ALVA, Okla. – Two evenly matched teams hashed it out Saturday afternoon at Ranger Field with Northwestern Oklahoma State prevailing in an epic battle with Arkansas-Monticello 34-28 for the first win of the young season.

Freshman quarterback Ty Hooper made his first start under center in a Ranger uniform and played a near flawless game, going 10-for-13 for 149 yards with a touchdown.

Not only did the freshman QB have a stellar performance, but he was also helped out by his crew of running backs who racked up 203 yards on the ground on the afternoon.

Four running backs were entered into the mix Saturday, with Jarion Tudman leading the way with 81 yards and two touchdowns, followed by senior Avery Morris who ate up 53 yards on the afternoon.

Zachry Doyle and Malcom Robinson also had big games collecting 50 and 36 yards respectively, with another score coming from Robinson.

Time of possession was a big part of the game today as the time was only 36 seconds apart in favor of the Rangers. A stat that might have actually played the biggest role in deciding the game as the Boll Weevils ran out of time in the end to try and answer the last minute drive by Northwestern.

Northwestern's last touchdown before the start of the fourth quarter came off a brilliantly executed trick play. Alex De La Cruz took a pass from Hooper, who then proceeded to chuck up a 27 yard pass to Reggie Harris who found himself in the endzone for the score.

The game played into the black-and-red's favor going into the final quarter of the game with a 13-point lead at 27-14, but Monticello had a resounding answer in the fourth.

On the visitor's second drive of the fourth quarter, UAM drove the field in just over three minutes to cut the score to just six.

The Rangers weren't able to get things going on their next possession, leaving the door open for Monticello to take its first lead in the second half of play.

The Weevils did in fact take a one-point lead with only 1:56 left to play in the contest, but the freshman QB showed his mental and physical toughness, marching his team down the field in just a minute and a half to take the lead again at 34-28, the eventual final score.

The time of possession stat came into effect in the last 26 seconds as Monticello marched down to the Northwestern 31 yard line where they had to heave a hail mary into the endzone. The play was broken up, giving the hosts their first victory of the year.

Northwestern will look to build on the win this week, when they travel to Magnolia, Ark. next Saturday to take on Southern Arkansas in a 2 p.m. kick.