BETHANY, Okla.—Southern Nazarene kept it rolling on Saturday afternoon with a 27-21 win over Northwestern Oklahoma State to earn back-to-back victories for the first time since the 2018 season.
Southern Nazarene (3-5, 3-5 GAC) and Northwestern Oklahoma State (1-7, 1-7 GAC) fought all afternoon. Neither side ever took a lead greater than seven points as they continued to swap touchdowns. Finally, SNU was able to score the last two touchdowns of the game to earn their first home win of the season.
The Crimson Storm came into the game averaging over 38 points per game in their last four contests but they were limited to just seven first half points. SNU turned the ball over on downs on their first possession and fumbled twice in the second quarter, abruptly putting an end to promising drives.
SNU got on the board first with a Gage Porter seven yard scamper on the Storm's second drive of the game. The touchdown was set up by a 42 yard rush from Porter earlier in the drive. Those were the only first half points that SNU could muster, though, leading to a 14-7 advantage for the Rangers at halftime.
That halftime deficit was quickly erased in the third quarter. SNU's defense forced a three-and-out on the first possession of the half and the offense took advantage of the opportunity by marching 45 yards for the game-tying score. Porter's nine-yard touchdown run not only tied the game, but gave him 15 rushing touchdowns for the season, tying the SNU single-season record. Later in the game, he added his 16th touchdown run of the season, giving Porter sole-possession of the single-season rushing touchdown record.
The teams then traded touchdowns in the third quarter as Jarrell Farr's 34 yard run once again tied the game at 21. After SNU's defense forced a fourth down stop to close the third quarter, the Storm offense marched 63 yards downfield to grab their first lead since holding a 7-0 advantage. Things got interesting after the touchdown, though, as a missed extra point left SNU up just six with 10 minutes to play.
On the final drive of the game, Northwestern marched down field and took over nine minutes off of the clock. They ran 20 plays after converting 3 fourth down conversions and 2 third down conversions, thanks in part to two SNU drive-extending penalties. Eventually, the Rangers made their way down to the SNU 7 yard line for a first-and-goal. The defense stood strong and limited Northwestern to just 2 yards after three straight runs. Finally, on fourth-and-goal from the five, Southern Nazarene forced the incomplete pass and another turnover-on-downs. Out of timeouts, Northwestern could only watch as the Storm kneeled the ball three times to kill the remainder of the clock and preserve the win.
The Storm continue to pound the rock at will. It was their sixth consecutive game with over 240 rushing yards as they put up 328 on Saturday. They also added 77 through the air to give them 405 for the game. On the other side, Northwestern finished with 357 total yards for the game.
Along with Porter's 3 touchdowns, he also added 172 yards on the ground and was a perfect 6-for-6 through the air. His 16 rushing touchdowns puts him tied for 3rd in all of DII, and his 1,255 yards also rank 3rd in the nation and put him just 125 yards shy of the SNU single-season rushing yards record.
Defensively, SNU was led by junior safety, Elijah Calhouh. He finished with a career-high 13 tackles, 8 of which were solo tackles, including a pair of tackles for loss.
SNU now turns their attention to Henderson State next Saturday for Senior Day. The Storm will honor over 20 seniors before the game. Southern Nazarene is 1-8 all-time against Henderson State. The Reddies will come into Saturday at 6-2 for the season. Kickoff is currently set for 2:00 p.m. following the Senior Day Festivities.
