Ranger Report: Football, women’s soccer still highly-ranked squads

Photo: Sandwiched between two Holmes defenders, Keon Hutchins hauls in Zach Wilcke’s Hail Mary pass for a touchdown, lifting Northwest to a 37-35 victory against Holmes on Thursday evening. (Photo credit: Angel Smith/NWCC)

Football moves to number four in NJCAA rankings

Following the excitement of last week’s Hail Mary against Holmes and some shakeup in the top five of the NJCAA Division I Football Rankings, Northwest has jumped from No. 8 to No. 4 in Monday’s latest batch of rankings.

Northwest (7-1, 5-0 MACCC North) moved up to the fourth spot, the program’s highest ranking since earning the No. 3 slot in the 2023 preseason poll.

Iowa Western moved from No. 2 to No. 1, following Saturday’s Hutchinson (Kan.) loss to Butler (Kan.). Georgia Military College moved up from third to second, as the Blue Dragons dropped to the No. 3 slot.

Mississippi Gulf Coast rounds out this week’s top five after a 63-0 blowout over Coahoma on Saturday. The Bulldogs were previously ranked seventh.

Other MACCC programs in the rankings include Holmes, which slid from No. 6 to No. 8, and East Central, which moved up two spots from 14th to 12th. Itawamba remained unranked, but the Indians continue to receive votes ahead of Friday’s contest against Northwest.

As announced earlier on Monday, the contest between the Rangers and Itawamba has been moved from Halloween to Friday, Nov. 1 in Fulton. Playoff implications are on the line for both teams, as a win could give either team the MACCC North Division title. However, the losing team could be eliminated from the playoffs entirely if Holmes earns a win against East Mississippi.

Kickoff for Friday’s showdown with the Indians is scheduled for 7 p.m. Due to operational and broadcast conflicts involving the NJCAA Region 23 Volleyball Tournament in Senatobia, the game will only be live streamed by Itawamba at letsgoicctv.com/red. 

Lady Rangers Remain No. 1 in Final Regular Season NJCAA Rankings

After wrapping up the MACCC title with wins against Southwest Mississippi and Copiah-Lincoln last week, the Northwest Lady Rangers will end the regular season at the top of the NJCAA Division II Women’s Soccer Rankings.

Released Monday afternoon, the rankings have featured Northwest in the top slot since the preseason polls were released in mid-August. The Lady Rangers have been the unanimous No. 1 choice throughout the season.

Northwest (15-0, 10-0 MACCC) led a top five that featured Johnson County (Kan.) at No. 2, third-ranked Heartland, No. 4 Phoenix College and fifth-ranked Holmes.

Other MACCC programs in the rankings include Pearl River at No. 10, Jones College at No. 12 and 19th-ranked Itawamba.

Northwest will close out the regular season on Tuesday evening, hosting Meridian. The Lady Eagles (8-5-2, 4-4-2 MACCC) are currently seventh in the MACCC standings and are looking to hold on to a playoff slot over eighth-place Copiah-Lincoln (3-5-4, 3-4-3 MACCC).

Start time is scheduled for 5 p.m.