Box Score ASHLAND – Those outside of this region who tuned into the NAIA Football Game of the Week may not have been familiar with many of the participants other than star Southern Oregon University quarterback Austin Dodge (Vancouver, Wash./Skyview) and Carroll College's handful of All-Americans. Raider fans themselves had never seen the two guys who made the game-winning plays.

Receiver Victor Dean (San Diego, Calif./Lincoln) and defensive lineman David Weider (Sacramento, Calif./Inderkum), both making their SOU debuts, made lasting first impressions Saturday that helped the 22^nd-ranked Raiders upset No. 2 Carroll, 38-35 at Phillips Field, to get an early leg up in the Frontier Conference title race.

With seven seconds left in the third quarter, Dean hooked up with Dodge for a 22-yard touchdown catch in the corner of the end zone that proved to be the final score of the game. Carroll had a chance to change that as it reached SOU's 29-yard-line with just over three minutes left, but Weider's sack of Mac Roche caused a fumble that was jumped on by SOU's Alex Stork (Klamath Falls, Ore./Klamath Union). That was Dean's first catch as a Raider, and Weider's first tackle.

All SOU (2-0 overall, 1-0 Frontier) needed to secure the win was a couple first downs, and running back Melvin Mason (Vacaville, Calif./Vacaville) supplied those all afternoon. He rushed 27 times for 202 yards and three TDs – including one of the 40-yard, spectacular variety in the first half, and another on 4^th-and-1 midway through the third quarter when he busted a tackle at the goal line to cut Carroll's 11-point lead to 35-31.

The Saints (0-1) – who have won 13 of the last 14 Frontier championships, and have been three-point losers in their last two trips to Ashland – fell behind 24-14 when Dodge connected on a deep ball with Dylan Young (Salem, Ore./North Salem), good for a 47-yard score. They had the lead by halftime, however, as Mac Roche answered with a 17-yard keeper TD, then orchestrated a six-play, 60-yard drive that lasted a minute and ended with Roche's 19-yard strike over the middle to Anthony Clarke just before halftime.

Saints running back Dustin Rinker brought home a 90-yard march that spanned the first 5:24 of the second half and made it 35-24. The Saints were then blanked on their last three possessions – getting a field goal blocked by Dean, missing another, and fumbling away their final opportunity.

Rinker ran 23 times for 147 yards, and Roche, making his debut as the Carroll starter, was an impressive 20-for-32 with 272 yards and three TDs through the air. Kyle Griffith (seven catches, 94 yards, one TD) and Clarke (five catches, 115 yards, two TDs) were his favorite targets.

SOU had the yardage edge, 561-458, and Dodge, of course, had a say in that. He hit on 21 of 30 attempts for 281 yards and a pair of TDs, finding Ryan Retzlaff (Medford, Ore./South Medford) eight times for 92 yards and Young six times for 85.

Keegan Lawrence (Sherwood, Ore./Sherwood) played a key supplemental part in the Raider backfield with 71 yards on nine carries. However, the show belonged to Mason, who netted consecutive runs of 10 and seven yards for a touchdown on the opening drive of the game.

Alex Stork (Klamath Falls, Ore./Klamath Union) led the Raider defense for the second straight week with seven solo tackles and three assisted. Daniel Breaux (Greenfield, Calif./Greenfield) and Mylz Blake (Los Angeles, Calif./Palisades Charter) got in on seven apiece for the Raiders, while Adam DeBruycker had 13 and Shane Durbin 11 for Carroll.

The Saints only got to Dodge once, and the Raiders had only sacked Roche once before Weider's fateful play.

The Raiders are 5-0 against ranked opponents at home since Craig Howard took over four years ago, although this was their first game at Ashland High in 31 years.

They'll be at Eastern Oregon (1-0) next Saturday before returning home – either to Raider Stadium or Medford's Spiegelberg Stadium – to host College of Idaho on Sept. 20.