By Oaklee Fielder, Sports Editor
The Ranger football team won its first game of 2025 in the Homecoming game against Southern Nazarene University on Saturday.
The win against the Crimson Storm boosts the Rangers’ record to 1-6 and takes them out of the bottom of the conference standings, and now they are tied with the very team they defeated this weekend.
SNU won the coin toss and decided to receive in the first half. Kale Purvis gave the kickoff, and the game started. The Crimson Storm’s first drive amounted to nothing and ended with a punt. Northwestern’s first drive started deep in their own end, the 2-yard line to be exact.
The Rangers were able to charge down the field and get to the 43-yard line, but unfortunately, they were forced to punt.
In NWOSU’s next drive, the Rangers fumbled the ball and handed it to Southern Nazarene. SNU took the opportunity of being in Ranger territory and scored a touchdown. Northwestern responded immediately and scored a touchdown on their next drive with a 17-yard rush from Kaedric Cobbs. The quarter ended 7-7 in SNU’s possession.
SNU scored two minutes into the half and made it 14-7. NWOSU responded immediately again and made it 14-14 with another rush from Cobbs, but this time only 4 yards. The Rangers stopped the next Crimson Storm drive in just four plays.
Northwestern took that momentum and put it in their offense and scored another touchdown to make it 14-21. It was scored by Cobbs once again, and it was a 5-yard play. The half ended with the Rangers in the lead 14-21.
The second half started with failed drives from both teams. The Rangers scored on their second drive of the half with a 36-yard field goal from Purvis. Northwestern continued its momentum and scored again with a pass from Caleb Deal to Royal Kyle for 10 yards. Southern Nazarene scored on its next drive and made it a 22-30 game.
The fourth quarter started in Northwestern’s possession. They scored in five minutes with a 22-yard field goal from Purvis. The two teams battled through the final quarter of the game, but no more points were scored, and Northwestern won their first game of the year, 22-33 at home.
Cobbs ran for 115 yards and scored three touchdowns. Caleb Deal passed for 245 yards and threw one touchdown pass. Merric Judd led the Rangers in receiving yards with 72. Kyle received for 58 yards and one touchdown. Rayshun Callahan had six tackles, three solo and three assisted. Aiden Lewis had one solo tackle and three assisted tackles.
The next game for Northwestern is against Ouachita Baptist University on Saturday.