SENATOBIA — Northwest Mississippi claimed back-to-back conference championships.
Behind a stout defense and a potent rushing attack, the fourth-ranked Rangers held off fifth-ranked Gulf Coast 16-13 to win the Mississippi Association of Community Colleges Conference title at Bobby Franklin Field in Ranger Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
It marked Northwest’s second straight conference crown and 13th overall.
“That’s what a championship was supposed to be like. A really good ball game between two good teams and we made enough plays to come out on top and I’m proud of our team,” said Northwest coach Benjy Parker. “Feels good to win it again. This league is so tough and to go back-to-back is tough to do.”
Northwest struck first on its opening drive with a 51-yard field goal by Hayden Wolfe, taking a 3-0 lead with 10:07 left in the first quarter.
After Gulf Coast blocked a punt at the Rangers’ 7-yard line, Landon Varnes connected with Owen Colpaert on a 7-yard touchdown pass to put the Bulldogs ahead 7-3 with 2:46 remaining in the opening frame.
The Rangers answered at 10-7 when Neko Fann hit Quincy Phillips on an 8-yard touchdown pass with 12:55 left in the second quarter.
Northwest pushed the lead to 13-7 on the opening drive of the second half, as Wolfe drilled a 28-yard field goal with 7:11 left in the third quarter.
Tyler Henderson took a reverse handoff and scampered 4 yards to the end zone for Gulf Coast, but the extra point was blocked, leaving the game tied 13-13 with 14:23 left in the fourth quarter.
The Rangers reclaimed the lead at 16-13 on Wolfe’s 47-yard field goal with 6:55 remaining.
On Gulf Coast’s ensuing drive, the Bulldogs advanced to the Northwest 21-yard line but missed a 29-yard field goal with 2:27 left.
Northwest picked up a first down and ran out the clock. Fann threw for 191 yards and a touchdown to pace the Rangers (10-1). The Northwest offense racked up 122 rushing yards, while the defense limited Gulf Coast to 94 yards on the ground and picked off two passes.
“Their offense is the number one passing offense in the country. They’re dynamic and have a good scheme, and our guys stepped up tonight when they needed to and a great job by them all,” Parker said. “We had guys step up on offense and the offensive line was great getting a hat on a hat, and we were leaning on them to run the ball.”
Varnes threw for 214 yards and a touchdown to lead Gulf Coast, which finished the season 9-2.
“Give Northwest credit on some very crucial plays. They were a step faster and that’s what it comes down to is just a handful of plays that decides it and they made them,” said Gulf Coast coach Jack Wright. “We did some out of character stuff on offense and wished we would’ve played closer to our normal self.”
