The Northwestern football team lost to the Ouachita Baptist Tigers, 48-7, Saturday afternoon at Ranger Field.
The Tigers are the toughest opponent that Northwestern has played. The Tigers were No. 6 in the AFCA Division II Coaches Poll.
The Rangers started the game with the ball and came out swinging with multiple big plays. The Rangers marched down the field, with both Darian Gill and Tanner Clarkson having runs of more than 20 yards that put the ball at the Ouachita Baptist five-yard line.
Clarkson took the snap and sprinted up the middle of the field but fumbled the ball one yard short of the endzone. The Tigers recovered the ball, and the Rangers missed an opportunity to take an early lead.
Ouachita Baptist made the Rangers pay for their mistake, as the Tigers drove 99 yards down the field with Riley Harms throwing a 46-yard touchdown pass to Justin Dean to put the first points of the game on the board. As the first quarter ended, the Tigers had a 7-0 lead.
The second quarter had a different story, as the Tiger offense continued to score while the Rangers only punted.
The Tigers ran into the endzone twice in the quarter with two 24-yard touchdown runs, and Harms found Connor Flannigan in the endzone on a 12-yard touchdown pass. When the first half ended, the Tigers had a 28-0 lead and got the ball to start the second half.
The Tigers began to move down the field on their first drive of the third quarter, but they fumbled the ball at the Northwestern 31-yard line to give Northwestern the first stop in four possessions. The Rangers went backwards on their drive and had to punt it away.
The Tigers and Rangers traded touchdowns during the next two drives, keeping the Tiger lead at 28 points. The Rangers had one quarter to get out of a 35-7 deficit.
The damage was done by the time the fourth quarter started, but that didn’t stop the Tigers from adding on a touchdown and two field goals to secure a 48-7 win over Northwestern.
The next game for the Rangers is on Saturday, when Northwestern travels to Monticello, Arkansas, to take on the Boll Weevils of Arkansas-Monticello at 2 p.m. at Willis “Convoy” Leslie Cotton Boll Stadium.