MIAMI - Exhibiting a total lack of discipline from the first possession of the game, Northeastern A&M's Golden Norsemen dropped a 43-13 decision Saturday to the No. 13 ranked Kilgore College Rangers before a large homecoming crowd at R.E. St. John Memorial Stadium.


With the loss at Kilgore, the Norsemen are 2-4 on the season and winless through three Southwest Junior College Football Conference games.
Along with celebrating his birthday, coach J.J. Eckert's Kilgore Rangers are 2-1 in the conference and 5-1 overall.
Coach Ryan Held's Golden Norse return to Red Robertson Field Saturday for a 2 p.m. homecoming contest with No. 17 rated Navarro College. Highlighting a week full of activities will be a parade Saturday at 10 a.m. around campus. Queen and King coronation will be during halftime.
The Navarro Bulldogs cruised to a 66-22 non-conference win over Arkansas Baptist College before a large homecoming crowd in Corsicana, Texas. The Bulldogs are 4-2 on the season and 1-2 in the conference.
Both NEO and Kilgore seemed to struggle in their first couple of series to start the game.
While sophomore quarterback Dezmond Stegall showed the rust of two weeks off while making the start under center, NEO failed to move the ball with any consistency.
Kilgore missed an opportunity to grab an early lead as sophomore placekicker Luis Sanchez was short on a 44-yard field goal attempt with 9:56 left in the first quarter.
Sophomore linebacker Jacob Allen appeared to give NEO a chance to control the football by recovering a fumble from Ranger quarterback Javelle Allen at the Golden Norse 15-yard line.
But, two plays later, Stegall threw a pick-six into the arms of Kilgore cornerback Ricci Simmons for an 85-yard touchdown return. Sanchez kicked the point-after with 5:52 left in the first 15 minutes for a 7-0 Kilgore lead.
With 1:01 remaining in the first quarter, NEO missed a chance to put points on the board as Stegall fumbled at the Kilgore 8-yard line and Rangers safety Jordan Burton fell on the ball to squelch the Golden Norse drive.
Javelle Allen ignited a 45-yard, four-play drive for Kilgore with a nifty 20-yard run straight down the middle of the field mid-way through the second quarter.
A 12-yard touchdown pass from Javelle Allen to wide out Dequann Ruffin at the 7:45 juncture increased the Kilgore lead. Sanchez kicked the extra point for a 14-0 Rangers margin.
NEO's special teams unit prevented further damage on Kilgore's next possession as Golden Norse linebacker Jevonte Cross blocked a 42-yard field goal attempt by Sanchez with 2:25 before halftime.
Backup quarterback Averion Hurts guided the Rangers 65 yards in less than a minute by completing a 24-yard pass to wide out Eddie Smith down to the NEO 2-yard line.
Hurts scored on a quarterback keeper and the Rangers added the two-point conversion on the swinging gate play to build a 22-0 cushion at halftime.
During the first 30 minutes the Golden Norsemen lost one fumble, one interception and committed nine penalties for 75 yards.
Entering the game the Rangers defense were limiting the opposition to only an average of 124 yards per game via the run. In two quarters NEO's offense only accounted for 36 yards on 24 carries.
Kilgore received the second half kickoff and drove 65 yards in seven plays before Hurts found wide receiver Garrett Barton open for a 26-yard touchdown pass. The PAT by Sanchez created a 29-0 advantage with 11:44 left in the third quarter.
The Rangers attempted a trick play while lining up for a 46-yard field goal try by Sanchez with 8:29 showing on the clock. Hurts, the holder, raised up and fired an incomplete pass to Barton to quell the drive.
Sophomore quarterback Devin White replaced Stegall and guided the Golden Norsemen 74 yards in two plays for their first points.
White found freshman wide out Khalil Warren open on a crossing route for a 68-yard touchdown pass with 7:56 left in the third quarter. Sinue Rodridguez booted the point-after for a 29-7 deficit.
Kilgore tailback Corey Davis reeled off a 23-yard run to highlight an 85-yard, nine-play drive by the Rangers. Davis scored on a 3-yard burst up the middle at the 4:05 juncture as Kilgore carried a 36-7 lead into the fourth quarter.
Late in the final quarter, White connected with freshman wide receiver Gary Hall, Jr. for a 5-yard touchdown pass. The two-point conversion pass by White failed as the Norsemen trailed 36-13 with 6:52 left in the game.
NEO's fifth turnover of the game, a fumble by White, allowed the Rangers to score on a 30-yard pass from Hurts to Joe Lewis. Sanchez tacked on the extra point with 3:01 remaining on the clock.
An indication of NEO's undisciplined approach came on the ensuing kickoff as freshman cornerback Justin Martin had an 80-yard touchdown run nullified because he executed a flip before entering the endzone.
Not only was the TD disallowed, but the Golden Norsemen were assessed two 15-yard penalties.
With time winding down, Rodriguez missed a 39-yard field goal attempt wide right.
Even though the Golden Norsemen generated 367 yards in total offense, 308 of those yards came via the pass.
Freshman tailback Cameron Booty led the NEO ground game with 64 yards on 18 carries.
White completed 13 of 30 passes for 248 yards and two TDs with one interception. Stegall completed 7 of 15 passes for 60 yards and one interception.
Freshman wide out Gary McKnight, Jr. led the receiving corps with five receptions for 83 yards. Warren added five catches for 80 yards.
Along with two interceptions and three lost fumbles, the Golden Norsemen were flagged with 19 penalties for 180 yards.
Northeastern A&M                 0        0     7     6 - 13
Kilgore College                         7      15   14    7 - 43
Scoring summary
First quarter
KCC - Simmons 85 interception return (Sanchez kick), 5:52
Second quarter
KCC - Ruffin 12 pass from Lavelle Allen (Sanchez kick), 7:45
KCC - Hurts 2 run (Sanchez kick), 0:08
Third quarter
KCC - Barton 26 pass from Hurts (Sanchez kick), 11:44
NEO - Warren 68 pass from White (Rodriguez kick), 7:56
KCC - Davis 3 run (Sanchez kick), 4:05
Fourth quarter
NEO - Hall 5 pass from White (Rodriguez kick), 6:52
KCC - Lewis 30 pass from Hurts (Sanchez kick), 3:01
Team statistics
                                                         NEO                      KCC
First downs                                        17                         22
Rushes-yards                              35-59                  38-181
Passing yards                                 308                        224
Return yards                                      0                           90
Passes-com-att-int                20-45-2                  20-37-1
Punts-avg                                     8-38                         5-41
Fumbles-lost                                  3-3                           1-1
Penalties-yards                       19-180                     17-165
Individual statistics
RUSHING: NEO, Booty 18-64, Robinson 5-6, Gregory 1-6, Stegall 6-(-4), White 5-(-13); KCC, Davis 13-72, Smith 8-59, Allen 5-28, Aldridge 7-25, Hurts 4-(-3).
PASSING: NEO, White 13-30-1-248, Stegall 5-17-1-60; KCC, Hurts 13-22-1-113, Allen 7-15-0-111.
RECEIVING: NEO, McKnight 5-85, Warren 5-80, Beasley 3-65, Collier 2-21, Gregory 1-35, Matiaha 1-7, Booty 1-5, Hall 1-5, Herman 1-5; KCC, Barton 5-55, Fonzale Davis 4-12, Daily 3-28, Ruffin 2-29, Baines 2-23, Lewis 1-30, Smith 1-24, Corey Davis 1-15, Watson 1-8.