MOORHEAD - Behind 436 yards of total offense and 37 first half points, No. 7 Northwest rolled to a 44-25 victory at Mississippi Delta on Thursday night, capping off the regular season.

Northwest improved to 7-2 overall and finished 5-1 against MACCC North Division competition. Since 2016, the Rangers are 42-7 in the regular season under head coach Benjy Parker, who has guided Northwest to seven or more wins in every season.

Freshman tailback Jamarien Bracey got things started for the Rangers early in the first quarter, as the Bryant, Ark. native scored from 11 yards out on the opening possession. Eli Hamlin would then connect on the PAT, capping off an eight-play, 75-yard drive.

Mississippi Delta had no intentions of going away silently though, as a 57-yard breakaway from Kelvin Smith helped the Trojans later score on a short carry inside the two-yard line, tying the game at 7-7 midway through the first quarter.

Quarterback Michael Hiers showed off his footwork on the Rangers' next drive, keeping it himself and scoring unopposed from 18 yards out to push Northwest back ahead, 13-7. The score marked only the second rushing touchdown of the season for the Birmingham native, his first since the Rangers' Week 3 win at Holmes.

Trailing 13-7 early in the second quarter, Mississippi Delta carried over a possession from late in the first quarter and tied the game on another short touchdown from Smith. However, the Trojans were unable to take the lead, as Mason Caldwell missed the PAT.

For Mississippi Delta, the 13-13 draw was as close as the Trojans would come the rest of the evening, as Northwest proceeded to score 24 unanswered points to end the first half. The action started with a six-play, 69-yard drive, all coming from Bracey, allowing the Rangers to jump back ahead at 20-13 with 11 minutes to go.

A bad snap on the Trojans' next punt attempt allowed Northwest to take over from inside the five-yard line, ending in a 20-yard field goal from Hamlin, pushing the Rangers to a 23-13 advantage.

With 3:39 left in the second quarter, Hiers connected with wide open Kevin Diaz for a 37-yard score, capping off a short four-play possession. Northwest would get one more shot in the first half, as Jaquerrious Williams took one in from 17 yards out with 1:46 left, sending the Rangers to the locker room with a commanding 37-13 lead.

Mississippi Delta started the second half with possession and scored off a 15-yard touchdown pass from Jalon Jones to Raheem Fairley, but the Rangers promptly responded with a 32-yard touchdown run from Williams late in the third, making it a 44-19 lead.

Although the final 15 minutes were mostly uneventful, Mississippi Delta did manage to earn one final score from Smith, a one-yard run with 3:32 left to go. The late touchdown did little to dampen the Rangers' victory though, as Northwest improved to 47-23-2 against the Trojans, winning its ninth in a row against MDCC.

For Northwest, it was the ground game doing most of the work, as Williams logged his fifth 100-yard rushing game in a row. The Tupelo native finished with two touchdowns and 132 yards, the most since his career-best 250-yard performance against Coahoma on October 10, 2019.

Bracey also picked up his second career 100-yard rushing game, finishing with 108 yards and two scores on 16 carries. In all, the backfield accounted for 299 of the Rangers' 436 yards.

Hiers finished 9-of-17 and was held to a season-low 137 yards through the air. He also threw just his second career interception in the third quarter, the first since November 7, 2020. With his lone touchdown pass to Diaz, Hiers now has 29 career touchdown passes and a 65.6 career completion percentage.

Defensively, Kylan Robinson led the way with nine total tackles and one interception returned for nine yards. Rontavious Person logged seven total tackles, followed by five from Jarvis Townsend and four apiece from Tevin Bell, Sam Brumfield, Fred Harris, Jr., Tavion Prather and Thurman Rayborn.

Tanner Gillis punted twice for 51 yards, both into a stiff breeze. Hamlin finished 5-for-5 on PATs and is now 6-of-7 on field goals for the season, following his successful 20-yarder.

Smith led Mississippi Delta's offense with 105 rushing yards and three touchdowns, while Jones finished 11-of-26 with 159 yards through the air. Treveon Miles was the top receiving target, catching four passes for 111 yards.

Stemarion Edwards led the Trojans' defense with 15 total tackles, including a sack and a pass breakup, while Marlon Brown earned 10. Su'Metris Stewart was also the recipient of the rare Hiers interception.

With the regular season now in the rearview mirror, Northwest will now turn its attention to a playoff rematch at No. 4 Jones College. The two teams met earlier in the season, with the Bobcats upsetting the previously-ranked No. 2 Rangers, 31-9, on September 9 in Ellisville.

Jones College (8-1, 5-1 MACCC South) rebounded from a loss against Mississippi Gulf Coast to defeat Copiah-Lincoln, 21-7, clinching the South Division title. The other MACCC semifinal matchup will pair North Division champion East Mississippi with Hinds. Both games are scheduled for Saturday, November 6 with times to be determined later.

Full coverage of the Rangers' battle at Jones will be carried on Ranger TV (nwccrangers.com/watch) and Facebook Live.