Rangers rewarded with third MACCC championship in five seasons
12th conference title in program history
Photo credit: Maylee Wilhite (nwccrangers.com)
Nov. 17, 2024 – Two defensive scores and a pair of touchdowns from D’mariun Perteet lifted fourth-ranked Northwest to its third MACCC Championship in the past five seasons, as the Rangers picked up a 34-7 victory at No. 7 East Central on Saturday afternoon.
With the win, Northwest improved to 10-1 overall and collected the 12th conference title in program history. The Rangers also ran its all-time record against the Warriors to 35-17, with East Central’s last win in the series occurring in 1997.
After both teams traded empty possessions to open the contest, the Rangers started an 11-play, 61-yard scoring drive from their own 39-yard line with 9:38 left in the first quarter. Back-to-back rushes of eight and 12 yards from Perteet pushed Northwest into the red zone and down to the two-yard line. Two plays later, the sophomore from Courtland got the Rangers into the end zone, resulting in a 7-0 lead with 5:27 left in the opening quarter.
A special teams snafu on the ensuing kick would quickly put the Northwest offense back on the field. After East Central’s Tyler Arrington fumbled the kickoff return, Rashard Daniels recovered the football at the Warriors’ 29-yard line. Five plays later, Hayden Wolfe hit a 32-yard field goal, pushing the Rangers’ lead to 10-0.
Though the Warriors would go three-and-out on their next possession, East Central got the ball back after a special teams turnover by Northwest. However, three plays into the second quarter, Chris Tucker had his pass picked off by Fredd Adams, who returned it 84 yards the other way for the Rangers’ touchdown. Adams’ pick-six made it a 17-0 advantage for Northwest.
Neither team got much of anything accomplished on the next three possessions, but the Rangers got the ball back with 3:35 left in the second quarter. Starting from its own 12-yard line, Northwest moved along, looking to score points before the halftime break.
Back-to-back carries from Qua Middlebrooks put the Rangers across midfield, while four straight rushes from Perteet inched Northwest into the red zone. With three seconds left on the clock, Wolfe hit a 20-yard field goal as time expired, giving the Rangers the 20-0 halftime lead.
Though East Central started the third quarter with possession, the Warriors went three-and-out, allowing Northwest to take over from its own 21-yard line. Although the Rangers came up empty-handed on their first series of the second half, ECCC’s first play of the ensuing drive resulted in disaster, as Dre Riley ripped a reception away from Josh Palmer, and Caulen Dunn recovered the ball for a 59-yard return.
With its second defensive score of the game, Northwest further stretched its lead to 27-0 with 12:35 left in the third quarter.
Neither team would score again until late in the quarter, when a 13-yard touchdown run from Perteet capped off a seven-play, 74-yard drive that widened the gap to 34-0.
Although that would be the last score of the game for the Rangers, the Northwest defense kept East Central from forming any sort of rally. The lone exception came early in the fourth quarter, when Landon Sims connected with Waymond Jenerette on a 44-yard touchdown strike, as the Warriors broke up the shutout.
Northwest finished with 345 yards of total offense, with 242 of those coming on the ground. A majority of the Rangers’ rushing yards came from Perteet, who netted 129 yards on 19 carries. Roman Gregory also posted 56 rushing yards, mostly in the fourth quarter.
East Central was held to just 255 yards of offense, including 168 yards through the air. Sims completed 14 of his 20 pass attempts for 143 yards and a touchdown, while Tucker completed seven passes for 25 yards.
Eelijah Singleton hauled in six passes for 48 yards, while Jenerette finished with 55 yards on four catches.
Zach Wilcke completed 10 of his 19 pass attempts for 103 yards. His leading receiver, K.D. Gibson, caught five passes for 55 yards.
Northwest led by committee on the defensive side of the ball, as 10 Rangers finished with three or more tackles. Marion Keyes led the team with five tackles, while Kamp Shepherd came away with four.
Amarien Jefferson and Donnie Smith led East Central with seven tackles apiece, while Cedric Moore, Jr. finished with six.
Wolfe finished with a pair of field goals for Northwest, while also punting five times for 194 yards. Two of his punts landed inside the 20-yard line and his longest attempt went for 53 yards. Additionally, Jackson Uselton made all four point-after kicks for the Rangers.
For East Central, Nekhi Cox punted six times for 285 yards with two going for 50 yards or more. Jenerette, Tyler Arrington and Terry Patton, Jr. combined for 77 yards on five kickoff returns.
Northwest will now await its fate for the NJCAA Divsion I Football Playoffs. If selected, this would mark the third time in the last four seasons that the Rangers have been a part of the four-team playoff since its inception in 2021.
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