ALVA, Okla. -- Jarion Tudman battled flu-like symptoms in the hours leading up to Northwestern Oklahoma State's homecoming football game, to the point where he questioned whether he could even play.
Both Tudman and the Rangers are glad he did.
The redshirt freshman had a breakout performance, rushing for 118 yards and two touchdowns, to lead Northwestern past Southeastern Oklahoma State, 25-21, Saturday afternoon at Ranger Field.
"I was a little under the weather this week," Tudman said. "I've been throwing up the last couple of days, and I'm still playing on a fractured toe… But I didn't want to let that get me down."
Tudman has mostly played third-fiddle to Javari Liggins and Zachry Doyle, coming into the day with just 36 carries through the first seven weeks. He made the most of his 14 attempts against Southeastern, becoming the first Ranger back to top 100-yards this year.
Quarterback Reid Miller also topped the century mark with 121, as Northwestern piled up a season-high 307 rushing yards.
Northwestern (1-7, 1-7 Great American Conference) earned its first official GAC football win and avoided becoming the first Ranger team since 1980 to begin a season 0-8.
"We were ready to play. I could tell in the locker room when we came out for the opening kickoff," said Northwestern head coach Alan Hall. "The kids went out and executed well, especially when they needed it. It may not be as pretty as we want, but a win is a win."
Miller's 65-yard touchdown run with 1:19 remaining in the third quarter put the Rangers in front to stay in a game that featured seven lead changes.
That score also capped a wild two and a half minute stretch.
With 3:46 to play in the third, Northwestern scored on some crafty running from Tudman, who found a crease in the middle of the line and slithered through two levels of defenders for a 31-yard touchdown.
The Rangers enjoyed a 19-14 lead for all of 81 seconds before the Savage Storm answered. Devion Wortham, who had a game-high 184 yards on 21 attempts, scored the last of his two touchdowns on a 62-yard gash.
Then came Miller, just over a minute later, faking a handoff to a closely-watched Tudman. The defense bit hard, freeing Miller down the left side of the field for big yards. The freshman cut back near the 25 and won a foot-race to the far-right pylon for a 25-21 Ranger lead.
Northwestern missed the extra point but made that four-point lead stand up over the next 16 minutes and change.
Southeastern drove inside the Ranger 10 before turning it over on downs. Traveon Kelly delivered the key play, breaking up a fourth-down pass for Anthony Gale in the corner of the endzone that would have given the Storm the lead.
Instead, all a 13-play, 74-yard drive accomplished was burning six minutes off the clock.
Southeastern would get only one more crack at it - a quick three-and-out that netted just one yard.
A Northwestern team that had held just one second-half lead all season finished with the poise. The Rangers used a rotation of three running backs to slowly march down the field, converting 6-of-8 third downs in the final quarter. They had possession for all but 42 seconds over the final 10:23 of the game.
"(Converting more third downs) was a focal point for us in practice all week," Hall said. "The offensive line made some holes, and the backs and quarterbacks made some good reads. We were able to pick and choose our spots and make them pay when it counted."
Tudman came through twice on the final drive. With the Rangers facing and second-and-14 at their own 36, he out-ran two defenders to the left edge and cut it up for 14 yards. Later in the drive, Tudman picked up seven yards on a third-and-six to effectively ice the game.
Kollin Retter led the defense with a game-high 14 tackles. Alex Hemberger had three tackles for loss and 12 total tackles.
The Rangers lost the turnover battle 3-0 on three Miller interceptions but took advantage of 22 Southeastern penalties - 18 of which came in the first half.
Northwestern was flagged 13 times for 107 yards.
Miller completed 13-of-26 passes for 164 yards and a touchdown. His 122 rushing yards were the most by a Ranger since Javari Liggins put up 200 in the 2012 season finale at Arkansas-Monticello.
Northwestern set new season-bests in several categories, including rushing yards (307), yards per carry (6.8), rushing touchdowns (3), total offense (471), points (25).
On their second possession of the game, Rangers took their first lead in some 17 quarters on an 80-yard touchdown drive, helped along by an incredible five Southeastern penalties.
Tudman tip-toed down the right sideline for 17-yards before exiting at the 1. One play later, he finished what he started with his first career touchdown.
That early 6-0 lead (the extra point missed) was the largest of the day for either side in a back-and-forth struggle. Wortham capped a 12-play, 82-yard drive for Southeastern win a 32-yard touchdown run to put the Storm up 7-6 with 5:26 to go in the opening quarter.
Neither side scored again until the final seconds of the half. Miller broke off a 40-yard run, getting the Rangers into the redzone with under a minute to go.
The clock had ticked down to 18 seconds when Miller went over the top for a stretching Reginald Harris in the corner of the endzone for a 20-yard score. Trying to get back on schedule after the earlier missed PAT, Miller's two-point conversion pass came up incomplete.
Northwestern went into the half up 12-7.
Harris' catch was his only reception of the day. Davontaa Bryant led the Ranger receivers with four catches for 71 yards. Jeremi Anderson added three grabs for 37 yards.
Southeastern regained the lead, 14-12, in the third quarter when Nick Sioson hit Kaymon Farmer for a 22-yard touchdown.
Then came the final flurry of points, and the Rangers' fourth quarter stand.
Northwestern has two GAC games remaining but, first, a quick non-conference matchup. The Rangers will travel to Pittsburg State next Saturday for a 2 p.m. kick.
"Now is the time to tighten the screw a little bit more," Hall said. "We worked so hard to get this one. Now it's over with, and we've got to try to build on it, just like we did last year when we finally got things going."
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