Cole McKenzie 090112
RW Balzer
Cole McKenzie caught a game-high 10 passes for 184 yards and two touchdowns

Huge Second Quarter Propels Bears Past Raiders

9/8/2012 6:56:00 PM

Box Score BILLINGS, Mont. – Rocky Mountain College scored 31 points in the second quarter as the Bulldogs handed Southern Oregon its first loss of the 2012 season, 52-30 Saturday afternoon at Herb Klindt Field.

Southern Oregon falls to 1-1 overall this season, with both games serving as Frontier Conference contests. Rocky Mountain improves to 3-0 with the win. The Raiders will have a bye next weekend before returning home for a conference matchup with Dickinson State on Sept. 22 at 1 p.m. at Raider Stadium.

Bryce Baker passed for 544 yards and five touchdowns, completing 41 of 52 pass attempts and running for another score as the Rocky Mountain offense surpassed 700 yards with a final total of 703 on 82 plays. Austin Dodge (Vancouver, Wash./Skyview) completed 32 of 59 pass attempts for 345 yards and a pair of touchdowns to go with his first interception of the year.

Cole McKenzie (Red Bluff, Calif./Red Bluff) led all receivers with 10 catches for 184 yards and two scores, and six different SOU runners combined for 181 yards on 39 attempts. Kalii Robinson (Los Angeles, Calif./Dorsey) led the SOU defense with 15 total tackles and a forced fumble. Cole Cattelan caught eight passes for 130 yards and Ryan Toner added five for 110 for the Bears.

Southern Oregon started the game strong, as the defense forced punts on Rocky Mountain's first two possessions and the Raider offense scored on its first three. Colin Amsler (Stevenson Ranch, Calif./West Ranch) put SOU on the board midway through the first period with a 32-yard field goal, and the Raiders went up 10-0 when Dodge hit McKenzie for a 25-yard touchdown pass.

Baker made it 10-7 when he ran 25 yards for the Bears' first touchdown of the game, but Dodge responded with his second TD pass when he found McKenzie for a 34-yard score late in the opening quarter.

Everything changed once the game hit the second quarter, as the Rocky Mountain defense buckled down and forced SOU into seven consecutive punts and the RMC offense scored on five straight drives. Nick Knell's 27-yard field goal made it 17-10 SOU, but the next four Bear drives ended with a Baker touchdown as the quarterback finished the half with 433 yards through the air and four scoring passes.

By the end of the quarter, Rocky Mountain had totaled 31 points to take a 38-17 lead into halftime. The Bears closed out the first half with 511 offensive yards.

Baker tossed his fifth TD pass of the game midway through the third quarter to make it 45-17, but SOU finally broke the 38-0 scoring streak in the final seconds of the quarter when Mike Olson (Colfax, Calif./Colfax) reached the end zone on a two-yard run. Olson would add another touchdown in the fourth quarter to give him five for the season.
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