By OAKLEE FIELDER
Northwestern’s football team lost twice during the week of fall break as their winless season continues into the late stages of the 2026 season.
The Rangers lost to the Henderson State Reddies on October 10 at home on the Ranger field. The Reddies won 34-7 over the Rangers. The game was highly defensive, with only five touchdowns. The first points were scored in the first quarter.
Henderson started it off with a field goal on their first possession of the game. The Rangers had the first possession, but punted. Their second drive was not much different. They had 10 plays and only made up 10 yards before punting again. Henderson’s next drive started on their 25-yard line. In just seven plays, the Reddies made it to the Rangers’ seven-yard line. There, the Reddies fumbled it, and it was recovered by Northwestern’s Omarion Buckmon.
The Rangers had one play before the second quarter started and headed into quarter two with possession on their 11-yard line. Working in tight quarters, the Rangers did not make it far and punted after three plays. The Reddies thought their last possession went well, so they ended their next possession just like the one before. The Reddies fumbled the ball on a third-and-four, and it was picked up by Aiden Lewis, giving Northwestern possession again. The Rangers didn’t do much better than on their last possessions, as they only went 10 yards before losing the ball. The Rangers went for it on fourth down, and the Reddies stopped them, turning it over close to the Rangers’ touchdown. The Reddies scored on their next two drives, giving them a lead of 17-0 over the Rangers to end the first half.
The third quarter was low-scoring. A field goal was the only points scored in the third frame, and it was for Henderson State. Quarter four had a lot more scoring between the teams, as Henderson scored two touchdowns and the Rangers scored their first points of the game.
The Rangers’ point-scoring drive started in the third quarter. They kept possession over the break and had the ball with just 15 yards to the touchdown. Jayce Morgan got the ball and ran all 15 yards into the end zone for Northwestern’s lone touchdown. The Reddies scored two more touchdowns before the game ended to put it to bed.
Jacob T. Jones threw for 91 yards and had 15 completions in 33 pass attempts. Jones also had the most rushing yards with a net total of 39. Jones gained 67 yards and lost 28 in rushing attempts. Morgan only lost two yards in his eight rushing attempts. Morgan gained 22. Koda Bridges had 41 receiving yards in his five receptions. Aiden Lewis was one of the best defensive players again, as he had the most tackles with 15. Lewis had nine solo tackles and six assisted tackles.
The second game was also somewhat low-scoring as the Southeastern Oklahoma State University Savage Storm took down the Rangers 25-10 on Saturday afternoon.
It took a while before the first points were scored. 10 minutes into the game, the Rangers took the ball from Southeastern on a turnover on downs and scored a field goal. On the kickoff after the field goal, the Southeastern kickoff returner fumbled the ball. Wyatt Potter recovered the ball, giving Northwestern possession again. The Rangers were only able to try another field goal, but missed. No more points were scored until about halfway through the second quarter.
The Savage Storm scored a touchdown but failed to score their extra point after it was blocked by Gemarkus Starks. Southeastern scored another touchdown on their next drive, giving them a 13-3 lead. No more points were scored in the first half.
In the third quarter, Jones threw an interception that was taken all the way back by Southeastern, and their lead extended to 19-3. The Savage Storm continued their savage game and scored another touchdown to make it 25-3.
In the fourth quarter, the Rangers scored their only touchdown of the game, and the only points in the final quarter. On Southeastern’s 21-yard line, Jones made a pass to Henry Wilson, who ran it into the end zone and scored. The game had no more points and the game ended 25-10.
Jones went 23 for 35 in passing attempts. Jones had 165 yards thrown and two interceptions. The Rangers’ run game struggles against Southeastern. Ezequiel Luna and Morgan together had only 14 total rushing yards. Wilson was the top Ranger receiver with seven total receptions and 58 yards.
Next on the Rangers’ schedule will be Southern Nazarene University. SNU will be playing for the first time since the death of their player Tyler Ulrich. Ulrich died after being injured in their game against Ouachita Baptist University. The game between the Rangers and Crimson Storm will be in Bethany at SNU.