SCOOBA – After a tough first half, the Northwest Mississippi Community College football team almost rallied on the road at East Mississippi Community College, falling to the Lions 34-28 in their first divisional game of the season.

The game got off to a quick start for the hometown squad, driving down the field in just three minutes using a quick passing game to go up 7-0 on the visiting Rangers.

Northwest moved the ball on their opening drive as well but stalled out at the East Mississippi 44-yard line, setting up a Hayden Wolfe punt that was about as perfect as possible, pinning the Lions at their own one-yard-line.

East Mississippi was held to a three-and-out, but the Rangers couldn't do anything on their next drive either, setting up Wolfe for another bit of mastery with his right foot, coffin cornering the Lions again at their own one-yard-line.

The Lions learned their lessons from their first attempt to dig out of their own shadows, moving the ball 93 yards over the next 14 plays, taking up nearly six minutes of the clock on the way to a field goal to extend their lead to 10-0.

Offensive struggles continued for NWCC for most of the second quarter, with opportunities presenting themselves but not able to capiltalize on them, only to see EMCC take advantage to strike the endzone two more times in the opening half to go up 24-0 at the break.

Needing answers, the Rangers opened the second half with the perfect medicine for an ailing offense.

In just 95 seconds, Neko Fann took the offense 67 yards in five plays, connecting with Keon Hutchins for a 28-yard touchdown to break the seal and make it a game with 13:17 to go in the third quarter.

A three and out from East Mississippi allowed for the Rangers to keep the momentum going and Fann hit his second receiver in as many drives for a score, finding M.J. Johnson on a fade route to close the gap to 24-14 with 6:55 to go in the third quarter.

The Rangers defense nearly came up with their second stop in a row but a fourth down conversion by EMCC turned a fourth-and-one into a 53-yard touchdown run to swing the pendulum back to the Lions with a 31-14 lead.

An interception ended the next Northwest drive but both teams couldn't change the score going into the fourth quarter.

The final quarter saw the Lions open with an 11-play drive that proved to be decisive in the final result, going 54 yards to set up a 28-yard field goal, going up by three scores, 34-14 with only 10:26 left in the game.

Northwest answered with their second fastest drive of the game, going 75 yards in just 1:41 to move back within two scores at 34-21 on a third passing touchdown for Fann, this time to Reed Jesiolowski for a 15-yard connection.

East Mississippi answered with a 4:20 minute drive that reached the NWCC 36-yard line but ended when a fourth down pass was incomplete setting up the Rangers with prime field position on the way to a 1:36 minute touchdown drive that closed the gap to one score with just 2:40 left.

The Lions wouldn't give another chance for the Rangers to get the final score though, completing a seven-yard pass on a third and four to ice the game and escape with a 34-28 win.

Northwest finished the game with 25 first downs in a balanced attack that saw 11 come on the ground and 14 through the air. They were held to their lowest rushing total of the season, only gaining 123 yards on 18 carries, but finished with their strongest passing attack of the season, going 23-42 through the air for 277 yards and three touchdowns.

Fann was the top passer, throwing for 266 yards on 22-39 attempts and all three touchdowns. He also led the team in rushing with six carries for 53 yards.

Fann also spread the ball around, finding Johnson six times for 75 yards and a touchdown and also completing passes to Jesiolowski and Hutchins for scores as well. Britten Traylor was second on the night in receiving yards, with six receptions for 63 yards and Julius Pope and Jarvis Durr also pulled in one reception each.

Pope was limited in his attempts on the ground, carrying it only seven times but still gaining 49 yards and a touchdown on the ground. Ja Keyes also carried it for 22 yards on three carries.

Rase Jones led the Rangers in tackles with their first double digit tackle game of the year with six solo's and four assisted as well as one tackle for a loss.

Dre Riley, Jerry Wall III and Jakwon Morris all finished with nine tackles. The Rangers were held without a sack for the first time this season with the quick passing game from EMCC limiting their opportunities.

Special teams was impressive for Northwest in the game as Wolfe finished with five of his six punts inside the 20-yard line including two inside of the one-yard line. He also was 4-4 on PAT's and averaged 60 yards per kickoff.

The loss drops the Rangers to 2-1 on the season and they will look to rebound against Coahoma Community College at home on Thursday night with kickoff set for 7:00 PM. The game will be streamed online at nwccrangers.com/watch with the pregame show with Tyler Springs and Russell Copeland beginning at 6:30 pm.

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