SENATOBIA – For a minute, the suspense was strong inside Ranger Stadium at Bobby Franklin Field as Itawamba kicker Shane Lasher lined up for a 47-yard field goal attempt with four seconds left, a kick that could have given the Indians a one-point victory after trailing 16-0.

That's when Northwest sophomore linebacker Desmyn Baker stepped in, getting a hand on the kick at the line of scrimmage, sending the ball sailing short of the goalposts and into the end zone to preserve the 16-14 nail-biting victory for the Rangers, capping off a wet, windy and wild Thursday evening in Senatobia.

It was the icing on the cake for the Clinton native, who posted nine total tackles on the evening and a pass breakup.

Northwest opened the contest on a solid start, as freshman Kevin Nelson picked off Itawamba's Loden Bolen on the Indians' second play from scrimmage, giving the home team excellent field position at the 34-yard line. Tucker Barefoot would then give the Rangers their first points of the 2020 season on a 33-yard field goal kick.

After the Indians came up empty-handed on their next possession, Murray State transfer quarterback Michael Hiers got Northwest into the end zone on a 21-yard touchdown pass to freshman D.T. Sheffield. Barefoot followed with a successful PAT to extend the Rangers' advantage to 10-0 with 5:47 remaining in the opening quarter.

Heirs and the Rangers closed out the first quarter on an emphatic note, as the new signal-caller hit sophomore Keyon Fordham on a 73-yard touchdown reception with 2:05 to go, swelling the lead to 16-0.

Weather soon began to wreak havoc on both team's offenses as heavy rains and winds made their way into the area. As a result, defense soon became the story on both sides of the ball with neither team able to muster any points, setting up a 16-0 halftime advantage for Northwest.

Although both the Rangers and Indians traded possessions and punts through most of the third quarter, Itawamba began to click on the offensive side of the ball as the third quarter drew to a close.

With 13:39 to go in regulation, Itawamba finally hit the jackpot on a three-yard rush from Tyler Day that ended a six-play, 40-yard drive and got the Indians on the board, down 16-7.

ICC soon began to come alive on defense as well, giving Northwest no answers on its next possession and forcing a Ranger punt.

Despite a solid 61-yard punt by Drew Dabney that pinned the Indians inside the 10-yard line, Bolen wasted little time finding Qua Davis on a 59-yard touchdown pass to bring Itawamba within 16-14 with eight minutes to go.

Fordham would deliver a spark for the Rangers on the ensuing kickoff return, taking the ball 43 yards into ICC territory. Northwest would fail to reach the end zone however, as a third down pass intended for Jacoby Jones in the end zone was swatted away by Ralph Dunn.

Barefoot would then try for a field goal but the ball sailed just outside the goalposts, allowing the Indians to take over with 6:14 remaining.

Itawamba successfully burned the clock while marching downfield to the Rangers' 24-yard line, but a Kylan Robinson sack backed the Indians up 13 yards. An incomplete pass and a three-yard rush then set up the blocked field goal attempt, allowing Northwest to hang on for the win.

ICC outpaced the Rangers in total offense as the Indians finished with 308 total yards, with nearly 200 of those yards coming in the second half. Northwest finished with 247 total yards after racking up 185 in the first half.

Hiers finished 9-of-21 through the air with 165 yards and two touchdowns for Northwest, while Bolen guided the Indians to 149 yards and a touchdown on 19 completions.

Itawamba stifled the Rangers' ground game as sophomore Jaquerrious Williams was held to just 61 yards. Fordham led Northwest with two receptions for 84 yards and a touchdown. Jamarcus Quarles led ICC with 78 yards on the ground, followed by Davis' 10 receptions for 103 yards.

In addition to Buell's breakout performance, sophomore defensive lineman Nijel McGriff and sophomore linebacker Kylan Robinson each totaled 13 tackles, new career-highs for both players. Robinson, a Southaven native, also posted three TFLs for 15 yards.

Freshman Rod Daniels and sophomore defensive back Jarvis Townsend finished with eight tackles apiece, while Hornell, N.Y. freshman Rayyan Buell totaled five tackles in his Ranger debut.

Defensively, Itawamba was led by eight stops from Peyton Rea and three TFLs from Breon Jordan.

Dabney's lone punt of the evening (61 yards) was only his second career punt of 60 yards or more, joining his 64-yard punt at Holmes last season.

With the victory, Northwest improved to 1-0 on the season as Itawamba fell to 0-2 overall. The Rangers will now turn their attention to a 3-0 Northeast squad on October 22 in Booneville.

Kickoff for the Rangers' contest at Northeast will be 6:30 p.m. with live stats and live broadcast links available at nwccrangers.com/watch.