ALVA, Okla. – In a battle where both Northwestern Oklahoma State and Southern Nazarene were looking for big wins, the Rangers prevailed on Senior Day, 39-29.
Three Ranger seniors really stood out in their final home games with Avery Morris, Alex Hemberger and Traveon Kelly all having huge games.
Morris led the rushing attack for the black-and-red, recording 132 yards on the ground while taking the ball to the house on three separate occasions. Morris played a huge role in Northwestern's ground game today, helping his team gash the Crimson Storm defense for 361 yards.
Hemberger and Kelly also had spectacular days, recording 20 tackles between the two of them. Hemberger ended the day with 13 tackles, while Kelly ended up with seven. What Kelly did that made the most impact, however was an interception in the fourth quarter that he returned 56 yards for the score.
Sophomore quarterback Reid Miller also had an outstanding game, rushing for 113 yards and passing for 87.
Both teams ended up very close in the stats category with Northwestern winning the total yardage stat, outgaining the visitors by just 11 yards, 448 to 437.
The Rangers came out of the locker room fired up and ready to play for their seniors, taking an early 7-0 lead after just three plays. Morris' first score of the game came from a 56 yard scamper for his own 44 yard line to put the Rangers on top.
The first quarter didn't yield any more scores, but the second quarter started off about like the first, with the Rangers finding the endzone quickly. Morris was able to reach the Promised Land for the second time in the game, this time from 11 yards out.
It didn't take SNU long to find their way in the second quarter after going down 14-0 early. The Crimson Storm put together a seven play, 82 yard drive to put their first points on the board, cutting the deficit to seven.
Another huge drive for the visitors led to the tying score at 14 apiece, but the Rangers closed out the half with a field goal, giving the home squad a three-point lead heading into the break.
SNU started off the third with the ball and were threatening, but the Rangers thwarted the drive on the one yard line, but were stuffed in the endzone on the next play for a safety, making the score 17-16.
The guests from Bethany, Okla. took full advantage of the Ranger miscue, turning it into seven points and taking the first lead of the game, 23-17.
The back-and-forth slugfest continued on the Rangers very next drive when the Rangers traveled 80 yards down the field in three plays to take the lead right back by one.
Seven plays later, the Crimson Storm went up by five, but were unable to maintain it as Morris rushed for the 13 yard score to take over again, this time for good. A must score, two-point conversion for Northwestern gave the Rangers a three-point cushion.
The visitors were orchestrating another drive that looked promising, but senior Kelly picked off Alec Laffoon's pass at the Northwestern 44 yard line and took it for the score, ending senior day on a high note.
Northwestern (2-7, 2-7 GAC) was able to maintain the perfect on the field record over SNU, and are looking to take home their third win of the season, next week against arch rival Southwestern Oklahoma State in Weatherford at 2 p.m.
