Story by Cade Kennedy
Photos By Devyn Lansden
The clock hit zero, the band played and the Ranger fans waved goodbye to their rivals as Northwestern defeated Southwestern, 31-28, Saturday at Ranger Field.
It was an eventful day for the Rangers, as was it not just a rivalry game, but senior day as well. On top of that, members of the 1996 Ranger team were in attendance as they were honored at halftime.
The Rangers got out to a fast start, as Tanner Clarkson threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Gavin Garner to give the Rangers an early 7-0 lead. The Ranger defense forced Southwestern to punt, and Northwestern marched down the field again.
The Rangers had an effective run game on this drive, with Calion Baker ending the drive with a 7-yard touchdown run to give the Rangers a 14-0 lead with under five minutes to go in the first quarter. This was the longest scoring drive of the game for either team, as the Rangers put together a 16 play, 79-yard drive that lasted over five minutes.
This start would not last for the Rangers, as the Bulldogs climbed back into the game over the course of the second and third quarters. After Lafayette Wright threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Torin Justice, Southwestern had tied the game at 21-21.
After multiple punts by each team, the Rangers had the ball at their own 8-yard line with 6:31 left in the third quarter. The Rangers moved down the field before Clarkson connected with Garner on a 51-yard touchdown pass that gave the Rangers a 28-21 lead with only three minutes to go in the third quarter.
Garner finished the season with 12 touchdowns, giving him 25 touchdowns for his career and tying a Northwestern record set by Kory Williams in 2010.
Both offenses stalled in the fourth quarter until Nick Dill made a 24-yard field goal to put the Rangers up 31-21 with 3:13 remaining in the game.
On the next drive, Southwestern sprinted down the field behind a 16-yard touchdown pass from Wright to Justice to cut the Ranger lead to three.
The Rangers recovered the onside kick from Southwestern, but the Bulldogs still had three timeouts that they could use to stop the clock. Northwestern put the ball in the hands of Baker, and he got the Rangers to the Bulldog 9-yard line before Clarkson lost two yards on the next play to set up a fourth down.
Dill went out on the field to kick a 28-yard field goal to give the Rangers a six-point lead. The kick sailed through the uprights, but a flag was on the field. One of the Bulldogs hit Dill, which turns into a roughing the kicker penalty that gave the Rangers a first down and allowed the game to end with Northwestern winning the game, 31-28.
The Rangers finished the season with a 2-9 record, but three players received All-GAC honors. Romello Bentley, Brian Holiday and Garner were all members of this year’s All-GAC team. Bentley and Holiday are members of the first team, while Garner is on the second team.
