DECATUR - Thursday's road contest at East Central truly proved to be a tale of two halves.
Northwest led 19-0 at halftime, but saw the Warriors quickly claw back within a touchdown in the third quarter. While East Central had opportunities to overtake the Rangers, Northwest ultimately held on with a clock-burning possession late in regulation, pulling out the 22-17 win.
Northwest finished the evening with 349 yards of total offense, including nearly 200 passing yards from
Zach Wilcke. The Hernando native and Southern Miss transfer went 16-of-30 for a touchdown and an interception.
Both teams traded empty-handed possessions for the first several minutes of the opening quarter. The mundane routine was finally broken up with 6:51 left in the first quarter, after a bad snap sent East Central's punt rolling into the back of its own end zone for a Northwest safety.
Later in the first,
D'mariun Perteet scored from a short 2-yard distance, capping off a nine-play, 56-yard drive that took over three minutes off the clock.
Jackson Uselton followed with the PAT, pushing the Rangers to a 9-0 lead.
Midway through the second half, Northwest struck again, as
Keshawn Davila's interception gave the Rangers some surprise momentum. Five plays later, Wilcke aired out a 27-yard touchdown shot to
K.D. Gibson, further stretching the gap to a 16-0 lead.
With less than a minute remaining in the first half, Uselton nailed an 18-yard field goal, giving Northwest a 19-0 advantage.
Northwest held the Warriors to just 66 yards of total offense in the first half, while the Rangers racked up 211 yards of total offense.Â
However, the second half proved to be a much different story. As East Central started the third quarter with possession, the Warriors got on the board with Landon Sims' 38-yard touchdown pass to Lawerence Armstrong, pulling within 19-7.
On its next possession, Northwest was picked off on first down, giving East Central favorable field position. The Rangers were able to catch a small break though, as the Warriors failed to reach the end zone and were forced to settle for a 30-yard field goal from Cade Mangum. The kick closed the gap to 19-10 with 8:29 left in the quarter.
Northwest failed to get anything going on its next offensive possession, and East Central promptly responded with another quick drive. Once again, the Rangers did not allow the Warriors into the end zone and Mangum's next field goal attempt was no good, keeping the score at 19-10.
Northwest successfully burned the clock a little on its next drive, and that carried over into the fourth quarter, when
Hayden Wolfe nailed a 46-yard field goal attempt. The score made it a 22-10 contest less than 30 seconds into the fourth.
Just when it seemed like the Rangers had finally found momentum, East Central's Tyler Arrington returned the ensuing kickoff 89 yards, bringing the Warriors back within 22-17.
Each team traded blows over the next two possessions, but East Central just couldn't capitalize on some crucial opportunities. With 4:30 left to go, the Rangers got the ball on the Warriors' 20-yard line, only to complete a 10-play, 65-yard drive that would seal the Northwest victory.
Perteet led all Northwest rushers with 93 yards on 33 carries, while
Kyler Hutton hauled in six passes for 89 yards. Defensively,
Kamp Shepherd tallied 11 total tackles to lead the Rangers.
For East Central, Sims completed 10 of his 23 passing attempts for 104 yards, a touchdown and an interception. His top target, Armstrong, hauled in five catches for 78 yards and a touchdown.
Karl Ligon also led the Warriors with 80 rushing yards on 18 carries. Donnie Smith led the Warriors' defense with 13 total tackles and a tackle-for-loss.
Wolfe punted eight times for 318 yards, while Uselton with 2-for-2 on field goal attempts. Nekhi Cox punted seven times for 267 yards, with four landing inside the twenty. Additionally, Mangrum was 1-for-2 in field goal attempts.
Northwest and East Central both moved to 1-1 on the season with Thursday's results. The Rangers will welcome No. 10 East Mississippi on Thursday, Sept. 12 for a 7 P.M. kickoff.
