By BRANDON WILLIS
Student Writer
The Rangers come up short on the road against Harding losing 42-30.
The Northwestern football team took on the Bison in Searcy, Ark. this past Saturday trying to redeem themselves after a huge loss at home to Arkansas Tech.
When play got underway in Searcy, the scoring began early on for the Bison.
After a quick three and out by the Rangers to open up the game, Bison quarterback Park Parish connected with wide receiver Vanard Placide for a 17 yard touchdown.
The Rangers were able to counter the Bison score in the very next possession when running back Zachary Doyle ran 13 yards to knot the game up at seven apiece.
Northwestern took the lead in the pursuing Bison possession after Harding was pinned deep due to three straight negative yardage plays and a safety caused by the Ranger defense.
Once the Rangers took the lead, Harding yet again, managed to counter with a touchdown.
Northwestern retook the lead in the second quarter and never looked back till the halftime break.
After halftime, the Bison looked to be the ones seeking to gain momentum early as they close the lead to just two midway through the third quarter.
Following another Ranger score, the Bison were able to score with 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter ultimately handing the Rangers back to back losses.
When the final whistle sounded in Searcy, the Rangers walked away with a 30-42 loss to the Harding Bison.
Following the loss, Northwestern now sets their sights on arch rival Southwestern at home at 2 p.m. on Saturday
The Bulldogs come into the matchup after winning their last five games. They enter the game with the fifth best scoring defense in the GAC also.
Their offense is led by their quarterback Marc Evans who has thrown for 2175 yards and thrown 21 touchdowns and only 7 interceptions. Evans also averages 271.9 passing yards per game.
Another weapon for the Bulldog offense is DJ Jones who leads the GAC in All-Purpose yardage.
Jones has collected 700 receiving yards while also being a threat in the return game as he has 407 yards on kickoff returns.
On the Rangers side, quarterback Reid Miller has led the way for the Red-and-Black’s offense this season along with teammates Doyle, wide receiver Justin Schaunbacher and Arte’ Miura Jr.
On defense, the Rangers are led by Devin Peyton, Joby Saint Fleur, Shane Collins and Derrick Thompson.
The Rangers lead the GAC in passing offences as well.
They have racked up 3182 yards through the air and scored 31 touchdowns.
Along with it being the Rangers final game of the season, it will be Senior Day at Ranger Field on Saturday. also.