By CADE KENNEDY, Sports Editor
The Northwestern football team lost two more games over the past two weeks, bringing its record to 0-7.
The Rangers have struggled to put points on the board, which is something the coaching staff is addressing.
“We have got to make more plays,” said Matt Walter, the head coach of the Rangers. “We are playing hard, but playing hard doesn’t get it if you can’t make plays when you’re there.”
The Rangers got off to a good start against Arkansas-Monticello, as they scored on their first three drives of the game and had a 17-7 lead at the end of the first quarter.
However, Arkansas-Monticello was able to get back in the game and take a 21-17 lead with 9:51 to go in the second quarter.
The Boll Weevils were able to continue to pull away from the Rangers and get a 42-23 win.
The Rangers had an opportunity to get back into the game, but were not able to get a stop on defense.
The Rangers had several issues on the defensive side of the ball, with the main problem being missed tackles that allowed the Boll Weevils to run for 279 rushing yards.
Arkansas-Monticello ran the ball 53 times, giving the team an average of 5.3 yards per carry.
Southeastern ran for only 114 yards on 41 attempts against the Rangers, giving the Savage Storm an average of 2.8 yards per carry. However, the Savage Storm threw for 279 yards and four touchdowns on 23 completions out of 32 attempts.
The Rangers struggled with penalties against Arkansas-Monticello, as they had 15 penalties for 150 yards, which is the most penalties that the Rangers have committed all season.
The Rangers cleaned this up against Southeastern, as they only committed four penalties for 30 yards.
Northwestern’s offensive line gave up four sacks for 30 yards against Arkansas-Monticello, which is the most that they have given up in the last four games.
The offensive line showed signs of improvement against Southeastern, as they only gave up two sacks for 14 yards.
The Rangers had multiple turnovers against Southeastern, as the Rangers threw two interceptions and had one fumble.
There were some positives to take away from the Arkansas-Monticello game for Northwestern, with the main one being the offense continuing to play well. The Rangers ran the ball for 173 yards on 32 carries, giving the Rangers an average of 5.4 yards per carry.
The defense for Northwestern forced two turnovers during the game with Arkansas-Monticello, as the Boll Weevils threw two interceptions.
There were not as many positives to take away from the Southeastern game, as the Rangers’ offense and defense regressed in a 43-10 loss to the Savage Storm.
The Rangers will play Saturday against the Southern Nazarene Crimson Storm at 3 p.m. at Ranger Field.
The last time the Rangers defeated the Crimson Storm at Ranger Field was in 2016.
The Rangers have maintained a 6-2 record against the Crimson Storm since 2012, with the Rangers winning two of the last four meetings. The Rangers won the most recent game between the two, 35-21.
Southern Nazarene has a 1-6 record on the season, with the Crimson Storm’s only win being against Southwestern.
