SENATOBIA - A 43-yard field goal from Hayden Wolfe and a massive defensive stop from the Northwest defense helped preserve the No. 4 Rangers' 33-31 MACCC semifinal victory against fifth-ranked Mississippi Gulf Coast on Saturday afternoon.

Northwest led 21-10 at the halftime break, but were outscored 21-12 by the Bulldogs in the second half. The Rangers improved to 9-1 on the season and will advance to next Saturday's MACCC Championship game at East Central, after the Warriors notched a 31-21 win against Holmes.

Mississippi Gulf Coast dropped to 8-2 on the season with Saturday's loss.

After both teams started the game with a pair of uneventful possessions, Mississippi Gulf Coast delivered the first blow on a three-play, 52-yard drive midway through the first quarter. Quarterback Landon Varnes connected on back-to-back completions, a 12-yard strike to Lester Miller and a 34-yard score to J.P. Coulter, sending the Bulldogs ahead with a 7-0 advantage.

Four plays later, the Rangers tied the game up at 7-7, as Zach Wilcke connected with K.D. Gibson on a 47-yard strike. Three plays into the next possession, Varnes was intercepted by Northwest defensive back Fredd Adams, giving the ball back to the Rangers with 3:12 left in the opening quarter.

After Northwest crossed midfield on the final play of the first quarter, the Rangers took a 14-7 lead on the first play of the second quarter, as Wilcke connected with K.D. Gibson yet again for a 38-yard touchdown pass. 

Mississippi Gulf Coast pulled back within four points after a quick 12-play, 49-yard drive that took just 3:45 off the clock. Starting near midfield after a solid 42-yard kick return from Brandon Hines, Varnes completed six straight passes to get the Bulldogs inside the red zone. However, a negative rush and two incompletions forced MGCCC to settle for a 25-yard field goal from Connor Mullins.

Though Northwest went three-and-out on its next series, the Bulldogs also struggled after crossing midfield on an empty-handed seven-play possession. Unfortunately, the Rangers had a similar result on their next drive, as two straight incompletions forced the home team to punt once again.

Mississippi Gulf Coast picked up 12 quick yards on its next possession, thanks to three successful rushes from Trey Hall. However, the drive was stopped with Kamp Shepherd's interception of Varnes, which was returned 20 yards to the Bulldogs' 17-yard line.

With 1:41 left in the second quarter, Northwest hit the jackpot on a six-play possession, which ended with Wilcke's seven-yard touchdown pass to JaBrysten Abram. The score helped lift the Rangers to a 21-10 halftime lead.

Northwest opened the second half with the ball and a chance to pull away further from Mississippi Gulf Coast. However, the second play of the drive resulted in a rare fumble from D'mariun Perteet, which was recovered by the Bulldogs at the Rangers' 27-yard line. Even worse, a face mask penalty against Northwest moved the ball inside the red zone.

Despite the favorable field position, MGCCC went nowhere but backwards, as the Bulldogs were once again forced to settle for a 38-yard field goal from Mullins. Although it wasn't the touchdown Mississippi Gulf Coast wanted, the score helped close the gap to 21-13 with 12:38 left in the third quarter.

M.J. Johnson seemingly gave Northwest some momentum with a 47-yard kick return, which set the Rangers up across midfield. However, a third down sack ended the possession for Northwest, as a punt gave the ball back to the Bulldogs at the 20-yard line.

A long 15-play, 80-yard drive paid off for Mississippi Gulf Coast, as Hines capped off the nearly eight-minute possession with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Mason Beverly. The Bulldogs opted to go for the two-point conversion, but it resulted in an incompletion. Despite the failed attempt, the touchdown allowed MGCCC to pull back within 21-19 with three minutes left in the third quarter.

A personal foul penalty against the Bulldogs' defense allowed Northwest to advance near midfield, where Wilcke completed a 24-yard pass to Abram on third and long. Two straight carries from Roman Gregory brought the Rangers on the cusp of entering the red zone, but a third down incompletion forced Northwest to settle for 43-yard field goal from Hayden Wolfe, which pushed the lead to 24-19 as the third quarter drew to a close.

Four plays into the fourth quarter, Mississippi Gulf Coast regained the lead off back-to-back 35 and 13-yard rushes from Hall. Once again, the Bulldogs two-point conversion attempt failed, but MGCCC led 25-24 with 13 minutes left in regulation.

However, the deficit wouldn't last long for the Rangers. On the first play of the ensuing possession, Wilcke hit Johnson on a 65-yard route to the end zone. Northwest also opted to go for two, but a reverse play failed, keeping the lead at 30-25.

Mississippi Gulf Coast once again burned off time on the next offensive drive, as the Bulldogs went 66 yards downfield in 10 plays and five minutes. The drive ended in another touchdown, as Hines completed a 12-yard touchdown to Tyler Henderson. MGCCC would once again miss a two-point conversion attempt, keeping the lead at a narrow 31-30 margin with 7:27 left to go.

Northwest also worked the clock a little on its next offensive opportunity, burning another 4:19 off the game clock. Wilcke completed three straight passes of 23, five and 11 yards to Rashard Daniels, Gibson and Qua Middlebrooks, respectively. However, the Bulldogs' defense kept the Rangers out of the end zone, only for Wolfe to hit another 43-yard field goal, pushing his team to a 33-31 lead with 3:01 left in regulation.

Mississippi Gulf Coast had plenty of time to respond, but the Northwest defense locked down the Bulldogs and forced a fourth down. Needing a score, MGCCC opted to go for the first down, only for Chandler Chapman to be wrapped up by Shepherd for a two-yard loss, giving Northwest the ball with 1:28 remaining. 

Despite positive yardage from Perteet, Northwest faced fourth and short from the Bulldogs' 14-yard line with less than a minute left. Instead of settling for the field goal, the Rangers relied on Perteet once again, and the sophomore delivered the game-clinching first down.

Northwest finished with 365 yards of total offense, including a career-high 287 passing yards from Wilcke. The sophomore from Hernando completed 15 of his 25 pass attempts and his four touchdown passes were also good for a career-high.

Two Ranger receivers accounted for 100 or more yards, including six catches for 114 yards and two touchdowns from Gibson. Johnson also hauled in three passes for 108 yards and a touchdown, while Abram caught two passes for 31 yards and a touchdown.

Mississippi Gulf Coast finished with 401 yards of total offense, with the Bulldogs earning 224 of those yards on the ground. Hall carried the rushing attack for MGCCC, totaling 137 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries.

Varnes completed 15 of his 21 pass attempts for 131 yards and a touchdown. Hines finished 4-for-6 in the quarterback position in the second half, throwing for 46 yards and two touchdowns, while accounting for 32 rushing yards.

Beverly and Coulter were the Bulldogs' top two receiving targets, with both players combining for 10 catches, 117 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Defensively, Caulen Dunn was an unstoppable force for the Rangers, racking up 23 total tackles and a tackle-for-loss. Dunn's 23-tackle performance is the most by any Northwest defender in a single game since Melton Glover's 24 total tackles in an October 12, 1995 matchup against Mississippi Delta. (Glover and Cassius Ware share the single-game tackles record with 24 apiece.)

Other defensive standouts for the Rangers included Jerry Wall III, who finished with eight tackles and a tackle-for-loss. Kamp Shepherd and Tyeland Coleman also finished with six tackles each, with Shepherd accounting for a 20-yard interception return.

Additionally, Fredd Adams hauled in an interception and a pair of pass breakups.

Javen Gibson led Mississippi Gulf Coast with nine total tackles, including three tackles-for-loss and a forced fumble. Montrell Chapman also racked up eight tackles and a quarterback hurry.

Kickoff return yardage proved to be a difference-maker for both teams, but more so for Northwest. Johnson returned five kicks for 152 yards, including a long 47-yard return. The Bulldogs accounted for 124 kick return yards of their own, led by three returns for 59 yards from Hines.

Both teams made each of their two field goal attempts, with Wolfe hitting a pair of 43-yarders. Mullins hit on both of his attempts for Mississippi Gulf Coast, one from 25 yards and one from 38 yards.

Wolfe also punted five times for 203 yards, with three landing inside the 20-yard line. Mullins also punted three times for 109 yards with a 39-yard punt being his longest.

Since Benjy Parker took over the head coaching reins prior to the 2016 season, Northwest has played in seven of the last nine conference championship games. A kickoff time for next Saturday's title bout at East Central has not yet been announced. Read Full Article