By Denise Cronister
Student Reporter
The Ranger football team was on the verge of a comeback against the No. 24 nationally ranked Tigers of Ouachita Baptist
University Thursday night. They fell just short of the win, 29-21.
The Rangers have had a tough time beating the Ouachita Tigers in the last three season openers and much like 2017, they continued to battle even while facing a significant deficit.
Ouachita Baptist was up 20-0 before quarterback Isaiah Weed put the Rangers on the board with the first touchdown of the night.
Early in the fourth quarter, the visiting Tigers seemed to have control of the game after a touchdown put them up 29-14.
When the Rangers got the ball back in their possession, they made the most of it with a six play, 75-yard touchdown in just two minutes.
The Rangers defense was solid and held the Tigers as much as they could causing them to stay at 29 for the rest of the game.
Northwestern started the fourth quarter with a drive from Jacob Peyton for seven yards, which resulted in a short second down.
Quarterback Isaiah Weed then found Justin Cain for a 35-yard connection to move into the opposing team’s territory.
Redshirt freshman Jalen Williams was hot throughout the fourth quarter. 29 of his 87 total yards came from back to back plays in the fourth.
This set up a one-yard touchdown run by Jacob Peyton.
Weed finished with 146 yards on 12 completions.
Smith completed both of his catches in the contest on the drive that made it a 26-14 game in the third quarter.
The Great American Conference’s leading tackler in 2017, Maurice Wright Jr., started the season opener with 11 tackles, five of which were of the solo variety.
Linebacker Dakota Driskill also had double-digit tackles with 10.
Cain showed out in his first career contest as he hauled in a 35-yard catch, returned four kicks for 92 yards, including a 39-yard return, and made multiple blocks on the outside to opening up the solid Ranger running game.
The Rangers look to bounce back from this loss as they head to Arkansas-Monticello to face the Boll Weevils on September 8 at 6 p.m.
The Rangers return home to face Henderson State University on September 15. Kickoff time is set for 6 p.m.