Box Score PERKINSTON - A close game at halftime unraveled in the second half for Northwest, as the third-ranked Rangers dropped a 49-14 decision to Mississippi Gulf Coast on Saturday afternoon.

For Northwest, it was the Rangers' first season-opening loss in coach Benjy Parker's tenure and the first season-opening loss since 2014. With the win, the Bulldogs also snapped a three-game losing skid against Northwest, marking the first win against the Rangers since the 2019 MACJC Championship.

Northwest started the game on offense, but an interception shut down the Rangers' first opportunity. The turnover allowed Mississippi Gulf Coast to strike first, as Kason Linke's 13-yard score put the Bulldogs ahead with 4:34 left in the first quarter.

Turnovers were aplenty for both teams, as Northwest had four takeaways in the first half. One of those set up the Rangers' first touchdown, a 45-yard pass from Keegan Patterson to Xavier Davis. Freshman kicker Jackson Uselton followed with the point-after attempt.

Late in the second quarter, the Bulldogs broke the tie with an eight-yard pass from Linke to Jay Dupree, sending the Rangers into halftime with a 14-7 deficit.

MGCCC came out of the locker room with all the momentum, scoring on four straight touchdown passes from Eli Anderson. The scoring surge put the Rangers behind 42-7, before Northwest finally responded on a D'mariun Perteet touchdown carry in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, the damage was done and the Bulldogs scored once more late in the game, adding insult to injury.

Northwest finished with just over 200 yards of total offense, highlighted by 170 yards through the air. Patterson completed 13 of his 28 pass attempts, but threw two interceptions against one touchdown. Davis, Kyler Hutton and Rashard Daniels got the majority of the targets for the Rangers, with Daniels hauling in four receptions for 36 yards.

On the ground, the Rangers had 16 rushing attempts, but finished with less than 40 yards on the ground.

With the loss, Northwest falls to 0-1. The Rangers will now look to rebound on Thursday, September 14 against Hinds in the 2023 home opener. The Eagles (0-1) are coming off a 20-7 loss to Northeast in Week 1.

Kickoff for Thursday's contest is slated for 7 P.M., with pregame coverage starting at 6:30 P.M. on Ranger TV, Action News 5 Plus (Roku/Apple TV) and in the Mississippi Delta on WHCQ-LD 8.