Northwest punches  playoff ticket to face East Central Saturday T. Rotenberry hauls in a pick 6

By Kevin Maloney/NWCCRANGERS.COM
SENATOBIA – Northwest Mississippi Community College punched its ticket to the 2016 MACJC Football Playoffs with a convincing 48-6 victory over 10th-ranked Northeast on Thursday night at Bobby Franklin Field.
Adonis Thomas and Turner Rotenberry of Batesville each returned interceptions for touchdowns, Quarderman Sloan rushed for 130 yards and Marquisian Chapman scored through the air and on the ground to clinch the Rangers’ third straight playoff appearance and 27th in the last 35 seasons.
Northwest’s seventh-ranked scoring defense (14.9 ppg) allowed Northeast to cross midfield only twice all night, picked off a season-high four passes and allowed 142 total yards.
Clinching the north’s No. 2 seed, Northwest (8-1, 5-1) will travel to the south’s No. 1 seed, East Central (5-4, 5-1), on Saturday, Nov. 5 for a 2 p.m. kickoff. The two teams met just two weeks ago, with the Rangers winning 20-14.
Northwest led 24-0 at the half, highlighted by Thomas’ 56-yard interception return for a score in the game’s opening minutes, holding the Tigers to 45 yards on 36 plays.
Northeast (6-3, 4-2) got on the board on its opening drive of the third quarter, traveling 60 yards on six plays, capped by Mason Cunningham’s 10-yard touchdown pass to Cameron Montgomery. The point after was blocked by Jalen Harvey.
The Rangers responded with back-to-back scoring drives to extend their lead to 34-6 after three quarters on Drake McCarter’s 30-yard field goal and Chapman’s first career rushing touchdown from 23 yards out.
Cunningham’s first pass attempt of the fourth quarter was intercepted by Rotenberry and returned 49 yards for a score, his third pick of the year and team’s 15th, to make it 41-6.
Northwest’s best scoring drive of the night came on its final possession, with the Rangers traveling 76 yards on 10 plays over 7:35. Sloan and Ben Hoffman combined for 72 rushing yards on the drive, capped by Clay Holgorsen’s 4-yard touchdown pass to Alex Norwood Jr.
Holgorsen and Cam Bowman each had touchdown passes on the night. Chapman had a team-high four receptions for 22 yards and a score, moving into fifth in school history in receptions (87) and sixth in receiving yards (1,302). Walters added his ninth rushing touchdown of the year.
Defensively, David Herrington had a team-high five tackles on a unit that finished with eight tackles-for-loss, two sacks and four interceptions.
Northwest’s sophomore class played their final home game at Bobby Franklin Field, finishing a perfect 12-0, the first class to go undefeated in Senatobia since the 1991-92 national championship team.