GOODMAN – A career night for Northwest quarterback Jack Walker wasn't enough to complete a fourth-quarter Ranger rally, as Holmes upset third-ranked Northwest 47-42 on Thursday evening.

Northwest fell to 4-1 on the season and 1-1 in the MACJC North Division. Holmes improved to 2-3 overall and 2-0 in division play.

Holmes came out firing from the opening kick as Dylan Kelly put the home team in good field position with his 61-yard kickoff return. It took just one play for the Bulldogs to find the red zone but the Ranger defense stood tall, forcing Holmes to settle for a field goal attempt that veered wide right from 35 yards out.

After quietly trading the next couple possessions, the Rangers would finally strike on Jack Walker's 40-yard touchdown pass to Jacoby Jones, capping off a 4-play, 75-yard drive. Cole Catalano followed up with a successful PAT, giving Northwest the 7-0 lead with 1:35 to go in the first quarter.

Holmes would respond with a handful of successful plays and less than a minute into the second quarter, the Bulldogs scored off a 32-yard touchdown pass from Kyren Batey to Caleb Ducking. Easton Curry would miss the extra point however, allowing Northwest to maintain the lead at 7-6.

A 6-play, 66-yard drive on the next Ranger possession ended with a 16-yard pass from Walker to Zachary Johnson, pushing the Northwest lead back to 14-6 with 11:13 to go in the second quarter.

Holmes continued to find a way on the ground in the first half and throughout the rest of the night, issuing a response to every Northwest score. Devonta Bankston's 37-yard touchdown got the Bulldogs back within two despite another missed PAT from Curry.

Cameron Wynn put the Rangers in good field position on their next drive, returning the ensuing kickoff 63 yards to the Holmes' 33-yard line. Northwest would get all the way down inside the 10 but were forced to settle for a Catalano field goal attempt, which was blocked by Rasson Carr and returned near midfield.

Northwest denied the Bulldogs a chance to take the lead and the Rangers would respond with another scoring drive of their own, as Walker hit Wynn for a 14-yard touchdown pass to put the Rangers up 21-12 at halftime.

A major turning point in the game came early in the second half as Holmes got it down to the Rangers' 22-yard line. On a 2nd down, Justin Jackson forced a Kyren Batey fumble and Desmyn Baker recovered to give Northwest the ball back. On the next play from scrimmage however, a 40-yard reception from Drew Dabney would result in a fumble, giving Holmes the ball and allowing the Bulldogs to cut the lead down to 21-19 just two plays later.

With momentum on their side, the Bulldogs struck again on their next offensive possession, marching the ball 58 yards downfield and scoring off a Danny Woodard touchdown to take a 26-21 lead with 1:38 left to go in the third quarter.

Unable to extend the drive beyond their own 30-yard line, the Rangers were forced to punt and once again, Holmes would take advantage. A 7-play, 70-yard drive ended with a quarterback keeper from Batey to further extend the Holmes lead to 33-21 early in the fourth quarter.

To its credit, Northwest refused to fold and the Rangers responded three plays later, thanks to another Walker touchdown pass to Braden Smith for 13 yards, bringing the deficit back within five, 33-28.

After Holmes scored yet again on a short 2-play, 69-yard drive, Walker would once again lead the Rangers downfield, capping off a 54-yard push with another short touchdown pass to Smith, bringing Northwest back within five at 40-35 with 6:09 left to go.

Holmes continued to eat the clock on its next possession and ended the drive with a 26-yard touchdown pass on 4th & 7, bringing the Bulldogs' lead up to 47-35 with just over two minutes left in regulation.

Walker and the Rangers showed one final push, marching 75 yards down the field and scoring off a 26-yard pass to Wynn, once again trimming the Bulldogs' advantage down to just five with 49 seconds left.

Northwest attempted an onside kick to try and earn one last shot at the end zone, only to have Niageria Young recover the attempt to put Holmes in victory formation for the upset.

Holmes racked up 568 yards of total offense, 480 of which came on the ground. Batey accounted for 162 of the Bulldogs' rushing yards, followed by 114 from Woodard. In contrast, the Bulldogs were limited to just 88 passing yards, 83 from Ducking alone.

Walker's performance was the biggest highlight for Northwest, as the Georgia State transfer passed for 398 of the Rangers' 441 yards of total offense. He became only the third Ranger to throw for six touchdown passes in a game and the first to do it since 2002, when Bobby Robison threw six in a 53-17 thumping of East Mississippi on October 19, 2002.

Johnson finished with a career-high five receptions for 88 yards as the Rangers' leading receiver on the night. Smith was the most targeted, catching eight passes for 65 yards and two touchdowns.

Cam White led the charge on defense for Northwest, totaling 14 tackles as the only Ranger to earn more than 10 stops in the loss.

With the loss, Holmes earned its first victory against the Rangers since a 17-14 defeat in 2013. The defeat is just the fifth regular season loss for Northwest since 2015.

Northwest will now turn its attention to north division nemesis East Mississippi on Thursday, October 3. The fifth-ranked Lions (4-1, 2-0 MACJC North) enter the matchup after a 24-0 shutout of East Central.

Kickoff from Scooba is slated for 7 p.m. Links for live stats and broadcast can be found at nwccrangers.com