By OAKLEE FIELDER
The Rangers lost to Oklahoma Baptist on Saturday night, after delays for lightning pushed the game later and later into the night.
The game was incredibly offensive with 12 touchdowns between the two teams, ending in a final score of 55-37. Jacob T Jones had two touchdowns thrown and ran into the endzone for two touchdowns. Jones had 275 passing yards and 90 rushing yards.
Jayce Morgan had the most rushing yards for a running back for Northwestern with 52. Morgan also had one touchdown. Royal Kyle had the most receiving yards with 92.
Aiden Lewis and Casen Olson showed up on the defense as they both had 11 tackles. Lewis had eight solo tackles and three assisted. Olson had three solo and eight assisted tackles.
The game was a tight battle, but in every quarter, the Bison outscored the Rangers. The first quarter ended 14-6 after two Oklahoma Baptist touchdowns and one Northwestern touchdown. Kicker Kash Shipley missed the PAT after the first touchdown, but didn’t miss another PAT or field goal the rest of the game.
Two touchdowns from each team kept the score close heading into halftime. A field goal from the Bison gave them an 11-point lead, just a two-possession game.
In the third, the Bison scored two touchdowns to increase their score by 14 points. The Rangers scored one touchdown and a field goal to try to keep within reach. The final quarter was cut short for lightning after a field goal from the Bison. The game ended 55-37, another “what if” game for the Rangers.
The Rangers are still a great football team despite being winless. Their defense can step up and get stops, and their offense has been scoring touchdowns. They just need the right time and to put it all together for this team to see the success just over the hill.
Four Great American Conference teams sit at the bottom of the standings. Northwestern, Arkansas at Monticello, Southern Nazarene and Southwestern Oklahoma State. Three teams remain undefeated: East Central, Harding and Henderson State.
Next up for the Rangers is one of those undefeated teams, East Central University.
The Tigers will play at home on Saturday at 6pm.This time around, we look to see if they can match their offense and defense to put together a win against ECU.
