Photo by Brandy EubanksFollowing a 40-37 double-overtime loss to Tyler Junior College Oct. 10, KC head coach J.J. Eckert said his team had no room for error.
Apparently, his message was well-received.
The Rangers won their second straight conference game with a 68-36 demolition of the Northeastern Oklahoma Golden Norsemen Oct. 24 at R.E. St. John Memorial Stadium.
“We’ve done a pretty good job of understanding our backs are against the wall,” KC head coach J.J. Eckert said. “Coming out of the Tyler game, we looked at it like the playoffs had already started for us. Our kids seem to have liked that, and responded, and they’re making things happen.”
Jimmy Anderson had a huge game, picking off two passes, batting down another, blocking an extra point and returning a two-point pass 95 yards for a score.
KC, which had the conference’s worst offense while starting the season 0-4, continued its impressive turnaround with another big offensive performance. Led by quarterback Hans Cook, the Rangers won for the third time in four games and have averaged 43 points per game during that span.
“Hans adds some things to the game that help us as a football team,” Eckert said. “He’s a guy who can do some things with his feet and he’s been getting better at making decisions the last couple of weeks. I’m proud of the way he has progressed and continue to get better.”
Cook improved to 2-1 as a starter while completing 11 of nine of 13 passes for 108 yards and a touchdown.
NEO grabbed a 7-0 lead with 9:33 left in the first quarter on the first of four touchdown runs by Da’sor Horton.
Anderson returned the ensuing kickoff 24 yards, allowing the Rangers to set up shop on their own 34 yard-line. Cook connected with Kelvin Hall for 13 yards on third-and-four to keep the drive going, then found Jordan Scoggins for a 14-yard scoring toss with 3:55 left in the opening stanza.
The score started a 38-0 run over the next 16:48 of the game. Aided by a bone-crushing block from Riley Seider, Calvin Stoker returned a punt 38 yards to set up his own five-yard scoring run to give KC a 14-7 lead.
Terrance Cannon later connected with T.C. Henry on a 46-yard halfback touchdown pass, extending the KC lead to 24-7.
Anderson and Chris Tate intercepted two of the next three NEO passes to set up a pair of touchdowns.
Cannon scored when he scooped up a fumble in the end zone at the end of an 18-yard run by Lockhart with 5:55 left in the half. Liquor Lockhart then notched his first touchdown of the day on a three-yard run at the 2:07 mark.
Si’Darius Blackshire gave the Rangers a 45-14 halftime lead on a two-yard quarterback run, which was set up by a 49-yard pass to Hall.
KC used a safety and two touchdowns to pull to within 45-28 with 9:33 left in the third, but Anderson’s two-point return shifted the momentum back in favor of the Rangers.
The Rangers reached 68 points with 4:04 left in the third quarter after scoring three touchdowns in just over three minutes. Lockhart and Frank Rodriguez reached the end zone on short runs before
Qualon Childress returned a fumble 45 yards to cap off the scoring.
Cook picked up 90 rushing yards on just seven attempts to pace the KC ground game, which piled up 258 yards on 46 carries. Lockhart was one of eight Ranger ball carriers, and finished with 52 yards and two touchdowns on 10 touches.
Ten different Rangers scored points and the team racked up 15 plays of at least 10 yards.
// J.C. Derrick, Executive Editor