SENATOBIA - In a game that seemed at first destined for a blowout, No. 13 Northwest flipped the script and rallied back from a 27-0 deficit to outscore East Mississippi 21-3, despite a 30-21 loss to the sixth-ranked Lions on Thursday evening.

With the loss, Northwest dropped to 3-2 on the season and 2-1 against MACCC North Division competition. The Rangers still hold a 42-26-1 all-time series lead against the Lions, which improved to 5-0 overall and 3-0 in division play.

East Mississippi moved the ball early against the Rangers, but the Lions' first drive was shut down after Charles Thomas picked off quarterback Jamari Jones on the fifth play from scrimmage. The defensive stop set Northwest up on its own 32-yard line, but the Rangers moved backwards and were forced to punt on a three-and-out.

After starting from its own 37-yard line, EMCC rolled on a seven-play, 63-yard drive that culminated in a 19-yard touchdown pass from Jones to Zias Perryman with 8:45 on the clock. Peyton Rodgers would miss the ensuing extra point attempt however, keeping the Lions at six points.

Northwest marched close to midfield on its next possession, but a pair of personal foul and false start penalties shut down the momentum, forcing another punt from Tanner Gillis that set the Lions up from its own 19-yard line.

East Mississippi's next drive took six plays and just two minutes off the clock, as the Lions scored their second touchdown on a 36-yard pass from Jones to Jontarius Henderson. This time, Rodgers would convert his extra point kick, as EMCC stretched its lead to 13-0 with 4:16 left in the first quarter.

Things would get worse before they got better for the Rangers, as the Lions got the ball back on the very next play, thanks to a Trey Laing sack on Michael Hiers, which resulted in a recovered fumble by Devonyal Lofton. Five plays later, Jones scored on an eight-yard keeper to make it a 20-0 deficit for Northwest.

Northwest carried over a 13-play drive into the second quarter, as Jaquerrious Williams pushed the Rangers' ground game to the Lions' 25-yard line. However, the Rangers came up empty-handed on fourth down with an incomplete pass, sending the ball back to East Mississippi, which responded with a seven-play drive and a short touchdown from Ethan Connor, sending the Lions to a 27-0 lead.

In front of a stunned home crowd, things seemed bleak for Northwest, but the Rangers refused to fold. Starting from its own 30-yard line midway through the second quarter, Hiers opened a nine-play, 70-yard drive with an 11-yard completion to D.T. Sheffield. From there, Jamarien Bracey bruised through the Lions' defense and helped the Rangers get to the red zone, where Williams would score on an 11-yard carry to get Northwest on the board.

East Mississippi threatened to add to its 27-7 lead just before halftime, advancing to the Rangers' 26-yard line with 2:59 remaining in the first half. However, Northwest got another break on defense as Jones' pass was picked off in the end zone by Jarvis Townsend, giving the home team another chance to cut into the deficit.

Once again, Northwest pushed back against the Lions' defense, marching down to the 28-yard line on a nine-play possession. However, another incomplete pass on fourth down denied the Rangers another score, sending both teams to the locker room with a 27-7 East Mississippi lead.

Northwest opened the second half with the ball and let Williams do most of the work on the ground, pushing the Rangers inside the 10-yard line. This time, Northwest would hit the jackpot, as Hiers connected with Sheffield on a short three-yard pass, trimming the deficit to 27-14 early in the third quarter.

Both teams traded punts on the next two possessions, but Northwest caught a huge break as the third quarter came to a close, thanks to a 32-yard missed field goal attempt from Rodgers. The missed kick only injected the Rangers with more momentum as the fourth quarter began, but Northwest was ultimately stopped inside EMCC territory for the third time with a failed fourth down attempt.

After another huge stop by the Rangers' defense, Hiers and the offense got another chance with 7:28 left to go, starting from the Lions' 31-yard line after a short punt. Four plays later, Hiers once again found Sheffield on a nine-yard catch and Eli Hamlin followed with the PAT, bringing Northwest back within 27-21.

Although the Rangers held the momentum for most of the second half, East Mississippi used a 55-yard pass to Kevin Barnett to set up a 34-yard field goal from Rodgers, pushing the lead to 30-21 with 2:45 left to go. Northwest would get three straight completions to Sheffield and Jacoby Jones to get to the Lions' 42-yard line, but a sack and recovered fumble by Elijah Davis ultimately ended the Rangers' comeback bid with 1:18 left to go.

East Mississippi outgained the Rangers 493-408 on the evening, with the biggest separation coming with 328 receiving yards, compared to 251 for Northwest. Both teams finished near even in the rushing category, with the Lions taking a slight 165-157 advantage.

Perryman accounted for 129 of the Lions' 165 rushing yards, while Williams tallied 115 yards for Northwest, the most since a 250-yard performance as a freshman against Coahoma in 2019. In the Rangers' receiving game, Sheffield reeled in a career-high 11 catches for 114 yards and two touchdowns, his third career 100-yard receiving output.

Defensively, Lee Kpogba led all tacklers with 13 stops for East Mississippi, while Kel Williams and Brandon Lairy accounted for nine tackles apiece. Kylan Robinson and Micheal Campbell led Northwest with nine tackles apiece, including a sack from Robinson. Tavion Prather would earn the only other sack for the Rangers in the loss.

Rayyan Buell accounted for two quarterback hurries, while Townsend, Byron Pearson, Rontavious Person and TreShun Johnson were each credited with a pass breakup.

Keyon Fordham returned two kicks for 80 yards, including a 59-yard return in the second half. Gillis punted three times for 109 yards with a 41-yard attempt landing inside the 20-yard line.

Northwest was penalized five times for 51 yards, while the Lions were whistled for nine infractions for 85 yards. Both teams struggled to convert on fourth down attempts, with the Rangers finishing 1-for-3 and EMCC finishing 2-for-5 on the evening.

Next up for the Rangers will be another pivotal division contest at Coahoma next Thursday, October 7. The Tigers (4-1, 3-0 MACCC North) are off to one of the best starts in program history, most recently earning a 41-10 win against Holmes.

Kickoff is set for 6:30 P.M. in Clarksdale, with pregame coverage beginning at 6 P.M. on Ranger TV (nwccrangers.com/watch), Facebook Live and WHCQ-LD 8, where available.