By SHEALYN PRATT
The home opener against Arkansas Tech left Ranger fans and players proud after the Harding loss. Despite concerns, the football team truly showed out after last week’s game and an Instagram post from CBS sports went viral for a second year. The Wonderboys left our Rangers down, but not out.
“Week one wasn’t like us at all,” said Koda Bridges, a senior wide receiver from Carrollton, Texas. “We are ready to bounce back.”
The energy in the stands was high as the game began. The Harding Wonder Boys scored the first touchdown with 11:08 remaining, but the Rangers ended the first quarter with a 12-yard touchdown pass from quarterback No. 11 Jacob T. Jones to No.1 Bridges, putting Northwestern in the lead, 8-7.
“It felt good to give a little spark to the team when we needed it,” Bridges said. “I couldn’t have done it without my guys up front blocking, my wide receivers running hard to get me open and my QB putting it on the money for a chance for me to go get some plays.”
By the end of the second quarter, the Rangers were trailing with a score of 8-17. On a first down with 15 seconds to go, the Rangers completed a pass to wide receiver No. 17 Merric Judd before kicker No. 96 Sean Kallauner was trampled, and the Wonderboys took a 20-8 lead into intermission.
This lead had some Ranger fans concerned early in the game.
“I’ve been a student here since 2021 and they have only won like two games,” said senior Courtney Dennis.
Even some former football players had things to say about how the game was going at this point.
“It’s a whole new coaching staff from when I played,” said former defensive end Barrett Brown. “So, I was looking forward to them being better, but our quarterback plays seem to be doing better and he is mobile, which is good.”
Last spring, our athletics department introduced a new football coaching staff. The only returning coaches are wide receivers coach Kobe Martin, running backs coach John Flores and cornerbacks coach Ken Irving.
The Ranger football team huddles together at the end of the first quarter with the score 8-7 with Northwestern in the lead on Thursday.
“We have a strong self-belief in our abilities and a strong urge to win,” said Martin.
This is Coach Kobe Martin’s second year coaching at Northwestern and he says that the team doesn’t back down when adversity hits, they just want to bring pride to the Ranger name.
“We just want to win for this University and bring pride to its name,” Martin said. “We have a great leader in Coach Partridge, who’s dedicated to making better men for society and good football players.”
Martin said that Head Coach Partridge is restless and intentional about everything he does and that the team is in good hands. Players on the team also seem less concerned about coaching changes than anyone outside of the locker room.
“I trust what the new staff has planned and I’m ready to keep working,” Bridges said.
The team went inside for halftime deliberations as the GAC Championship-winning Lady Rangers walked onto the field for their ring ceremony. Graduated basketball players who helped the team achieve the accolade of NCAA Great American Conference champions, like Summya Adigun and Camille Pritchard, returned to Alva to be honored with their championship rings. Halftime ended with a performance from the Ranger Band.
Northwestern’s first possession of the third quarter put together a two-play 60-yard scoring drive that ended in a 39-yard touchdown pass from Jones to wide receiver No.5 Bailee Davenport. Kicker No.44 Kash Shipley was brought out for the third quarter bringing us to 15-20.
The Wonderboys scored a touchdown soon after, putting Northwestern down 15-27. With six minutes to go during the third quarter, No.3 Royal Kyle, a wide receiver, caught the ball on a 35-yard throw before Jacobs recorded his third touchdown of the night. A kick by Shipley brought Northwestern within five points, 27-22.
Brianna Wilson, student athletic trainer for the football team, said that she was happy with how the game was going after seeing all of the work the players have put in. With the severe heat, practice schedules have been disrupted, leading to the team practicing and running drills until midnight during the week.
“I see the work they put in every single day,” Wilson said. “It’s finally paying off and it just feels amazing to watch them.”
With 2:45 on the clock during the third quarter, Arkansas Tech scored a touchdown, bringing it to a score of 34-22 as they entered the final quarter of the game.
At the start of the fourth quarter, the Rangers stopped the Wonderboys on fourth down and went on an eight-play, 76-yard scoring drive. With six minutes on the clock, Jones and Bridges came together again for another touchdown on a 19-yard pass. The touchdown brought us to the final score, 34-29.
“All thanks to my Lord and savior Jesus Christ for allowing me and the team to go out there and play the game we love,” Bridges said. “It felt good to come out and show everybody just a glimpse of what we are capable of doing.”
Win or lose, Ranger cheerleaders say they enjoy the game and are primarily focused on one thing.
“It is just really good to see them doing well,” said Morgan Robinette, a Ranger cheer captain. “I hope in the weeks to come, we’ll just see them get better every game and beat SWOSU, dogs down.”
Football will be home again for next week’s game as we welcome Rangers from far and wide to the home field for Family Day against Oklahoma Baptist University.