KILGORE, Texas — Although statistically Northeastern A&M battled the Kilgore College to a dead-even draw, the Golden Norsemen lost on the scoreboard as the Rangers posted a 35-21 decision Saturday at R.E. St. John Memorial Stadium.


Halted for more than an hour even before the kickoff by lightning and heavy rain, the Golden Norse took the opening kickoff at 4:19 p.m. and drove 63 yards in six plays to grab their only lead of the game.
Freshman quarterback Tony Kiefer rushed for 38 yards on three carries before connecting with freshman wide out Austin White for a 22-yard touchdown pass. Dylan Lipps kicked the point-after for a 7-0 Norse lead with 9:30 left in the first quarter.
"Our kids have played hard and they've played well at times, but once we jump out to a lead we seem to let off the gas and don't finish the game," first year NEO head coach Sherard Poteete said. "But, between penalties and turnovers, you can't beat yourself which we've done a very good job of doing this year."
Following a 17-yard punt return by Chico Lopez, the Rangers marched 48 yards in eight plays to tie the score as time expired in the first quarter.
Playing without the services of sophomore starting quarterback Tanner Tausch, freshman Averion Hurts guided the Rangers to the NEO 12-yard line on a 27-yard pass to De'Ondre Jackson. Tausch suffered a season-ending separated shoulder during Wednesday's practice.
With 0:01 left on the clock, freshman tailback Eddie Smith scored on a 12-yard run. Luis Sanchez kicked the extra point for a 7-7 tie heading into the second quarter.
Kiefer, plagued by making poor reads the entire game, tried to force a pass into wide out Dawson Myers, but Kilgore cornerback Michael Mathis reached up and returned the interception 60 yards for a touchdown with 9:27 before halftime.
Sanchez added the PAT to give the Rangers a 14-7 margin.
Operating from a short field after holding the Golden Norse offense in check, the Rangers needed only five plays to cover 43 yards for another score.
Freshman tailback Keevon Aldridge concluded the drive with a 1-yard touchdown plunge. The extra point by Sanchez created a 21-7 Kilgore cushion with 5:19 until half.
After a 46-yard field goal attempt by Lipps fell short of the cross bar, NEO's defense put points on the board as sophomore cornerback Devron Moore stepped in front of an errant Hurt's pass and returned it 75 yards for a pick-six. 
Lipps kicked the point-after as the Norsemen trailed 21-14 at intermission.
"During halftime we only talked about two things to the kids," Poteete said. "We told them that we owned the fourth quarter and that we needed to score during the third. Then we stressed to them to keep their mouth's shut and just play football."
Neither team could mount a scoring threat during the first 14 minutes of the third quarter until coach J.J. Eckert's Rangers unveiled a trick play.
Freshman wide receiver Morris Williams took a double lateral and circled the left end for a nifty 60-yard touchdown run with 1:19 showing on the clock. Sanchez kicked the extra point for a 28-14 Kilgore cushion heading into the final 15 minutes.
After three quarters of stellar play, NEO's defensive unit imploded on Kilgore's first possession of the fourth quarter.
Three consecutive personal foul penalties after the conclusion of a short running play by Hurt allowed Kilgore to move from their own 45-yard line all the way down to the NEO 10-yard line.
Another half-the-distance penalty on NEO's defense on the next play set up the Rangers with a 1st-and-goal at the NEO 1-yard line.
Aldridge concluded the series with a 1-yard TD run and Sanchez booted the extra point for a 35-14 Rangers lead with 13:21 left in the game.
"I thought our guys on defense played much better in this game than they did the week before," Poteete said. "They were flying around with a lot more enthusiasm and energy. 
"They were flying around to the ball, made plays when they had to," Poteete said "Then we allowed ourselves to become undisciplined in the fourth quarter and Kilgore continued drives by getting penalties after the plays were over."
"Whether it was out of frustration or because we were behind, what happened comes down to me allowing those unfortunate things to happen," Poteete said. "We're going to take steps these next two weeks to make sure it never happens again.
"If a player can't control himself, then he doesn't need to be on the field, no matter who it is," Poteete said. "That's how we're going to approach it these last two weeks."
Three pass receptions by Dawson Myers for 26 yards, ignited a 68-yard, seven-play drive by the Golden Norsemen.
Veteran tailback Sheldon Wilson scored on a 1-yard run with 9:26 showing on the clock before Lipps kicked the point-after for the final score.
Both NEO and Kilgore finished with 304 total yards each on offense. 
Kiefer led the Norse ground game with 71 yards on 16 carries while Eddie Smith paced the Rangers with 69 yards on 16 carries.
Northeastern A&M;7;7;0;7 21
Kilgore College;7;14;7;7; 35
Scoring summary
First quarter
9:30 NEO White 22 pass from Kiefer (Lipps kick)
0:01 KCC Smith 12 run (Sanchez kick)
Second quarter
9:27 KCC Mathis 61 interception return (Sanchez kick)
5:19 KCC Aldridge 1 run (Sanchez kick)
0:39 NEO Moore 75 interception return (Lipps kick)
Third quarter
1:19 KCC Williams 60 run (Sanchez kick)
Fourth quarter
13:21 KCC Aldridge 1 run (Sanchez kick)
9:26 NEO Wilson 1 run (Lipps kick)
Team statistics
NEO;KCC
First downs;21;15
Rushes-yards;41-167;42-165
Passing yards;137;139
Return yards;115;100
Passes-com-att-int;14-29-3;13-19-1
Punts-avg;4-36;4-46
Fumbles-lost;5-1;2-2
Penalties-yards;11-95;11-116
Individual statistics
RUSHING NEO Kiefer 16-71;Hawkins 15-58;Wilson 9-29;Myers 1-9 ;Kilgore E. Smith, 6-69;Williams 2-65;Aldridge 9-24;Halten 1-7;Hurts 10-6;D. Smith 3-3;Ledet 3-(-11)
PASSING NEO Kiefer 14-28-3-137;Manley 0-1-0-0;Kilgore Hurts 13-19-1-139
RECEIVING NEO Myers 5-57;Collier 3-(-12);Hawkins 2-40;White 2-28;Braxton 1-16;Warrington 1-8;Kilgore Daley 3-18;Jackson 2-46;Ledet 2-29;E. Smith 2-29;M. Williams 2-4;Jeter 1-9;Wesley 1-4