ALVA, Okla. – Once the pregame festivities drew to a close, homecoming wasn't much of a party for the Northwestern Oklahoma State football team.
Southeastern Oklahoma State University completed just seven passes, but piled up 292 rushing yards on its way to a 31-6 victory, snapping the Rangers' 17-year homecoming win streak.
Playing at Ranger Field for the first time in 35 days, Northwestern took some time to readjust, surrendering 24 unanswered in the first half. The Ranger's lone score came with just over three minutes remaining in the final quarter, when Kyle Jech found Jeremiah Carter all alone behind the Southeastern secondary for a 60-yard touchdown pass.
Jech completed 15 passes on 35 attempts for 185 yards.
On the strength of his touchdown, Carter hauled in a game-high 69 yards on two receptions. Andrew King was held in check for the second straight week, catching three passes for 13 yards.
The highlights for Northwestern came on special teams, where the Rangers blocked a pair of Southeastern field goals.Northwestern also made positive strides in the run game, where they topped 100 yards rushing for the first time this season. Their 4.7 yards-per-carry was also a season-best.
Senior running back Jared Jackson led the Rangers with 89 rushing yards on 15 attempts. Javari Liggins added a 40-yard carry in the third quarter – Northwestern's longest run from scrimmage this season.
Southeastern scored the only points of the opening quarter when Ladarius Abrams bowled into the endzone from six yards out to make it a 7-0 game with 5:11 remaining in the first. Abrams added one more touchdown – this time from four yards – with 9:22 to go in the second for a 14-0 edge.
The Savage Storm rushed for their third touchdown just five minutes later, thought this one came with a twist. Keelen Green started right on a sweep before handing off to Quentin Morris on a reverse. Morris scooted untouched to the endzone from 14 yards to make it 21-0.
Chris Peoples added a 24-yard field goal just before halftime for a 24-0 lead at the break.
Southeastern's final points came deep in the third when Don Brown galloped 20 yards to the endzone, capping a 12-play, 70-yard drive for the Storm. They led 31-0 at that point, with 2:19 left in the third quarter.
Northwestern had one other golden scoring chance, moving to the Southeastern 20 early in the fourth quarter, but penalties took their toll. First a false start, then intentional grounding and sideline interference calls on the same play, moved the Rangers into a second-and-56 from their own34. Not surprisingly, they came away empty.
The Rangers committed 11 total penalties for 149 yards.
Northwestern's touchdown came a couple of possessions later. Jech completed a 23-yard pass on third-and-long to move the Rangers to their own 40. On the next play, Carter was left uncovered in the secondary. Jech hit him in stride, giving the announced crowd of 4,100 something to cheer about.
The Rangers play the second of four straight home games next weekend when they host Oklahoma Panhandle State in Alva. Kickoff is at 2 p.m.
OTHER NOTES –
The Rangers won their seventh consecutive coin toss and are 7-0 on the opening flip this year…Despite the final score, the Rangers kept the total yards relatively even. Southeastern gained 359 yards on 72 plays (4.98 yards-per-play) to Northwestern's 311 on 64 (4.86)... Southeastern has won four straight over the Rangers, the first time since 1961 that either team has won more than three in a row over the other. In that year, Northwestern captured the last of seven consecutive victories over Southeastern… Northwestern's 17-year homecoming streak came to an end, a string that actually began with a 1995 homecoming win over Southeastern. During that stretch, no team had scored more than 21 points against the Ranger defense.
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