SENATOBIA – It was a runaway win for #7 Northwest Mississippi Community College football (7-2, 5-0) on Thursday night, with the Rangers taking it to the Southwest Mississippi Community College Bears (1-8, 0-5) in the form of a 42-0 victory at Bobby Franklin Field. The win was the sixth straight for the Rangers after beginning the season at 1-2, and puts them in the driver's seat for making the MACCC Championship and potentially hosting it on the first week of November.
Northwest's opening drive fizzled out after an initial first down, resulting in an early punt from Will Uselton that pinned the Bears inside their own 20. The defensive pressure from the Rangers was enough to keep Southwest from getting any net yardage despite a first down and forced a punt of their own.
Punts would continue on the next possession for both teams, and it would take the Rangers to step up and change the trend after starting on their own 26 when Noah Gillon took the deep option to a streaking TyAnthony Elmore, and the duo hooked up for a 74-yard touchdown pitch-and-catch to put the Rangers up 7-0.
Northwest's defense would step up on the next drive after just a few plays, and quickly got the ball back for the offense when Malachi Gilleylen plucked a ball out of the air and set up the Rangers in plus territory.
Just two plays later, it was the familiar duo of Elmore and Gillon connecting again, this time for 29 yards and a second touchdown for the pair to go up 14-0 with 3:17 to go in the first quarter.
"I was trusting in my quarterback," Elmore said. "The coaches' play calling was giving me opportunities to go get the ball, so that's what I did. Every day after practice we would go out there catching balls and running routes, working on that connection, so that really played a major key in tonight's game."
The Bears picked up a long return on their next possession, but after marching inside of the two, the Northwest defense again stepped in to force a turnover, this time with Chase Meeking scooping up a fumble to set the Rangers up with a long field but still a two-score lead.
A long field didn't dissuade the Ranger attack, again going to the air to Elmore, who got them space after pulling in a 66-yard reception to flip the field, eventually setting up a pass to Damon Sisa from the backfield that turned into a 16-yard touchdown, extending the lead to 21-0 early in the second quarter.
One more score would develop for the Rangers on their next drive after another punt was forced by the Northwest defense, and after a march that took just 1:56 off of the clock and finished off with a 1-yard surge into the end zone by Macaleb Taylor to extend the advantage to 28-0.
Northwest did have one more chance with just under two minutes to go, but the drive would end in Southwest territory when Gillon threw his first interception of the game, and the Bears took over in Ranger territory.
The Bears opened the second half with the ball, and they went to work, driving down inside of the Northwest 10, but the Rangers picked up a huge sack from Linkin Sanders before Lundy made his mark on the game for a second time, blocking a field goal attempt to keep the Bears off of the scoreboard and keep it 28-0.
The block was his third of the season and set a new mark for Northwest players in a career, breaking a tie of nine Rangers behind him, and beat out D.J. Reed and Marlon Character Jr., who did it last in 2017.
Whether it was blocks, turnovers, or just hard tackling, Gilleylen, who finished with eight tackles and his first interception of the year, said the extra work the defense is also putting is continues to pay off.
"We are just taking it one play at a time," he said. "Like coach said, we need to show them we are men. Take the respect from them and impose your will on them to dominate them.After practice, we have been staying and doing the extra work, whether it is coming with sacks, DB's working on getting picks, stuff like that."
Back on the offensive side of the ball, the Rangers went back to work after picking up the ball near midfield and made it into the red zone with less than five to play in the third quarter. The drive would be capped off by a ten-yard touchdown run to the left pylon.
Another stop forced by the Northwest defense took the ball into the fourth quarter with the lead still at five possessions and the Rangers in control of the ball, and they went to work on the ground to wind the game down. The reserves would step in, including backup quarterback Zach Benedict and running backs Jeremiah Harkins and Jermany Hayden.
The drive would eventually lead to the goal line, where Harkins would finish off the 90-yard drive with their sixth score of the night, going up 42-0 in the process.
The game would wind down on the next drive for the Bears as the running clock rolled on, and the Rangers would end it on a big sack that kept the Bears from gaining any traction on the scoreboard, resulting in the second shutout of the year for Northwest.
Gillon was the leader of the offensive attack, pacing the way by going 16-for-19 through the air for a season-best 321 yards and three touchdowns. He did throw one interception.
Elmore was his favorite target, pulling in seven receptions for 200 yards, becoming the first receiver this year to eclipse the mark and the first since Keon Hutchins recorded 216 yards against Southwest in 2025.
Zavion Carman added 30 yards on three receptions, and Philip Swann picked up a big 32-yard catch for his lone reception of the game. Damon Sisa added a receiving touchdown as part of his two catches for 24 yards, and Quincy Phillips Jr. closed the game with two receptions for 23 yards.
With only three incompletions all game, the offense was really clicking all night.
"The big key is just to dial in and do what the coaches are asking us to do," Elmore added. "We can't have any self-inflicted wounds. We just need to do everything the right way, and it will all come together."
The running game was consistent all night, but it was the late surge from Jeremiah Harkins that put him in the top spot, carrying the ball nine times for 71 yards. Woods took it eight times for 40 yards, adding a reception for 12. Taylor picked up the ball five times for 23 yards, and Gillon added 22 yards on four carries. Harkins, Woods, and Taylor all finished with touchdowns to boot.
"We started out slow, but we got it going," Hill said. "They were playing some man, and we have some guys that can beat it. Ty had a really big game, and Noah threw some good balls, the line blocked good, the running backs ran hard, so besides a few penalties, it was a pretty good game for us."
On the defensive side of the ball, Northwest picked up a great game from Linkin Sanders, who finished with a career-best 11 tackles, including 1.5 TFLs. They forced three turnovers, including a pair of interceptions by Gilleylen and Rondarius King as well as a fumble recovery from Meeking. They also tallied four sacks and 10 total TFLs
"The defense is tough to deal with," Hill said. "Any time you can get the ball back, especially with an explosive offense as we have, and when you capitalize and get a touchdown, that takes the wind out of the sails of an opposing team. Since Paige has been the defensive coordinator, we are good for one or two turnovers a game, so that obviously helps the offense big time."
The Rangers head onto the road for the season finale with a lot on the line as they travel to Scooba for a battle with East Mississippi Community College (8-1, 4-1) on Thursday night at 7 p.m. The game will decide the winner of the MACCC North Division and the representative in the MACCC and Region 23 Championship Game in November. The South representative was secured on Thursday night with Hinds Community College (7-2, 5-0) defeating Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College (7-2, 3-2) in a 49-42 thriller.
"That's going to be a big game regardless," Hill said. "It's always come down to East and us, so we are going to get up for that game. It was good to come out here and solidify and clean up some things. Offensively, we are trending in the right direction, but they are going to have good athletes that can match against us, so we have to put a good plan together and execute."
The pregame show will begin on Ranger TV at 6:30 p.m. with Russell Copeland and Tyler Springs on the call. Keep up with the full schedule for Northwest football by visiting nwccrangers.com or by following along on Northwest social media accounts.
