East Central Community College’s Quentin Gibson tries to release a pass before having it stripped away by a Northwest Mississippi Community College defender Thursday night in Decatur.

DECATUR — If anyone had questions about Northwest Mississippi’s focus heading into Thursday’s game a week after defeating then-No. 1 East Mississippi, the Rangers quickly squashed those concerns.

No. 6-ranked Northwest scored on its first three drives Thursday night to build a lead it wouldn’t surrender, as the Rangers defeated East Central 38-0 behind 492 yards of total offense on homecoming at Bailey Field.

Rangers coach Benjy Parker said last week’s win was the farthest thing from his players’ minds Thursday, as he preached the importance of leaving it in the past. Their 38-0 halftime lead, and the subsequent running clock enforced at the start of the third quarter, suggested they heeded his call.

“We talked about the hangover; you hear about it every week,” Parker said. “I talked to the team all week about it and they listened, they responded, and I’m certainly proud of them. Coach (Ken) Karcher and his staff do an unbelievable job here, and I can’t say enough about my guys responding the right way, though.”

Northwest (6-1, 4-1) dominated the line of scrimmage for 48 minutes, paving the way for a 397-yard rushing performance from the Ranger backfield. Quarderman Sloan finished with a game-high 129 yards and three touchdowns. Sloan accumulated 105 by halftime and scored on first-half runs of 1, 2 and 9 yards.

“We work on this every day — it just all kind of comes together in the end,” Sloan said. “We just came together as a team and kept it straight. It was just good overall. Everybody did their job, and that’s all that matters. If you do your job, everything should go smoothly.”

Rangers running back Kevin Perkins added 89 yards on six carries and had touchdown runs of 59 and 5 yards. Quarterback Jack Abraham, a Louisiana Tech transfer, was 10-for-16 for 107 yards. Cole Rotenberry hauled in four catches for 49 yards. 

Northwest’s defense was stifling, and East Central’s offense failed to gain traction against it all night. The Warriors ended with just 70 yards of total offense on 34 plays. Warriors running back Mikell Daniels was held to 12 yards on seven carries, and Skylar Davis’ 16 receiving yards on two receptions was an East Central (1-7, 0-6) team-high.

Quarterbacks Quentin Gibson and Mario Asagunla shared snaps under center for the Warriors. Gibson was 5 of 8 for 40 yards, and Asagunla went 3 of 5 for 20 yards. 

Before Thursday’s game, East Central coach Ken Karcher told his players they had the chance to make a statement against a top-10 team.

“I said it was a great opportunity anytime you play a nationally ranked team; you have a chance to basically make a name for yourself,” Karcher said. “We knew coming in we wouldn’t be able to make any mistakes, and we’d have to do everything well to beat them, and they’d have to help us a little bit. They played well, and we didn’t, and it just got out of hand.” 

The win was Northwest’s fifth consecutive, while East Central has dropped six in a row.

Up next: East Central hosts Southwest Mississippi next Thursday, and Northwest travels to Northeast Mississippi.