ADA, Okla. – Northwestern Oklahoma State used a dominating second half defensive performance to put away East Central, 38-20, on the road on Saturday afternoon.

A week after a gut-wrenching last second field goal loss to Southeastern on homecoming day, the Rangers (3-3, 3-3 GAC) took care of business and picked up their third victory of the season. That dominating second half performance saw the Rangers hold the Tiger offense scoreless until late in the final quarter when the game was already well in hand.

Junior Horatio Smith hauled in three touchdowns in his five receptions from quarterback Isaiah Weed, who tossed four touchdowns himself on the afternoon. The Ranger offense accumulated 586 total yards throughout the game, the majority of which came in the second half on the heels of the defense's outstanding performance.

The Rangers opened up the scoring with a 49-yard bomb from Weed to senior DaShawn Gordon on just the fourth play of the drive. Gordon ran right past the opposing defensive back to haul in the wide open receiving score.

Gordon led the Rangers with 105 yards on five receptions and continually kept the defense's focus, allowing Smith to find open holes in the defense.

Sacks from Maurice Wright Jr. and Jimmy Pace put a stop to the opening drive for the home squad as the Rangers got the ball back for their second possession of the contest at the 9:34 mark of the first quarter. That drive would be short lived however, as tailback Anthony Cota coughed up the ball on the first play of the drive to give East Central possession deep in Ranger territory.

Wright Jr. had ten total tackles on the afternoon, including five for loss that resulted in 30 yards of lost yardage for East Central. The Ranger front seven made a living in the Tiger's backfield, totaling 10 tackles for loss and four sacks on the day.

Two key third-down conversions for the Tigers set them up with 1^st and goal at the Ranger nine-yard line on the ensuing possession. A wide-receiver reverse on the three-yard line fooled the entire defensive front for the Black-and-Red and Dezmon Jackson walked into the end zone to put the first points on the board for East Central at the 4:40 mark.

A quick three-and-out for the Rangers combined with a poor punt from Blake Humble set the Tigers up with solid field position for the second straight drive of the game at their own 48-yard line. Despite starting out on their heels for the second straight drive, the Ranger defense held strong and used another big tackle for loss by Wright Jr. on second down at their own seven yard line to bring up a third and 13. A stop on the ensuing play forced a Tiger field goal attempt that was blocked by the Rangers to avoid giving up points on consecutive possessions.

Junior Horatio Smith made the blocked field goal count with an 11-yard touchdown reception on fourth-and-11 after Weed was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct following a rush for a 10-yard loss, making it third-and-goal from the ECU 32-yard line. A screen pass to Jacob Peyton for 21 yards on the third and a country mile play set head coach Matt Walter up to make the gutsy go for it call on fourth-and-11 that saw Weed connect with Smith.

Weed continued to quarterback the offense at an efficient pace, completing 21-of-26 attempts for 290 yards and four touchdown passes. Weed tacked on 83 more yards on the ground on 12 carries and looks to be operating with full confidence within the offense.

A missed extra point attempt by Zave Goodrich put the Rangers up 13-7 at the 7:02 mark of the half.

Following the answer from the Rangers, East Central put together a nine play, 75-yard drive, that ate up 5:18 of the clock before the half and gained the 14-13 advantage heading into the halftime break.

The opening drive coming out the break for the Tigers looked like it was going to increase the lead quickly, as Ontario Douglas scampered down the sideline on just the second play of the drive all the way to the Northwestern two-yard line before linebacker Devin Peyton knocked the ball loose at the goal-line and allowed the Rangers to recover in the end zone for a touchback.

Peyton's hustle play seemed to be the turning point in the contest as the Ranger defense visibly took control of the game against the Tiger offense following the turnover.

Despite the huge shift in momentum and the touchdown saving play from Peyton, the Ranger offense continued to struggle as they failed to reach first down yardage on three straight plays and were forced to punt the ball back into the hands of the Tigers still trailing 14-13 at the 12:02 mark of the third quarter.

The Ranger defense continued to battle hard and made another stop, giving Weed and company the ball back on their own 37-yard line with 5:24 remaining in the third. Cota rumbled to pay dirt from 33 yards out five plays later, giving the Rangers the lead for the first time since early on in the first quarter. The two-point conversion attempt failed, keeping the score at 19-14 with 2:59 remaining in the third.

The junior college transfer led the way with 92 of the squad's 226 yards on the ground on eleven carries.

Another strong defensive stand forced a Tiger punt to get the fourth and final quarter underway. The Ranger offense marched 72 yards down field and put six more points on the board thanks to an eight-yard reception from Smith, his second score of the contest, putting the Rangers up 25-14 early in the fourth quarter.

The Rangers offense continued to click on all cylinders as the defense shut down another East Central drive, setting the stage for Smith's third touchdown reception of the contest, this time from 15 yards out to put the Rangers up 31-14. The extra point made it 32-14 as the halftime adjustments made on both sides of the ball for the Rangers began to show their importance.

A 27-yard score by ECU's Jackson proved to be unimportant in the outcome of the game as the Rangers milked nearly six minutes off the clock while ahead 32-20 to give the Tigers the ball back with just 1:03 remaining in the game. An interception by corner Erick Cook that was taken back to the house with just 33 seconds remaining on the clock sealed the deal for the Rangers and put the finishing touches on a dominate second half.

The Rangers will ride the momentum of the dominating second half back to Alva and will square-off with Harding on Oct. 14 at home on Ranger Field, looking to bring their record to above .500.
 
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