Ranger comeback falls short in second half to Savage Storm

ALVA – Northwestern Oklahoma State looking for the second straight win had their comeback win fall just short to Southeastern Oklahoma State Saturday evening. The Savage Storm jumped out to a 20-0 halftime lead before winning 27-21 over the Rangers.

Southeastern Oklahoma State improves to 2-2 on the season while the Rangers move to 1-3.

The Rangers were led in tackles by Coby Tillman with 13 and Bashu Delco with 11. Colby Willims had the Rangers sack in the game. Brodey Johnson finished the game with 189 yards and a passing touchdown. Travis Romar led in receiving yards with 62 and a touchdown.

The game opened with a defensive battle as neither team was able to cross the goal line forcing each to punt in the opening few drives. It was the Savage Storm defense that brought the first points on the board as after a punt pushed the Rangers inside the 20. Brodey Johnson's pass was intercepted and ran back for a touchdown as Southeastern led 7-0 with 4:56 left in the opening quarter. The Ranger defense held strong as Southeastern got into the red zone as the Rangers allowed a field goal as the game went to 10-0.

In the second quarter after the Rangers picked up a first down the team was then forced to punt, before Southeastern Oklahoma State extended the score following an eight-play drive. The drive was led by a 43-yard play on a pass from Perez to Williams putting the Storm on the two-yard line. The next play was a rushing touchdown for a 17-0 lead over the Rangers. Southeastern added a field goal right before the half for a 20-0 halftime lead over the Rangers.

Out of the halftime break the Rangers forced a punt to start the quarter before the Rangers put points on the board following an eight-play drive. The touchdown was set up on a 40-yard pass from Brodey Johnson to Jahmiq Johnson as he was down at the two-yard line. The following play Giorgio Spiropoulos ran in for a touchdown cutting the deficit to 20-7. The game remained 20-7 through the final seven minutes of the quarter heading into the fourth.

In the opening two minutes the Rangers made it a one score game as Cergio Perez, the Southeastern quarterback threw an interception to Muftah Ageli who broke a couple of tackles before running back for a touchdown. The Rangers then trailed 20-14. Southeastern extended the lead once more on a 44-yard touchdown pass to Victor Taylor as the Savage Storm led 27-14. The Rangers, not going anywhere, quickly answered back as Brodey Johnson found Jashaun Foster for 16 yards going into Savage Storm territory for a first down.

On the next play Johnson then found Travis Romar for a 27 yard touchdown that brought the Rangers within six at 27-21. The Rangers forced two more punts trying to setup the game-winning drive. Rangers had a 12-play drive getting into Southeastern territory late in the game; however, Southeastern's defense was able to force back to back in-completions to seal the road win over the Rangers.

The Rangers host Arkansas Tech Saturday with kickoff set for 3 p.m. for the 2024 homecoming game.

 

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