SENATOBIA – A stunning 22-21 home loss to Itawamba on Thursday night wasn't enough to keep No. 2 Northwest from clinching the MACJC North Division championship, its third division title in the last five seasons.

At 4-2 in the MACJC North, the Rangers were crowned division champs after Holmes' defeat of Coahoma earlier in the day and for having the best overall record among their division counterparts, according to MACJC guidelines on tiebreakers.

With the loss however, Northwest dropped to 7-2 on the season despite 259 yards through the air from freshman Jack Walker.

Although the Rangers' defense forced a three and out for Itawamba on the first possession of the game, Northwest struggled on the offensive side of the ball throughout the contest. After coming up empty-handed on its first possession, things went from bad to worse for the Rangers after a high snap on the punt set up a short field for ICC at the 4-yard line.

It would only take the Indians one play to strike, as Clark Mills' 2-yard keeper put Itawamba ahead 6-0 with nine minutes left in the first quarter.

Itawamba would continue to capitalize off the Rangers' struggles into the second quarter, as Skylar Grissom hit a 34-yard field goal to make it a 9-0 lead with 13:25 remaining in the first half.

Northwest responded on its next possession, marching the ball 47 yards on six plays with Jaquerrious Williams capping off the drive with a 10-yard touchdown run. Cole Catalano followed with the PAT to help the Rangers trim the Indians' lead to 9-7.

Itawamba struck again less than four minutes later as Hiram Wadlington's 5-yard scoring run ended a 7-play, 74-yard drive, allowing the Indians to regain control at 15-7 with 6:22 left in the second quarter.

Williams provided the home crowd with a little more excitement before halftime after his short 2-yard scamper ended an 11-play, 60-yard push that brought Northwest back within one at 15-14.

Northwest seemingly kept the momentum rolling into the second half, driving down to Itawamba's 13-yard line on the opening possession of the third quarter. The Rangers' spark quickly died however, as a high snap and an offensive penalty took Northwest out of field goal range.

With neither team able to score in the third quarter, the Rangers maintained a 62-yard drive into the fourth quarter, gaining control on a gritty 16-yard touchdown keeper from Walker that put Northwest ahead 21-15 with 12 minutes remaining in regulation. 

Northwest was unable to expand its new lead though and with just over five minutes remaining in the fourth, the Indians made the Rangers pay on a 59-yard open field touchdown reception from Collins Woods III. After missing two PAT attempts, Grissom connected on the third one to put ICC ahead 22-21 with 5:25 remaining.

Despite working its way into ICC territory in both of their final possessions, the Rangers' stalled at the 24 and 38-yard lines, with the final drive ending in an incompletion to seal the Indians' victory.

Walker finished 26-of-44 with 259 yards passing, his fifth game with 200-plus yards through the air. His primary targets on the evening, Mack Martin and Braden Smith, combined for 12 receptions and 133 yards.

Neither defense allowed the ground game to flourish, as the Rangers totaled just 71 yards, led by 50 from Williams. Itawamba totaled just 41 yards on the ground, led by 27 yards from Jamarcus Quarles.

Quentin Wilfawn led the Rangers' defense once again with nine total tackles and two hurries. Dee Rule, Robert Hentz II and Christian Cain came away with six tackles apiece, with Hentz adding two sacks and a breakup.

Sylvonta Oliver, Nick Smith and Keshun Parker paced the Itawamba defense with a combined 35 tackles apiece.

Drew Dabney finished with six punts for 244 yards, including a 52-yarder for the second-longest punt of the season. Cameron Wynn totaled 129 kick return yards on the evening.

Thursday's defeat is only the third home loss for Northwest since 2015. Over the last five seasons, the Rangers have amassed a 23-3 overall record at Bobby Franklin Field.

Northwest will host No. 9 Jones College on Saturday, Nov. 2 at 2 p.m. Links to live stats and broadcast can be accessed at nwccrangers.com.