By Brett Brown

To only say that Northwest Mississippi Community College quarterback Casey Weston enjoyed a great day against the Holmes Bulldogs would be like stating the stock market has been a little choppy lately.

Weston came up huge for Northwest as it rolled to a 49-21 homecoming victory over Holmes Oct. 18 at Bobby Franklin Field in Senatobia.

The Rangers, who improved to 5-3 overall, clinched second place in the MACJC north division for the second consecutive season with a 4-1 mark. Northwest will travel to face the south division champion in the first round of the state playoffs Nov. 1.

Weston, a freshman from Prattville, Ala., completed 28 of 43 passes for 271 yards and four touchdowns and ran for another to propel the Rangers. Weston has thrown 10 touchdown passes in Northwest’s last four games.

“We’re a lot better team than we were three weeks ago,” said Ranger Head Coach Ricky Woods. “We’ve made some changes in our personnel, and we are getting some players back who were hurt earlier in the season. When you are close to the end of the season and you feel like your team is the best that it has been, then you have a chance."

Northwest capitalized on three Bulldog turnovers and turned them into 21 points to claim a 21-0 lead after the first quarter.

Ranger defensive end Chris Strong of Batesville intercepted a deflected pass and returned it 69 yards for a touchdown to start the scoring barrage.

Five minutes later, Northwest freshman Desley Brown of Byhalia recovered a fumble on a muffed punt return by Holmes at the Bulldog three-yard line. Two plays later, Weston scored on a one-yard plunge.

The Rangers closed out the first period by taking advantage of an interception by linebacker Thomas Majors of Nashville, Tenn., at the Northwest 42-yard line.

Weston (pictured right) directed Northwest on a six-play drive and finished it by tossing a 10-yard touchdown pass to freshman Marquise Green of Byhalia.

That would also be the beginning of a huge day for Green.

Green’s six-yard touchdown catch from Weston allowed the Rangers to take a 28-6 lead at halftime.

“We had a lot of big plays early and that helped us get going,” said Woods.

The Weston to Green combination worked again at the start of the third quarter. Green hauled in his third touchdown reception of the day when he caught a 30-yard scoring pass from Weston to put Northwest in front 35-6. Green finished the day with a game-high nine grabs for 128 yards.

The Rangers added another touchdown in the third period when freshman tailback Tijuan Green of Warner Robins, Ga., scored on a 14-yard run.

Northwest’s final points came with 9:24 remaining in the contest when Weston hooked up with freshman receiver Tyson Sims of Southaven on a nine-yard scoring pass.

The Rangers finished the day with 402 yards of total offense, including 131 yards on the ground. Northwest has gained at least 400 yards in four of its last five contests.

 
 

MACJC scores from week 8
Northwest	49	Holmes	12
East Mississippi	40	Itawamba	34
Coahoma	28	Northeast	25
Jones County	27	Mississippi Delta	7
Gulf Coast	47	Hinds	8
Pearl River	50	Southwest	20
East Central	35	Copiah-Lincoln	28