FULTON - Behind a season-best 469 yards of total offense and a 21-point first half, No. 12 Northwest rolled to a strong 38-13 victory on Thursday evening at Itawamba.

After an early 7-7 tie, the Rangers outscored the Indians 31-6 over the remainder of the contest, improving to 3-1 overall and 1-0 in the MACCC North. Northwest also stretched its all-time series lead to 44-26-1 against ICC, which fell to 0-4 overall and 0-2 in the division.

Northwest began making plays the moment the Rangers' offense took the field. On the first play from scrimmage, Keegan Patterson connected with Jarnorris Hopson on a 14-yard reception and two plays later, the pair linked up on a 36-yard touchdown pass. Jackson Uselton with the first of his five point-after attempts, giving the Rangers the early 7-0 advantage.

Itawamba failed to get anything going on its second possession of the contest, but the Indians caught a break when a fumble by Patterson was recovered by J.D. Methvin at the 24-yard line. The short field helped ICC score two plays later, as Keegan Stover connected with T.J. Atkins on a 13-yard catch, tying the game.

However, the tie didn't last long. On Itawamba's next offensive possession, a bad snap sailed over the punter's head, allowing Elijah Ruffin to recover the ball 32 yards back well into ICC territory. That once again set up a short field for Northwest, which scored on the first play of the drive, thanks to a 30-yard touchdown grab by Hopson.

Leading 14-7 entering the second quarter, Northwest looked to extend its lead, but came up empty-handed on the first two possessions. On the second drive, the Rangers got the ball well inside the Indians' red zone, but an attempt on fourth and goal resulted in a fumble that was recovered by ICC. The Indians managed to make it to the 36-yard line of Northwest, but were forced to punt the ball away. 

With 5:30 remaining in the first half, the Rangers went on a clock-burning, 18-play drive that spanned 93 yards. Facing third and short, Patterson kept it himself and got the ball to the seven-yard line, where D'mariun Perteet would score two plays later. The score helped Northwest take a 21-7 lead into the halftime break.

Both teams traded punts to open the second half, but the Rangers would widen the gap on their second possession of the third quarter. On the first play, Patterson hit Cam Harris for a 27-yard catch and Xavier Davis scored two plays later, pushing the lead to 28-7.

Midway through the quarter, Itawamba would find the end zone for the final time, as E.J. Wadley intercepted Patterson and took the ball back 50 yards for the pick six. However, Luke Jackson's point-after attempt was blocked, resulting in a small victory for the Northwest defense. 

Northwest made up for the turnover on its next drive, as a five-play drive resulted in the last touchdown of the evening for the Rangers. One of the biggest highlights of the possession was a 58-yard pass from Patterson to Senatobia native JaBrysten Abram, which set up a nine-yard score from Harris.

Leading 35-13 entering the fourth quarter, Northwest burned over five minutes off the clock and capped off an 11-play, 63-yard drive with a 24-yard field goal from Uselton. After a sack from Kamp Shepherd shut down ICC's final possession, the Rangers successfully burned off the final 5:40 left in regulation.

Northwest held Itawamba to just 139 yards of total offense, thanks in part to the defensive efforts of D.J. Burgess, who finished with eight tackles. Shepherd and JyKeon Cunningham also collected six tackles apiece, with Cunningham adding a hurry and Shepherd accounting for two TFLs for a loss of 25 yards. 

Offensively, Patterson finished with a season-high 20 completions on 35 attempts, totaling 306 yards and two passing touchdowns. His top target, Hopson, collected 124 yards and two scores on just seven catches. Meanwhile, Perteet led the ground game with 64 rushing yards and a touchdown.

Shade Foster punted three times for 112 yards, while Uselton finished 5-for-5 in his point-after attempts. 

For Itawamba, Stover completed 11 of his 22 passes for 87 yards and a touchdown. Charleston French collected 68 rushing yards to lead the Indians, while A.J. Smith finished as the top receiver with three catches for 35 yards.

Jayden Walker led the Indians' defense with 10 total tackles, which included four tackles-for-loss and a forced fumble. Samson Israel and Jaiyden Thompson added seven tackles apiece, as Carson Langford punted eight times for 254 yards.

Next up for Northwest is an October 5 home contest against arch nemesis East Mississippi. Ranked sixth in the most recent NJCAA poll, the Lions (2-2, 1-0 MACCC North) are coming off a 42-17 loss at the hands of Mississippi Gulf Coast. The Rangers are 43-26-1 all-time against EMCC.

Kickoff for Thursday's matchup is set for 7 P.M., with pregame coverage beginning at 6:30 P.M. on Ranger TV, Action News 5 Plus and WHCQ-LD 8. Read Full Article