DANGER RANGERS

SHICKSHINNY — Just when Central Columbia looked as if it finally had a solution to its problems, Northwest threw a wrench in the plan.

The Rangers should have run away with the game, starting in excellent field position for most of the night, as execution and flashing a running game that saw seven different players carry the ball. The Blue Jays, however, played aggressively and caused five fumbles, recovering three of them.

But for the second straight week, it was poor third-down play and penalties that stopped the Blue Jays in their tracks as the Rangers came away with a 23-10 victory Friday night for their first 2-0 start since 2022 when they won their first four games.

The Blue Jays’ losing streak extends to 15 games, dating back to Oct. 4, 2024, when they beat Milton 42-34 in double overtime.

“Our kids have earned the right to win; they’re doing well,” Northwest coach Greg Mullins said. “... We’re playing our brand of football and focusing on the details and executing every bit of it. It will be on them to stop us.”

Central Columbia wasn’t able to do that. In fact, the Blue Jays got more in their own way than the Rangers’ way, committing 10 penalties for 82 yards. Having their first lead of the season, 3-0 on a 45-yard field goal by Gus Bauman in the first quarter, Central had the Rangers right where it wanted them.

Facing third-and-24, Central was bound to get off the field despite giving up a 15-yard run to Caleb Ide. A facemask, though, moved the chains, and the Rangers punched it in with a Cole Cavuto QB keeper from 6 yards out.

They never looked back, but got some late scares from the Blue Jays.

After Central forced the Rangers to settle for a 38-yard field goal by Wyatt Orlowski on their first possession of the second half, a line drive that sank into the field goal net directly behind the goal post, the Blue Jays put together their first real drive of the game.

They established a 16-play, 78-yard drive that carried into the fourth quarter and more than doubled their first down count from the first half altogether, with Owen Zanoline (29) and Logan Robbins (25) accounting for over 50 of those yards on 10 carries. The duo finished with 132 yards in the game, as the two picked up for the injured Dominic Keller and Blake Edgar, who combined for over 200 all-purpose yards in Week 1. The Rangers weren’t scared, coming up with a big fourth-down stop.

The momentum and ball didn’t last long with Northwest, and Central made it a one-possession game with Zanoline scoring from 11 yards out.

At that point, Noah Arnett had seen enough. Again, with Central looking like it might get off the field in a third-and-16 situation, Arnett used his quickness to burst through the line and well past the Central defense for a 76-yard touchdown. He finished with 100 yards on six carries.

“Once again, Noah Arnett showed up in big moments,” Mullins said. “It just goes to show we trust these kids and they trust us. If they didn’t, they’d hang their heads in that moment, but they didn’t.”

The Rangers finished 4-for-8 on third while the Jays went 2-for-11, including 0-for 5 after halftime.

“There are a few things we can fix. At the end of the day, the amount of penalties we had fall on me,” Central coach Ky Seesholtz said. “I have to emphasize technique and drills to do certain things. Our discipline has to improve, and that once again falls on me.”

The Rangers, who started at their own 40 or better on six drives — including in Central territory three times — also had a 15-yard score by Ben Bonham on a double-reverse. Bonham punched it in to the right after Arnett got the defense’s attention to the left.

That situational football makes Mullins know there is work to do.

“The fumbles are troublesome. I won’t take anything away from Central because they played one heck of a game,” he said. “That fourth quarter won’t be a nail-biter if we do the little things right and take care of the ball. We did everything to lose the game.”

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