ALVA – Camden McCrary had a pair of touchdowns passes late in the fourth, but Oklahoma Baptist's comeback attempt could not be completed as Northwestern Oklahoma State held on for a 30-28 win at Ranger Field.
Each team moved their records to 2-6 in the process.
The game began slowly, with neither team scoring in the first.
Then early in the second, Northwestern struck with a 42-yard field goal by Kale Purvis. Northwestern's defense then intercepted the Bison which led to an 18-yard touchdown pass from Brodey Johnson to Travis Romar.
A couple possessions went by and OBU found itself down 13-0. The green and gold then capitalized with a five-play, 65-yard drive that ended with a two-yard
EJ Moore rushing score. That series was highlighted by a 52-yard bomb to
Darius Melton on third-and-nine.
That cut the deficit to 13-7 at the break.
In the third, only three points were scored. That came via a 33-yard Purvis field goal. For the Bison, they missed some chances on offense including a dropped fourth-down throw inside the 15-yard line with about four minutes left.
The final stanza brought a 10-yard rushing touchdown to Darien Gill, increasing the lead to 23-7, but Oklahoma Baptist responded with a flurry of points, scoring three touchdowns.
There were also some big defensive plays made throughout the second half from
Bradley Amwayi,
Jylun Spence,
Tainique Taylor,
Bryce Starlin and
Brayden Johnson which aided OBU.
On offense though,
Kenny Rosenthal found Melton for a 32-yard touchdown early in the fourth. And on the next play, a two-point conversion was made by
Haven Lysell to make the tally 23-15. However, on OBU's next possession with some momentum, Rosenthal exited with an injury and watched as Northwestern's defense answered with a crucial interception return for touchdown by Wilson Cal.
With just over six minutes remaining, OBU mounted a comeback. McCrary connected with
Gabe Barres for a four-yard touchdown, and in the game's final minute, McCrary threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to
Gavin McCurley, cutting the lead to 30-28.
After the McCurley score, the Bison went for two to tie the game, but the Rangers broke up that pass attempt.
Next week, OBU will make the long haul to Arkansas-Monticello for a 2 p.m. contest.
