ARKADELPHIA, Ark. – It's not an especially deep-rooted football rivalry, but as Northwestern Oklahoma State continues in its NCAA Division II transition, games with Ouachita Baptist take on some added significance as barometer of progress.
In the 2012 opener – its first as a DII Candidate - Northwestern was overwhelmed by a veteran OBU squad. Less than 14 months later, the Rangers played the majority of the afternoon like a team that very much belonged.
OBU wore down a resilient Northwestern over the final 21 minutes to stake a 45-21 victory, Saturday at A.U. Williams Field. The Rangers trailed 21-13 as late as the 6:30 mark of the third quarter before OBU put up 24-unanswered to put it away.
"We've got so many young kids, and our depth is still not where it is with some of these other programs. We're just now starting to get to the point where we have starters that can stand up and play toe-to-toe with the teams in this league," said Northwestern head coach Alan Hall.
"The kids played extremely hard, outside of a few minor mistakes. We're a couple of plays away from this being a whole different ballgame."
Redshirt freshman Reid Miller – who spent two weeks on the shelf earlier this year with a concussion - had yet to throw a touchdown pass in three previous starts. He put a stop to that streak with easily his most impressive performance to date.
Miller completed 16-of-28 passes for 232 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions.
His first TD – a 22-yard pass to Davontaa Bryant – tied the game at 7 with 5:02 to play in the opening quarter. The second – a 58-yard strike to Mervin Stewart – pulled the Rangers to within 21-13 with 9:40 left in the third.
"It's just a matter of reps," Hall said. "With Reid missing those two weeks of practice, he didn't get that week one to week two growth that everybody else did. He's just now starting to settle down and let the game come to him."
To that point, Northwestern (0-6, 0-6 Great American Conference) had played OBU (5-0, 5-0 GAC) to a statistical stalemate. Only an unanswered kickoff return for touchdown on the game's first play, and a missed Ranger PAT separating the two teams.
Rain fell heavily for most of the morning in Arkadelphia, but the clouds parted late in the first quarter, and the rain pushed off to the east. The sunshine provided a welcome break from the elements but also stirred up an extra dose of humidity.
As the third quarter progressed, the Rangers wore down. Northwestern rushed for 120 yards on 28 carries, but the vast majority of that came in the opening half.
The Tigers went the opposite way. After managing just 38 rushing yards in the first half, they exploded for over 200 in the second. OBU scored the next 24 points to bust the game open.
Northwestern rallied on its final possession with a crisp touchdown drive, moving mostly through the air. Miller completed 5-of-6 passes for 72 yards and also carried once for eight yards to move things along.
Miller's four-yard toss to Reginald Harris capped it. On that play, Miller bought time with his legs, rolling out of the pocket before firing for Harris at the goal line.
The two hooked up one more time on the conversion for two more points to make it a 45-21 game.
Sophomore Zachry Doyle led the way with five carries for 47 yards, and Javari Liggins added 45 on 12 attempts.
Stewart became the first Ranger to top 100 yards receiving since Week Eight of the 2012 season, grabbing seven passes for 108.
Kollin Retter hit double-digit tackles for the second-straight week with a team-high 10 stops to go with seven-each from Alex Hemberger and Traveon Kelly.
The Rangers remain on the road next Saturday with a 2 p.m. kick at East Central.
