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ALVA, Okla. – A full week of Homecoming events will culminate Saturday afternoon when the Northwestern Oklahoma State University football team host in-state rival East Central at 4 p.m. at Ranger Field.
The game will cap Northwestern Homecoming festivities which include a pair of volleyball and soccer games, the annual parade at 10 a.m. Saturday morning and various student activities.
The Lady Ranger soccer team host Oklahoma Baptist on Thursday at 6 p.m. and Southern Nazarene at noon Saturday, while the volleyball squad takes on Arkansas Tech at 6 p.m. Friday evening and Harding at noon Homecoming day.
At halftime of the football game, Northwestern athletics will honor 2018 NAIA Hall of Fame inductee Lynn Scott. A three-time All-American, Scott was a member of the 1999 NAIA National Championship team and went on to play five seasons for the Dallas Cowboys.
Saturday's game will be the 85th meeting between the Rangers and Tigers dating back to 1913. ECU leads the all-time series between the two programs at 50-25-9, and have a 21-12-2 advantage over the Rangers in Alva.
The Rangers enter the contest with a 1-4 record this season and the Tigers are 2-3. ECU earned its second win of the season last week with an 18-11 outcome at home against Southwestern Oklahoma State.
As for the game itself, the Rangers are looking to rebound after a 39-7 loss at Southeastern Oklahoma State in week five. The game was highlighted by an 85-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Horatio Smith, the first such return for a touchdown by a Ranger since the 2016 season.
Smith leads the Great American Conference in kickoff return yards per game and is ranked 14th nationally in kick and punt return yards combined with a total of 401.
With 12 tackles against Southeastern, Dakota Driskill remains among the national leaders in tackles at No. 3 as he's upped his season total of 64 and fellow linebacker Maurice Wright Jr. has recorded 55 total tackles for the 16th best total in the nation.
Northwestern will look to establish a run game on its home turn against ECU as the Tigers are among the bottom of the league in rush defense, allowing nearly 200 yards a game.
Matt Adair and Dustin Goodno will have the call of the game on 105.7 The Pulse, AlvaRadio.com, RideRangersRide.com and the NWOSU Rangers YouTube page. Live stats for the game will also be available on RideRangersRide.com.
For the latest news and updates on NWOSU Football, follow @NWOSUAthletics on TWITTER or visit www.riderangersride.com.
