By CADE KENNEDY, Sports Editor
The Northwestern football team lost to Arkansas Tech, 56-21, on Nov. 6 at Thone Stadium at Buerkle Field in Russellville, Arkansas.
The Rangers faced the same problem against the Wonder Boys that they had with Harding, as the Rangers were not able to get off to a quick start.
“We started off too slow,” said Matt Walter, the head coach of the Rangers. “We have to start off faster on both sides of the football.”
Arkansas Tech started the game with the ball, and marched down the field on a 7 play, 43-yard drive to take an early 7-0 lead. Northwestern could not answer, as the Rangers fumbled the ball and the Wonder Boys recovered.
The Rangers could not stop the Wonder Boy rushing attack, and Arkansas Tech had a 14-0 lead with 3 minutes left in the first quarter.
The Wonder Boys continued to put points on the board, and raced to a 35-0 lead at halftime. There was not a standout player for the Wonder Boys, as five different players scored a touchdown in the first half.
While the Rangers scored three touchdowns in the second half, the Wonder Boys answered with three touchdowns of their own.
The Rangers struggled to stop Arkansas Tech’s running backs, as both Ron Thompson and Keon Simmons ran for over 100 yards. The two running backs combined for 205 of the Wonder Boys’ 256 rushing yards.
The Rangers could not run the ball against the Wonder Boys, as the Rangers only had 54 yards on 24 carries, giving them an average of 2.3 yards per carry.
The game was not just negatives, as the Rangers had positives to take away from the game as well.
The Rangers had success throwing the ball, as Tanner Clarkson threw for 303 yards and three touchdowns on 16 completions out of 26 attempts.
The Rangers did not make many mental mistakes, as the Rangers only committed two penalties for 15 yards. The offensive line for the Rangers only allowed 3 sacks for 34 yards.
The Rangers will play the final game of the season Saturday against the Southwestern Bulldogs at 3 p.m. at Ranger Field. This will also mark senior day for the Rangers.
The Rangers have maintained a 4-4 record against the Bulldogs since 2011, with the previous meeting ending in a 28-16 Ranger victory over the Bulldogs.
The Rangers have won the previous three meetings with the Bulldogs, with the last Southwestern win coming on November 12, 2016.
Southwestern has a 0-10 record on the season, and has not won a game since November 2, 2019. Four of the Bulldogs’ losses have been by one possession.
