SOU NOTES

ASHLAND – The Southern Oregon football team will play its first game at Raider Stadium this season when the Raiders host Frontier Conference foe Dickinson State Saturday at 1 p.m.

Southern Oregon, 1-1 this season, had a bye week last weekend as the Raiders looked to recover and rebound from a tough loss at Rocky Mountain two weeks ago. Tickets will be $10 for the game against Dickinson State, with $5 tickets for seniors over 62 and children 12-and-under receiving free admission. Fans who can't make it to the stadium can follow the action with live stats and video by following the links on the SOU website.

Heading into Saturday's matchup, SOU head coach Craig Howard knows Dickinson State's power offense could present a challenge to the Raider defense. The Raiders have spent the extra week preparing for the test.

“Coming off the bye week enabled us to work hard on our fundamentals,” Howard said. “We didn't play well defensively in our last outing, and we want to get back to playing real sound, fundamental, physical defense. We're going to have to against Dickinson State. We need to tackle well. We need to be physical and match their physicality with our physicality.”

While the defense will look to hold back Dickinson State's old-fashioned power offense, the SOU offense will focus on maintaining its high-octane production its put up in the past two games. The Raiders lead the NAIA in third-down conversion rate (53.7 percent), passing offense (356.5 yards per game), first downs (29 per game) and total offense (555.5 yards per game), and their 42-point scoring average ranks fourth nationally.

“It's a real contrast in styles,” Howard said of the two offenses. “Dickinson State brings in an I-formation, double tight-end, three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust offense, whereas the Southern Oregon Raiders are wide open and crazy.”

Austin Dodge (Vancouver, Wash./Skyview) has averaged 352 passing yards and 373.5 yards of total offense through two games this season, with both marks leading the NAIA. Mike Olson (Colfax, Calif./Colfax) ranks first nationally in scoring with five touchdowns in two games, and Cole McKenzie (Red Bluff, Calif./Red Bluff) leads the nation in receiving yards (169 per game) and ranks second in receptions (9.5 per contest).

“Hopefully that firepower stays well offensively,” Howard said.

As for Dickinson, the Blue Hawks will be playing SOU for the first time on Saturday. They are 1-2 this season after dropping their first two games to Rocky Mountain and Montana Western, picking up their first win last week with a 21-20 victory over Montana State-Northern. Dickinson State average 340 yards per game on offense, and like the Raiders the Blue Hawks are playing their first season in the Frontier Conference.

Southern Oregon will look to win its sixth consecutive home game on Saturday, the Raiders' longest such streak since a seven-game home win streak between 2000-01. The bye week gave SOU time to rest, recover and prepare, but Howard expects Saturday's game to present a though challenge.

“They're very physical and very well coached,” Howard said. “It should be an exciting matchup.”