DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The latest in a series of unexpected turns for the Southern Oregon University football program wasn't much of a turn at all. It was a victory lap.
The path emerged earlier than could have been anticipated, too, as the eighth-ranked Raiders won their first-ever NAIA football title Friday 55-31 over the seventh-ranked Marian University (Ind.) Knights at Municipal Stadium. There hadn't been a margin of victory that large in the championship game since 1995.
The Raiders, who finished with a record of 13-2, got all over the Knights (11-3) from the jump while building a stunning 38-10 halftime lead. Marian got within two touchdowns in the second half, but NAIA Player of the Year Austin Dodge (Vancouver, Wash./Skyview) made sure it didn't get any tighter.
Dodge capped his career with another surgical effort, throwing for 429 yards and three touchdowns, and the Raider defense backed him up with one of the strongest performance (at least in terms of takeaways) in program history. Marian quarterback Hayden Northern threw six interceptions – three were picked by Jaylenn Hart (Inglewood, Calif./Inglewood), two by Julius Rucker (Portland, Ore./Westview) (including one for a 54-yard TD, the first of the game) and one by Karrington Jones (Los Angeles, Calif./West Adams Prep) – and the Raiders additionally recovered two fumbles.
The last time SOU even approached those kind of defensive numbers was when it turned over Portland State six times on Sept. 12, 2009. The Raiders had forced two turnovers in the first three games of the playoffs combined.
Melvin Mason (Vacaville, Calif./Vacaville) scored four TDs in the first half – three rushing, and one via a 64-yard reception that he broke off around five yards from the line – giving him eight postseason touchdowns. He also had four TDs in SOU's quarterfinal win at Carroll after punching in just one in his previous four games.
Receiver Anthony Jones, Jr. was responsible for pulling the Knights back into the game, totaling 17 catches for 234 yards and three touchdowns.
Krishawn Hogan's 32-yard TD grab cut SOU's lead to 38-24 with five minutes left in the third quarter. After Dodge came back two possessions later with a nine-yard bullet to Ryan Retzlaff (Medford, Ore./South Medford) for a score, Jones Jr. made a 75-yard catch to get Marian within two possessions again at 45-31 less than 30 seconds into the fourth.
SOU traveled 57 yards on 12 plays on the ensuing drive, setting up a 38-yard field goal that Aldrick Rosas (Orland, Calif./Orland) drilled. Northern followed by putting another interception on a tee for Rucker, and one play later Dodge fired a signature over-the-top dime to Dylan Young (Salem, Ore./North Salem) for a 36-yard score, the last of the day.
Dodge found success going deep regularly, averaging over 20 yards on 21 completions. Ryan Retzlaff (Medford, Ore./South Medford) made five grabs for 117 yards, Matt Retzlaff (Medford, Ore./South Medford) had five for 107 and Young made four for 103.
Marian's NAIA-leading run defense was as strong as promised – SOU totaled 66 yards on 31 carries – but All-American Knights tailback Tevin Lake was also relatively ineffective when his team had to turn to the pass early. He carried only 18 times, traveling 68 yards, and the Knights had 30 carries as a team after trying over 40 in 11 of their first 13 games.
The Knights had won their last six games by at least 20 points.
SOU's point total was the highest in a championship game since Jefferson City (Tenn.) scored 56 points in 1988. In four games NAIA Football Championship Series games the Raiders totaled 203 points, the most of any team since NAIA Divisions I and II merged in 1997.
Defense sparked the early scoring surge against the Knights. SOU went deep a few times on the first drive of the game, and Dodge found Ryan Retzlaff (Medford, Ore./South Medford) on the very first play from scrimmage for 46 yards – ultimately setting up a 48-yard Rosas field goal.
The beginning of Northern's long day started next. His second attempt was tipped near the line of scrimmage and floated into Rucker's hands. Rucker broke two tackles, spun twice out of a crowd and split the field for the Raiders' second interception return for a TD of the season – both occurring in the last two rounds.
Prior to Friday, the Raiders only had two game with multiple interceptions and 11 total. Rucker brought his total to five and Hart went from one to four.
Northern got the Knights on the board with a 22-yard TD pass to Jones Jr. on the ensuing drive, making it 10-7 in favor of the Raiders. But SOU was back in the end zone four plays later, as Dodge's 49-yard completion over the top to Matt Retzlaff (Medford, Ore./South Medford) set up a five-yard Mason touchdown run.
Northern was intercepted again on Marian's next drive, this time by Hart. Mason would score one more time as time expired in the first quarter on a one-yard dive, putting SOU up 24-7.
Mason broke off his 64-yard TD reception on SOU's next chance, and the Raiders were suddenly up 31-7 with 11:38 still to play in the half. Mason would run in another eight-yard TD – preceded by a 36-yard Dodge lob to Ryan Retzlaff (Medford, Ore./South Medford) and Sean Tow (Diamond Springs, Calif./Union Mine)'s 14-yard run – and the Knight's would go on to fumble four yards away from the end zone and throw another interception grabbed by Hart in the end zone.
By halftime, the Raiders had already scored more points than anyone in an NAIA championship game since 2003. They finished with 495 total yards.
Hart also had eight tackles, Laurence Calcagno (Canby, Ore./Canby) had a team-high 10, Daniel Breaux (Greenfield, Calif./Greenfield) had a sack and Joseph Lealofi (Los Angeles, Calif./Barstow) and Jacob Proul (Folsom, Calif./Oak Ridge) shared one. Rucker was named the defensive player of the game.
SOU is the first state school to win the title since Northwestern Oklahoma in 1999. The championship game has been won by the lower seed five straight years.
Dodge, who on Thursday was named the Rawlings-NAIA Player of the Year, finished his career hitting 400 passing yards for the 20th time. He averaged 453 in SOU's last three games.
