Box Score PHOTO GALLERY

MEDFORD – Southern Oregon opened the 2012 season in dominant fashion, defeating Montana Western 54-21 for the Raiders' biggest win in nearly five years Saturday afternoon at Spiegelberg Stadium.

Playing in Medford for the first time since 1994 in the inaugural Medford Kickoff Classic, the Raiders improved to 1-0 on the season while Montana Western fell to 0-1. The Raiders' 33-point win marked SOU's largest point-differential since the 2007 season, when SOU defeated Dixie State 42-9.

Austin Dodge (Vancouver, Wash./Skyview) completed 26 passes for 347 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the win, and the sophomore quarterback added 19 rushing yards for the Raiders. Mike Olson (Colfax, Calif./Colfax) scored three touchdowns, reaching the endzone on the ground, through the air and on a punt return to total 187 rush/receiving/return yards. Manny Barragan (Yreka, Calif./Yreka) picked up 79 yards and a pair of scores on the ground, and Zach Marshall (Camas, Wash./Camas) busted a 61-yard touchdown run and finished with 84 yards on seven carries. Cole McKenzie (Red Bluff, Calif./Red Bluff) caught a game-high nine passes for 153 yards and a touchdown.

Tyrell Braun led Montana Western with 108 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns, and Jeff Logan threw for 163 yards and a touchdown before leaving the game at halftime with an injury. Bradley Kenney played the second half under center for the Bulldogs, tossing for 128 yards.

Montana Western took an early lead with a touchdown on its first drive to cap a seven-play, 79-yard drive. Logan hit Pastras for the 11-yard TD pass, and the point after made it 7-0 UMW. The Raiders responded with a 14-play touchdown drive, with Barragan's four-yard run picking up the score. Southern Oregon went for two following the touchdown, but the pass attempt failed and the Bulldogs maintained a 7-6 lead.

The Raiders struck again to take a 13-7 lead, as Ra Sjeon Hines (Antioch, Calif./Antioch) intercepted a Logan pass on the UMW 15-yardline and ran it back in for the pick-six. Montana Western regained the lead on the ensuing drive, as Braun scored the touchdown on a two-yard run and the Bulldogs went up 14-13.

Barragan put SOU up late in the second quarter with a one-yard run, giving the Raiders a 19-14 lead going into halftime. Montana Western nearly scored in the final seconds of the half, but the Raider defense held strong at the goal line as the clock hit zero.

The Raiders tallied three touchdowns in the third quarter, including two quick scores. Southern Oregon put together a nine-play, 84-yard drive early in the quarter to go up 26-14 on Dodge's 25-yard pass to Mike Olson (Colfax, Calif./Colfax). A Monti Wilson (San Andreas, Calif./Calaveras) interception in Montana Western's territory set the Raiders up for a short score when Olson picked up the two-yard rushing touchdown to make it 33-14. Olson struck again a few minutes later when he returned a UMW punt 69 yards for his third touchdown of the game.

Montana Western ended the 27-0 SOU streak late in the quarter when the Bulldogs completed a 77-yard drive with a 13-yard touchdown run by Braun. A few minutes later the Raiders embarked on a 99-yard drive that Dodge finished with his second touchdown pass of the game, a 48-yarder to McKenzie. The Raiders' final touchdown came late in the final quarter, when Marshall broke through the line for his 61-yard run to make it 54-21.

Both teams finished with a perfectly symmetrical 25 first downs, with each team tallying 15 first downs through the air, eight on the ground and two via penalty. Southern Oregon finished with a 229-151 edge in rushing yards and a 356-291 advantage in passing yards, and the Raiders grabbed three interceptions to none for the Bulldogs. Montana Western did force the game's lone turnover via fumble.

Southern Oregon returns to action next weekend, when the Raiders will travel to Montana for a Frontier Conference road game against Rocky Mountain. Montana Western will host Dickinson State in its 2012 home opener next week.