Rangers put brakes on Tabor's season
15th ranked Bluejays' dream season ends in 63-21 loss to No. 6 NWOSU
By RYAN RICHTER
Sports writer
At Tabor, finally making the NAIA football playoffs is the greatest accomplishment in the history of the program.
Head south to Alva, Okla., a season without making the playoffs for the Northwestern Oklahoma State Rangers would be considered a bust.
Not too hard to see why.
All the Rangers have done is make the postseason the last five years, eight times overall, bagging the national title in 1999 and finishing runner-up a year later.
By the end of Saturday's first quarter of the 15th ranked Bluejays first ever playoff appearance, it was crystal clear why teams, even NCAA Division II, aren't bursting at the seams to play the No. 6 Rangers.
Or why Ranger quarterback Patrick Crayton was chosen Offensive Player of the Year of the Central States Football league.
Crayton was a one-man demolition team for the overmatched Bluejays, authoring five touchdown drives en route to ending Tabor's magical season on a 63-21 nightmare in Alva.
Sure, the Bluejays won a school record nine games on the season, but those wins weren't coming at the expense of teams the caliber of NWOSU.
"You don't see very teams at this level like them," Bluejay coach Tim McCarty said of the Rangers' talent level. "You've got two maybe three pros on that team.
"They were good, and I don't think anybody will beat them. Now I know why Division II teams don't like playing them now."
The Bluejays hardly looked intimidated by NWOSU on their first possession of the game, scoring the game's first touchdown.
Ricky Ishida completed three passes for 14, 27, and 12 yards before scoring on four-yard quarterback keeper 2:06 into the game.
Scoring all three of Tabor's touchdowns, Ishida seemed to be about the only weapon working.
The Bluejays' striking first must have stirred the NWOSU monster. Tabor's troubles began when Keenan Morris' kick bounced off the left upright on the PAT.
As versatile and dynamic a quarterback as the Bluejays' could ever see in person, the Texas Tech transfer Crayton proved he is just as deadly in returns as he is running or throwing the football.
That was etched in stone on the ensuing kickoff as Crayton nearly went coast-to-coast, making a cut right and scampering down the NWOSU sideline unscathed.
Fourteen seconds after the Bluejays pulled ahead, they went down for good after Northwestern scored the first seven of its 28 unanswered points.
McCarty knew to beat the Rangers, the Bluejays had to bring their 'A game and avoid turnovers.
That's exactly what didn't happen as Ishida was picked by Bryan Franklin, who took it in for a 30 yard return.
Tabor invited trouble to dinner, committing four turnovers that gave the Rangers a 21-point handicap.
Up 14-6, the Ranger offense had yet to take the field nearly 4:00 into the game.
When it was, you didn't need a microscope to see the 11th ranked Bluejay defense had yet to see an offense with the speed, athleticism, and explosiveness like that of the national leading Rangers.
That paid dividends in Northwestern piling up 511 yards of offense, the most surrendered by Tabor, with Crayton accountable for 395 of it.
"We come back out, three plays throw a pick for a touchdown, it's 14-6 and we don't even know what's going on," said McCarty. "That was the fastest 21 points I think I've ever seen scored."
Running for a game-high 120 yards and a touchdown, Crayton threw for 275 on 17 for 28, too.
If trying to corral Crayton wasn't enough, the Bluejays had to worry about his favorite target, the lightning fast and agile Michael Salters.
Salters must have sensed Tabor's bugaboo with pass coverage.
He had a field day against the struggling Bluejay secondary, setting a school record in receptions with 10 for a game-high 198 yards and three touchdowns.
The Bluejays' star wideout duo of Tyler Marsh and Tyson Ratzlaff ended amazing record-setting careers with subpar 44 and 39 yard performances, respectively.
The NAIA's ninth ranked defense limited the Bluejays' 12th ranked offense to 222 yards under its 417 yard per game average to a season-low 195 yards.
Four more Ranger scoring drives, three with Crayton either running or throwing, Tabor faced its largest halftime deficit of the season, 42-14.
"It was amazing," McCarty said. "It seemed like every time we scored they'd put on two or three (TDs). I was proud of our kids, they never gave up.
"At least we know what a playoff game looks like now. We knew we had our hands full going in and we were going to have to play great in all fazes of the game. We didn't do that.
"Our kids were excited to be there and it was a good learning experience for the Bluejay football team."
Tabor ends its greatest season ever at 9-2.
