RANGER GAMEDAY Oct
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Northwestern Oklahoma State WEEK RANGER GAMEDAY Oct. 27, 2012 Alva, Okla. 5:00 p.m. CDT 9 www.RIDERANGERSRIDE.com 2012 SCHEDULE at Ouachita Baptist* Aug. 29 << L 3-55 NORTHWESTERN Arkadelphia, Ark. OKLAHOMA STATE #5 CSU - Pueblo (1-7) Sept. 8 << L 24-41 vs. ALVA, Okla. at Truman State Sept. 15 << L 21-63 Kirksville, Mo. at UT - San Antonio JV Sept. 22 << L 3-56 AIR FORCE San Antonio, Texas (2-3) at Arkansas Tech* Sept. 29 << L 20-41 Russellville, Ark. THE MATCHUP: at East Central* Fresh off its first football victory of the NCAA Division II era, Northwestern Oklahoma State looks to continue its momentum against Air Force JV – an off-shoot of the NCAA Division I Oct. 6 << L 3-41 program that serves as a developmental squad for the varsity team. Ada, Okla. Air Force JV provides something of a mystery matchup with no official statistics and a roster SE Oklahoma State* that fluctuates from week-to-week. The famed “triple-option” offense run by the Fighting Fal- Oct. 13 << 3 p.m. con varsity may make an appearance, but don’t expect a carbon copy attack. Head Coach Steve Homecoming << ALVA Pipes is one of a handful of JV coaches who also serve as varsity assistants for Air Force. Okla. Panhandle St. THE SERIES: Oct. 20 << W 34-30 This is the first ever meeting between Northwestern and Air Force (JV or Varsity). ALVA, Okla. 2012, SO FAR: Air Force JV This has been a challenging year for the Rangers, who are making the difficult transition from Oct. 27 << 5 p.m. NAIA to NCAA Division II. This is year one of a three-year process that also has Northwestern ALVA, Okla. as a new, provisional member of the Great American Conference (GAC). Southern Nazarene* The Rangers’ 0-7 start was their worst since the 1980 team opened 0-9. Their win last week Nov. 3 << 5 p.m. snapped an eight-game losing streak dating back to last season – the third longest skid in school history. ALVA, Okla. Air Force JV is 2-3 with both wins coming over an All-Star team comprised of players from at Ark-Monticello* the Colorado Football Conference , an adult semi-pro summer league. Their three losses have Nov. 3 << 5 p.m. all come against junior college opponents (Air Force Prep, Pima Community College and Iowa Monticello, Ark. Central Junior College). Twitter: KALV 1430-AM @NWOSUAthletics Listen Online at: www.RideRangersRide.com Facebook.com/ Catch the Alan Hall Show - Wednesdays 7 p.m. Radio: NWOSURangers LAST WEEK www.RIDERANGERSRIDE.com UNLIKELY HEROES LEAD RANGERS TO FIRST VICTORY Receivers Morris and Carter each top 100 yards in 34-30 win over Panhandle ALVA -- Avery Morris has patiently waited for his opportunity. When it finally came Saturday, the junior wide receiver stepped up in a big way. Morris became the first Northwestern Oklahoma State receiver in over two years to catch three touchdowns in the same game, and quarterback Kyle Jech threw for a career-high 378 yards as the Rangers notched their first victory of the year, 34-30 over Oklahoma Panhandle State. Andrew King and Chris Chamberlain – who rank one-and-two in both recep- tions and receiving yards for Northwestern – were both late scratches due to injury. No matter. Morris (seven catches, 120 yards) and Jeremiah Carter (two catches, 106 yards) had productive days to make up for it. “Everyone plays a role on the team,” Morris said. “I just played my role. That’s all I did.” “I’m happy for those guys to be able to step up and play,” said Northwestern head football coach Alan Hall. “They work just as hard as everybody else but just needed a chance. It just shows the others that if you continue to work hard and do the right thing, when the opportunity presents itself, you can step up and take advantage.” Carter did most of his damage on one play, but it was a big one. His 76-yard catch-and-run touchdown gave the Rangers a much-needed shot in the arm after they fell behind by as many as 13 points late in the third quarter. Carter’s touchdown made it a 30-27 game with 13:18 remaining in the game. To call Morris’ performance a surprise would be an understatement. The Houston, Texas native had just eight career catches over two and a half seasons coming in. His seven grabs nearly doubled that total. The last was a 21-yard touchdown from Jech that put the Rangers in front for good with 4:32 left in the fourth. That touchdown capped an impressive 12-play, 89-yard drive that took over seven minutes off the clock. Northwestern struggled early against big plays, giving up a 48-yard punt return for touchdown, followed by touchdown passes of 42 and 71 yards off of busted coverages. But the Ranger defense stepped up when it was needed most. They forced a pair of three-and-outs over the final four and a half minutes to help grind out the rest of the clock. “When they had to step up and and make a play, they did,” Hall said. “So give them credit for that.” The Rangers finished with several season-highs on offense, rolling up 509 total yards on 77 plays. Jech set a new Northwestern single-season mark for most completions, hitting on 22 of his 44 attempts Saturday. That brings his season total to 203, best- ing the 197 that Victor Williams completed during the 1989 season. Jech also topped 300 yards for the fourth time in eight games this season, but this perfor- mance was notably different. Instead of chipping away with short screens, the Rangers made an effort to get the ball down the field. “They did a lot more man coverage with us and left us with some matchups that we took advantage of,” Jech said. “We took our shots and we hit them.” Northwestern was held just 19 rushing yards on 11 carries in the first half, but with the passing game clicking, the holes began to open up late. They gained 84 yards on 16 carries over the final two quarters. The Rangers’ 131 rushing yards was a season-best. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2012 - 4 - GAME NOTES www.RIDERANGERSRIDE.com BOXSCORE: LAST WEEK (Continued from Page 4): RANGERS 34, AGGIES 30 “To be a good team, you have to have a run game in the fourth quarter,” Jech said. “The offensive line PANHANDLE ST. (3-4) 7 13 10 0 - 30 and the running backs did a great job.” NORTHWESTERN (1-7) 3 14 3 14 - 34 OPSU NW Javari Liggins rushed for 77 yards – the highest by a Ranger this year – on 11 carries. Jared Jackson Score 30 34 chipped in 13 carries, 44 yards and also added four catches for 39 yards. FIRST DOWNS 16 22 RUSHES-YARDS (NET) 40-159 33-131 Defensively, Derrick Thompson and Eric Feemster each totaled nine tackles Kevin Ditch kicked a pair PASSING YDS (NET) 290 378 of field goals for the Rangers on special teams. Passes Att-Comp-Int 22-11-1 44-22-0 TOT. OFF. PLAYS-YDS 6 2-449 77-509 After the final stop, emotions ran high on the Northwestern sideline. Hall received a Gatorade shower Fumble Returns-Yards 0-0 0-0 in honor of his first win. Punt Returns-Yards 2-46 0-0 Kickoff Returns-Yards 5-99 3-103 Interception Returns-Yards 0-0 1-14 “I think everybody’s just excited but also relieved to finally get over the get over the hump,” said Punts (Number-Avg) 5-35.8 6-34.8 Jech. “Our first win as a Division II program. That’s huge.” Fumbles-Lost 2-0 0-0 Penalties-Yards 9-65 12-78 Possession Time 28:46 31:14 FLIP CHART: Third-Down Conversions 6 of 15 6 of 16 Pay close attention to the coin toss before today’s game. It may very well dictate the entire outcome. Fourth-Down Conversions 0 of 2 1 of 1 The Rangers won the first seven coin tosses of the year and wound up 0-7. Last week, they finally lost Red-Zone Scores-Chances 2-3 4-6 a flip but also won for the first time. PANHANDLE STATE INDIVIDUALS: Rushing No. Gain Loss Net TD Lg Avg DOUBLE TROUBLE: Patterson 20 96 1 95 0 17 4.8 Holbrook 12 33 2 31 1 8 2.6 Jeremiah Carter and Avery Morris became the first pair of Ranger receivers since 1993 to eclipse 100 yards in the same game. Each set career highs. In fact, both Carter and Morris managed to beat their Passing C-A-I Yds TD Long Sack numbers from the entire first seven weeks combined! Morris was named GAC Holbrook 10-21-1 263 2 71 0 Offensive Player of the Week and “The Oklahoman” named him their State College Player of the Johnson 1-1-0 27 0 27 0 Week. Receiving No. Yards TD Long Patterson 2 95 1 71 Jason Bryant (6 catches - 138 yards) and Mike Garayua (5-119) were the last duo to reach 100 yards Collins 2 85 1 43 receiving together on Oct 30, 1993 at East Central. Quarterback Craig Chestnut finished that day with 359 passing yards and a then-school record 4 touchdowns. Bryant and Andy Walker just missed a Tackles UA-A Total Sacks TFL repeat the very next week against Southeastern, with Walker getting to 97 yards to Bryants’ 107.