Northwest Mississippi returned two fumbles for touchdowns, Justin Crawford ran for a touchdown and caught a TD pass, and Northwest Mississippi Community College beat Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College 34-24 Saturday in the Mississippi Association of Community and Junior Colleges football state championship game.

Gardner Minshew threw for 204 yards and two touchdowns for Northwest (10-1), which won its ninth MACJC state title and first since 1999.

Northwest led 14-10 at halftime, but extended the lead on fumble return touchdowns of 22 yards by Corey Brown and 5 yards by Tito Windham in the third quarter. Northwest’s defense also recorded six sacks — three by freshman Quondarius Qualls — and forced four fumbles as it beat Gulf Coast (8-3) for the second time this season.

Minshew’s 18-yard TD pass to Crawford with 3:30 left in the game made it 34-17 and sealed the victory.