the ball at the Wolves' 25-yard line.
A heavy dose of
Jaxton Carson and Perkins on the ground resulted in the game-clinching score, with Perkins taking it 10 yards behind his offensive line on the left side to make it 23-14 Northwest.
Co-Lin's final possession moved 25 yards but ended on
D.J. Reed's sack to end the game.
Northwest held Co-Lin to 233 total yards and 1-of-11 on third down for the night, led by sophomore
Brandon Pierre's 11 tackles and a sack.
Free was 23-of-47 for 164 yards and one interception, hitting nine different receivers. Smith had a team-high six catches.
Northwest will host No. 18 Holmes next Thursday, Sept. 27 at 6:30 p.m. for Homecoming.
