SCOOBA – In the most important game of the season, #5 Northwest Mississippi Community College (8-2, 6-0) didn't give the sixth-ranked Lions of East Mississippi Community College (8-2, 4-2) any mercy, establishing themselves early and often on the way to a 38-28 win, locking up the MACCC North Division title in the process on Sullivan-Windham Field.
"It was a big win, and it always is at East Mississippi," Head Coach Benjy Parker said. "In the second half, they came out and got the momentum, but we were able to answer and win the game."
The Rangers' defense came in clutch again, forcing three turnovers on fourth-down attempts, along with two fumble recoveries to keep East from answering, and Parker said they have been a steady influence all year.
"For the last three or four weeks we have gotten better on both sides, but our defense has played really well, especially versus the run. We gave up some stuff in the passing game, but they played hard, and the turnovers were certainly a big part of the win."
Northwest's opening drive got off to a shaky start, but a roughing-the-passer penalty would give the drive new life, and a few plays later, DJ Woods would take them into the red zone on a 44-yard carry to the Lions' 16.
Gillon would take it in from two yards out a few plays later on a quarterback keeper up the gut to give the Rangers a 7-0 lead after the Will Uselton point-after.
A fumble by the Lions at the Ranger 47-yard line would set the Northwest offense again, and two plays later, the hottest connection in the MACCC would connect again with Gillon finding TyAnthony Elmore for a 42-yard touchdown and a 14-0 lead with 6:45 to play in the opening quarter.
The Lions would fight back to answer on their next drive with a march to the end zone to close the gap to 14-7, but the Rangers didn't let that slow down their mojo, erasing that progress for East with a 49-yard touchdown run by Woods to rebuild the lead to 14 at 21-7 as the first quarter came to a close.
It was a big burst spurred by a cutback into open space, and Woods said that is something they work on looking for each week.
"We look for it in practice every week," he said. "Coach talks about the cutbacks and letting them form, and we got to it and did it."
Both offenses had trouble getting going in the second quarter as it featured a pair of denials on fourth down, one from each team, and four punts in the opening ten minutes.
Northwest made sure to take the momentum into the locker room at halftime. After the second punt of the quarter by East was brought back for a short return, that got the wheels in motion, leading to a chunk play from Elmore that set up a second Woods touchdown of the half, setting up the Rangers with a 28-7 lead.
The second half saw East opening with possession, and a big return set them up in plus territory, leading to a 19-yard touchdown pass from Trey Irving to Christian Thomas to close the gap back to 28-14 with less than three minutes having come off the clock. The comeback would get another boost on a pick-six by the Lions when a pass intended for Elmore was taken 34 yards back to the end zone, closing it to 28-21 with 10:58 left to play in the third.
A three-and-out led to another chance for East to tie the game, but a goal-line stand by the Ranger defense kept them out of the end zone and led to a 37-yard field goal attempt that was wide right to keep the lead at seven for Northwest.
"That was major for us," freshman Clytravus Lewis said. "It was all about being disciplined and just being able to work while you are tired and just going to get it."
Things would start to swing back to the Rangers two drives later when East was driving across midfield after a completed pass was stripped from the receiver of the ball, and a fortuitous bounce ended up in the hands of Linkin Sanders, who rumbled inside the 20 to set up the offense.
It was the third fumble recovery of the game for the Rangers and flipped everything back to Northwest.
"Everybody was just doing their jobs, running to the football to get all 11 hats to the ball and executing on what we work on in practice every day and bringing it to the field tonight," Lewis added.
The drive wouldn't finish off with a touchdown, but an 19-yard field goal by Uselton would give Northwest the 10-point lead back at 31-21 with 2:30 remaining in the third.
Northwest forced another turnover on a fourth-and-six at the Lions' own 44-yard line to set up another chance to score. As the clock drifted to the fourth quarter, the Rangers drove 44 yards on 10 plays, capped off by a fourth-down carry of their own by Gillon inside of the two to put Northwest up 38-21 with less than 10 minutes to play.
East wasn't done, though. The Lions took their next possession and quickly took it into the endzone on a long drive of their own with still over six minutes left in the game, closing it to a 10-point game again on a touchdown run by Trey Irving.
After picking up an onside kick attempt by the Lions, Northwest was held to another three-and-out to set up East with the ball again with 4:42 remaining, but with 85 yards of turf to maneuver for a score.
Gillon had a more pedestrian night passing the ball than in his previous games, going 10-of-18 through the air for 124 yards and a score while also throwing an interception.
The rushing attack was key throughout the game, led by Woods, who finished with a career-high 157 yards on 18 carries with a pair of scores. Macaleb Taylor picked up another 41 yards on 10 carries, and Gillon finished with 19 yards and a pair of scores on eight attempts.
Elmore finished the night with four receptions for 91 yards and a touchdown to lead the receiving corps, in the process becoming the first Ranger to eclipse 60 receptions in a season since Anton Paige had 64 receptions in 2000.
Dagarrious Clifton was the only other receiver to pull in more than one pass, with a pair for 12 yards, and Clydarrien Peters was the only other receiver in double-digit yards with 11 on one reception.
On the defensive side, Gilleylen was the leading tackler with 10 total in the game and a forced fumble to boot. Sanders had another eight tackles with a fumble recovery for 40 yards, and Lewis wrapped up the night with eight tackles and a sack for 11 yards.
Special teams were also strong, with Uselton remaining perfect on the season with five more PATs and a 19-yard field goal. He also punted four times for an average of 36.5 yards with one inside of the 20.
The Ranger will now have the chance to host the MACCC and Region 23 Championship next week on either Thursday, November 5 or Saturday, November 7 with more information still to come. Regardless of the day, Parker said the challenge in Hinds Community College won't be an easy one.
"We are just going to try to win it," he said. "We will have our work cut out for us with Hinds, who probably have the best player in the league, so it will be a tough game, and we will go to work on them this weekend."
Keep up to date with news on date and time for the championship game, as well as other news and updates on Northwest football by visiting nwccrangers.com or by following along with Ranger social media accounts.
