SENATOBIA - Fresh off a shortened undefeated season that produced a conference title and the National Community College Football Championship, Northwest has released its schedule for the upcoming 2021 campaign.

This year's slate marks a return to normalcy, with the Rangers reverting to the traditional format of six division contests and games against three non-division opponents, as well as a conference playoff semifinal and the MACCC championship game. Last year's 2020 schedule featured only division games and a championship contest, due to COVID-19 protocols.

All regular season contests will be played on Thursday nights, including Homecoming on October 21. All Northwest home games are also slated for 7 P.M. kickoffs

Northwest will face one of its toughest schedules in recent years, with six of its nine regular season games coming against teams listed in last season's Dirty 30 rankings from JCGridiron.com. No MACCC programs were ranked in the NJCAA polls, as the conference played its traditional fall season while other conferences competed in a shortened spring season.

First up for the Rangers is a battle against Copiah-Lincoln in the September 2 home opener at Bobby Franklin Field. The Wolves finished 2-1 last season before opting out for the remainder of the 2020 campaign. Despite the premature exodus, Co-Lin finished at No. 21 in the Dirty 30 rankings.

Northwest got the better of Co-Lin when the teams last met on September 19, 2019 in Senatobia. The Wolves came into that contest ranked eighth by the NJCAA, while the third-ranked Rangers delivered a tight 19-15 victory, improving to 25-15-1 all-time against Co-Lin.

Week 2 will see the Rangers hit the road at Jones College for a 7 P.M. kickoff on September 9. It will mark the first trip to Ellisville since a close 36-34 MACJC playoff loss in 2018 and the first regular season trip to Jones since October 26, 2013.

Northwest bested the Bobcats in the last meeting between the two teams, which came in a 24-17 victory in the 2019 MACJC Semifinals. The Rangers are 18-31 all-time against Jones College, one of the few programs that owns a winning record against Northwest.

Jones College finished the 2020 campaign with a 3-2 overall record and a final ranking of No. 14 in the Dirty 30 poll.

Northwest will then continue its road swing in Week 3, as the Rangers open MACCC North Division competition at Holmes on September 16. Kickoff for that contest is set for 6:30 P.M. in Goodman.

In last season's meeting, Northwest demolished Holmes 41-13 on the road, outmatching the opponents 530-161 in total yards. The Rangers own the all-time series against the Bulldogs with a 46-20-2 overall mark. 

Holmes finished the 2020 season with an 0-5 record.

Northwest is slated to return to the friendly confines of Bobby Franklin Field on Thursday, September 23 against Northeast. The two teams battled to one of the most thrilling games of last season, as the Rangers edged the Tigers 34-28 in overtime at Booneville, a game that ended with a 25-yard touchdown run from returning tailback Jaquerrious Williams.

This year will mark the Tigers' first trip to Senatobia since October 18, 2018, when Northwest scored a 31-7 victory in its home finale.

Northwest owns a 41-18-2 all-time record against Northeast, but the Tigers finished last season with strong momentum as the MACCC North Division runner-ups and a 5-1 overall record. NEMCC also checked in with a final ranking of No. 13 in the Dirty 30 polls.

Perhaps one of the most anticipated home matchups will come in Week 5 against nemesis East Mississippi on September 30. The Lions were the only MACCC program not to field a team last season, choosing to opt out entirely.

Despite not competing last season, the Rangers and EMCC have quite the intense history with each other in recent years, with the last meeting resulting in a 56-36 victory on October 3, 2019 against the then-No. 3 ranked Lions. The road win in Scooba snapped the Lions' seven-year home winning streak and provided the Rangers with their first win at Sullivan-Windham Field since September 16, 2010.

Northwest owns an all-time record of 42-25-1 against East Mississippi, but the two teams have tangled quite a bit for MACCC North Division supremacy over the last decade. In the last 11 years, one of the two programs has finished as the division champions and both have earned a combined seven national titles in the last 10 seasons.

Northwest hits the road once again in Week 6, taking a short trip to Clarksdale for a showdown with Coahoma on October 7 at 6:30 P.M. The two teams were scheduled to face each other last season as one of three home dates for the Rangers, but the game was ultimately canceled.

Over the years, the Rangers have amassed a 43-2 all-time record against the Tigers, but Coahoma turned heads last season with a 3-2 record and a No. 28 finish in the Dirty 30 rankings. The Tigers are also led by former Northwest defensive line coach Travis Macon, who coached in Senatobia from 2014-19.

In the last meeting between the two teams, Northwest captured a 54-18 victory on October 10, 2019. The Rangers also earned a 35-24 victory in their last trip to Clarksdale on October 11, 2018.

Another highly anticipated matchup will come in Week 7, as the Rangers make the trek to Perkinston to square off with Mississippi Gulf Coast, a rematch of last year's 40-13 MACCC and National Community College Football Championship victory.

Both teams are as even as it comes in all-time matchups, sporting a record of 20-20-2. The October 14 showdown is set for a 7 P.M. kickoff and will mark the first regular season meeting between the two programs since September 3, 2015, when the Rangers picked up a 26-10 triumph against the Bulldogs in Senatobia.

Mississippi Gulf Coast finished the 2020 season with a 5-1 record and a final ranking of seventh in the Dirty 30 polls.

Northwest will then return home on October 21 for a Week 8 showdown with Itawamba, a game that will serve as Homecoming and the Rangers' regular season home finale. The two teams met in Senatobia last season in a thrilling season-opener, ending with a blocked field goal attempt by Desmyn Baker and a 16-14 win.

Northwest owns a 41-26-1 all-time record against the Indians, which finished the 2020 season ranked 29th among Dirty 30 teams and a 2-3 final record. Additionally, the Rangers have won every Homecoming game since 2014.

A trip to Moorhead and Mississippi Delta will close out the regular season for the Rangers, with kickoff set for 7 P.M. on October 28. The Trojans and Rangers battled twice last season, with Northwest earning a pair of 26-9 and 44-6 victories, improving its all-time record against MDCC to 46-23-2.

In its 2020 regular season finale against Mississippi Delta, the Rangers totaled 537 yards of offense and clinched its 18th division title and 31st playoff berth in program history. The win also marked eight straight wins against the Trojans and the 18th win in the last 20 meetings.

Mississippi Delta concluded the 2020 season with an 0-4 record.

Northwest returns numerous members of last season's championship squad, along with a healthy signing class, as the Rangers look to repeat its title run under sixth-year head coach Benjy Parker. Last season, Parker became the Rangers' second all-time winningest coach and enters 2021 with a career record of 39-11 and a .780 winning percentage, trailing only Bobby Franklin in career victories (201).

All games will once again be carried this season on nwccrangers.com/watch with Jeremy Kennedy and John Luke McCord returning to handle play-by-play and color commentary.