ALVA – New governing body. New conference. Same result.
Northwestern Oklahoma State defeated Southern Nazarene for the sixth straight year and eighth time in nine tries, 35-28.
"There's been a feeling or an aura around this team all week," said Northwestern head coach Alan Hall. "You could tell by the way they focused and prepared that they were not going to lose this game."
Not to say there weren't some tense moments. The former NAIA and Central States Football League foes - playing for the first time as provisional NCAA Division II and Great American Conference schools – played a seesaw battle from start to finish.
"It was emotional. Lots closer than I wanted," Northwestern quarterback Kyle Jech said. "But a lot of people stepped up tonight. The defense forced turnovers. I thought our offensive line played their best game of the season. There were a lot of bodies on the ground."
SNU (1-9) outgained the Rangers with 516 total yards on 93 plays. Northwestern (3-7) totaled 334 yards on 68 plays but made the big ones when it mattered.
Jech completed 19 of 31 passes for 278 yards and three touchdowns.
With Saturday's performance, Jech established new single-season school records for most passing attempts (368 and counting) and most passing yards (2,194 yards), overtaking former Ranger Victor Williams' 1989 totals. The senior signal-caller also recently broke Williams' single-season completions record.
SNU was led by running back Derick Perkins, who gashed the Rangers for 221 yards on 30 carries over the first two-and-a-half quarters but was almost non-existent over the final 21 minutes as SNU played catch-up through the air. He finished with 229 yards on 32 attempts.
Call it Senior Night nerves, but Jech – one of eight Rangers playing at home for the final time – took a while to shake off the rust. Battling pressure from a pair of defenders, Jech threw off-balance and was intercepted in Ranger territory by Josh Daugherty on the game's first possession.
The Northwestern defense quickly came to his aid, turning the Storm over on downs after just four plays at the Ranger 32.
Eager to push the envelope, SNU – which has made just one of eight field goal attempts this year - turned the ball over on downs seven times during the game and punted just once. On four-different occasions, they were stopped inside the Ranger-25.
With a chance to reboot, the Rangers made SNU pay almost immediately. Jech found a wide open Latigo Collins up the seam on a 45-yard touchdown pass to make it 7-0 with 12:37 to play in the first quarter.
After throwing on its first possession, the SNU offense dished out a steady dose of Perkins – a theme throughout the night. The SNU senior carried on six of the first seven plays to move the Storm down to the Ranger-15, but again the defense tightened up. Quarterback Dylan Terry fired incomplete on fourth-and-five to end another Storm possession.
The Rangers failed to make much progress before punting it back, but the defense came through soon after. Terry's short toss toward the right sideline was picked off by Keenan Santacruz and returned 35-yard for a touchdown. It was Santacruz's second interception in as many weeks and gave the Rangers a 14-0 lead just nine minutes in.
"The quarterback really just threw it right to me." Santacruz said. "All I had to do was put my head down and run. The blockers did a great job in front of me."
Northwestern forced a quick three-and-out and seemed poised to put the game away early, but Jared Jackson – throwing a halfback pass from near midfield – was intercepted by Matt Pruitt.
Given a second chance, SNU rebounded nicely.
Chris Brown shouldered the load for the Storm, carrying the ball on nine of the first 10 plays of what turned into a 75-yard march. Terry finished it off on a nine-yard touchdown pass to Sedrick Johnson, pulling the visitors back within 14-7 less than a minute into the second quarter.
Neither team would score again over the remainder of the half, though not for lack of opportunities.
SNU fumbled away a chance at points when Perkins was stripped from behind at the Ranger-25. Tayo Adewon scooped up the loose ball for Northwestern and galloped 68-yards the other way.
The Rangers couldn't seem to finish, either. Jech was sacked on third-down, and Edgar Colmenares couldn't connect on a 38-yard field goal attempt.
SNU continued the trend over its final two possessions of the half, turning the ball over on downs at the Northwestern 24 and 38-yard lines.
At the half, the Rangers had been outgained in total yards 269-96 yet led 14-7 on the scoreboard.
"We definitely didn't show up to play early [on offense], other than one play. We only had [five] first downs," said Jech. "Second half we turned it on, hit the switch, and had one of our better halves."
Though not before SNU applied more pressure. The Storm quickly evened the score in the first minute of the third quarter. Perkins cut loose for 50-yards and was knocked out of bounds at the one. On the very next play, he finished what he started, knotting the game at 14-all.
Northwestern stalled at its own 43 and seemed destined to punt the ball back. Jech – who also serves as the Rangers' punter – pulled off a perfect fake, lofting a short pass over the defense to an un-checked Josh Robinson for 51 yards and a fresh set of downs at the SNU six-yard line.
Jared Jackson scored on the very next play to make 21-14 Northwestern.
Momentum swings continued. SNU moved to the Ranger-five but failed to convert on fourth-and-goal. Northwestern fumbled on the next play to give it right back, and the Storm cashed in on a Terry to Jarod Martin 9-yard TD pass. With six minutes remaining in the game, the score was tied at 21.
Not long after, Northwestern tried a fourth-down conversion of its own from the SNU 33. With the Storm blitzing, Jech beat the rush on a perfectly-timed screen pass to Taylor Hooper for 17-yards.
Two plays later, Jech found Hooper again in the endzone to help the Rangers regain the lead, 28-21, with 2:42 to go in the third.
Santacruz's touchdown interception in the first quarter had a flashy finish, but his third quarter interception of Terry was easily the more impressive play. The Ranger strong safety stopped SNU's next drive cold, reaching across his body to snare a Terry pass with just one hand.
Northwestern's ensuing drive completely turned the game. Not only did Northwestern score – helped by Jech's 17-yard scramble to the one-yard line and a short TD pass to Jeremiah Carter – they chewed up almost five minutes in the process.
Trailing 35-21 with less than 12 minutes remaining in the game, SNU went away from the run. Perkins carried just twice in the fourth quarter, and the Ranger defense toughened up.
"We were playing too far off the ball early, letting them have four-yard catches," said Santacruz. "Once we started attacking, it turned around."
The Storm went three-and-out from their own 40 and turned it over on downs after a failed fake punt. The Rangers missed a 42-yard field goal going the other way but ate another seven minutes of clock.
Northwestern seemed headed for a game-ending stop with just over four minutes left and SNU facing fourth-and-nine from its own 42, but with the Rangers blitzing hard, Terry heaved a 58-yard scoring pass to Alex Reed. With 3:58 on the clock, SNU was back within 35-28.
SNU got one last crack at tying the game, retaking possession with 1:05 to go from its own 24. The game ended on fourth-down at the Ranger-42 when Terry's desperation toss fell incomplete just in front of the endzone.
Jared Jackson carried 14 times for 36 yards and a score. After a pair of strong rushing games, the Rangers managed just 56 yards on 36 carries overall.
Avery Morris led the Northwestern receivers with four catches for 25 yards. Cameron Allen – who had caught just two passes in the first nine games – grabbed three for 56 yards. Carter (3-29 yards) and Hooper (2-31 yards) each scored.
Rontez Smith had eight tackles. Eric Feemster, Chris Campbell, Tayo Adewon and Michael Harmon finished with six tackles appiece for Northwestern.
The win was Northwestern's third straight but its first over a GAC opponent since aligning itself with the new league. For Jech, it was just like old times.
"It's starting to feel a lot like the old Northwestern team," Jech said. "We come in the locker room and everyone is excited. It's a total flip from the first five or six games of the season."
Another hurdle cleared, on to the next – securing their first road win of the year.
"Beating conference opponents has always been one of our goals. That monkey's off our backs now," Hall said. "Really it's a one-game season for us now. We've got to come out and do whatever we can to beat Arkansas-Monticello and finish with a four-game winning streak.
