PERKINSTON - In what turned out to be possibly the Rangers' most complete performance of the season, No. 12 Northwest capitalized off an early touchdown from Jaquerrious Williams to blow past ninth-ranked Mississippi Gulf Coast, 38-14, on Thursday evening.

Northwest outmatched the Bulldogs with 318 yards of total offense, improving to 5-2 on the season. MGCCC also fell to 5-2 overall, suffering its second loss in a row to the Rangers.

Mississippi Gulf Coast started the game with possession and managed to make it to its own 43-yard line, only to turn the ball over on a nine-yard sack by Rayyan Buell, resulting in a fumble recovery by Omar Pew.

Northwest took full advantage of the short field, as Williams earned the first of his two rushing touchdowns with 11:35 on the clock in the first quarter.

After MGCCC tied it up with a short, one-yard keeper by quarterback Austin Davidson, the Rangers responded with a nine-play drive that resulted in an Eli Hamlin field goal near the end of the opening period.

Northwest stood tall on defense all night including on the Bulldogs' next drive, when Sam Brumfield delivered another sack on Davidson, forcing the Bulldogs to punt. The Rangers then scored six plays later, thanks to a 33-yard touchdown pass from Michael Hiers to E. Jai Mason, stretching the lead to 17-7.

Mississippi Gulf Coast once again pulled within three with nine minutes left, but the Rangers' defense kept the Bulldogs off the scoreboard just before the half, keeping Northwest ahead 17-14 at the break.

Williams opened the second half with an eight-yard touchdown carry and the Rangers then came up big on punt returns, as D.T. Sheffield returned the kick for a 47-yard score and a 31-14 lead with just over eight minutes left in the third.

Freshman Jamarien Bracey would give Northwest its final touchdown of the evening, scoring from 13 yards out with 8:04 left in the fourth quarter.

Northwest totaled 157 passing yards and 161 rushing yards, led by Williams' 105 yards on the ground and the duo of Mason and Sheffield accounted for 42 yards apiece on seven combined catches.

Defensively, Northwest was led by nine tackles from Sam Brumfield, along with seven tackles each from Rontavious "Dude" Person, Jarvis Townsend and Rayyan Buell. Micheal Campbell also had three notable tackles, 1.5 tackles-for-loss and two hurries.

Northwest also checked all the boxes on special teams, with Tanner Gillis booting four punts for 175 yards, including a new career-long of 56 yards in the second half. Hamlin finished 5-for-5 on PATs along with his 35-yard field goal.

Mississippi Gulf Coast was led offensively by Davidson, who completed 19 of his 31 passes for 179 yards and a touchdown. Rico Dorsey emerged as the Bulldogs' leading receiver, hauling in a pair of catches for 43 yards and a touchdown.

Robert McDaniel led the Bulldogs with nine tackles and a pass breakup, while punter George Caratan finished with 241 yards on six punts.

With the win, Northwest now turns its attention back to North Division play, as the Rangers welcome Itawamba to town for next week's Homecoming. A slew of events will surround the week's festivities on each of the Northwest campuses, including the induction ceremony of the 2021 Northwest Sports Hall of Fame class prior to kickoff on Thursday, October 21

As for the game itself, the Rangers will kickoff against the Indians at 7 P.M. on Thursday, with live coverage carried on Ranger TV (nwccrangers.com/watch), Facebook Live and WHCQ.