Calcagno
Al Case, Ashland Daily Photo
Laurence Calcagno tips a pass, leading to Heston Altenbach's interception return for a touchdown Saturday in Chicago.
62
Winner Southern Oregon SOU 12-2
37
Saint Xavier Univ. SXU 10-3
Winner
Southern Oregon SOU
12-2
62
Final
37
Saint Xavier Univ. SXU
10-3
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
SOU Southern Oregon 10 17 21 14 62
SXU Saint Xavier Univ. 17 0 13 7 37

Game Recap: Football | | SOU Sports Information

Raiders Daytona Beach-bound after semifinal rout of Saint Xavier

CHICAGO – When the Southern Oregon University Raiders are at the NAIA football title game two weeks from now – yes, that Southern Oregon; yes, those Raiders; and, yes, the national title game – the buzz in Daytona Beach, Fla., will be all Austin Dodge (Vancouver, Wash./Skyview) and his record-setting offense.

The Raider defense will be there too, though. When the Raiders defeated the third-ranked Saint Xavier University Cougars 62-37 Saturday afternoon in the NAIA semifinals at Deaton Field, in fact, that defense wielded the knife.

Trailing 17-10 one quarter into the game, SOU scored 31 unanswered points. The swing was finished, and the Raiders took complete control, when consecutive quick stops of the Cougars to begin the third quarter were followed by Heston Altenbach (Coquille, Ore./Coquille)'s 30-yard interception return for a touchdown.

The pick occurred when SXU reversed to receiver Nick DeBenedetti and his pass was tipped by Laurence Calcagno (Canby, Ore./Canby), floating into Altenbach's hands. Similar plays had regularly burned the Raiders lately. The result of this one was a 41-17 lead, triggering for the second straight week a celebration that had previously been foreign to Raider fans for the duration of the program's history.

SOU (12-2 overall) will appear in the national championship game for the first time on Dec. 19 against seventh-ranked Marian (Ind.), which won 41-21 at fourth-ranked Morningside.

Of course, those new to SOU football in Daytona will be rightly consumed by the offense. It generated 643 more yards against the Cougars (10-3), and Dodge was the culprit again with 460 yards and five TD passes on 32-for-51 accuracy. Ryan Retzlaff (Medford, Ore./South Medford) caught 11 passes for 160 yards and a score, Dylan Young (Salem, Ore./North Salem) caught six for 108 and a score, and Matt Retzlaff (Medford, Ore./South Medford) collected two TD passes with six catches and 88 yards.

Saint Xavier's inclination to blitz often had resulted in 36 sacks in its previous 11 games. The Cougars got to Dodge just once.

Still, after the Raiders struck first on Dodge's 35-yard pass over the top to Matt Rezlaff, the Cougars came back with a field goal and took the lead when an SOU punting miscue set them up one yard from the end zone. Aldrick Rosas (Orland, Calif./Orland) tied the game, 10-10, with a 30-yard field goal, but John Rhode connected with DeBenedetti for a 22-yard TD at the end of the first quarter.

That's when the game turned. It started on a 75-yard SOU drive with a bizarre ending. From two yards out on third down, Dodge attempted to hit a receiver in the back of the end zone but his pass was tipped at the line. It happened to land in the hands of center Ronald Rylance (Sacramento, Calif./Grant), who shocked everyone by taking a few steps in for a score that tied the game, 17-17, with 11:17 left in the half.

SXU would go without a point on its next six drives. A three-yard Sean Tow (Diamond Springs, Calif./Union Mine) TD run to cap another 75-yard drive and Rosas's 28-yard field goal as time expired  in the first half put the Raiders up 27-17.

SOU went 76 yards in 2:01 on its first drive of the third quarter, scoring when Dodge spotted Matt Retzlaff (Medford, Ore./South Medford) in the end zone again from seven yards out. The Altenbach interception was next.

Two more Dodge TDs over the top – 22 yards to Young and 46 yards to Ryan Retzlaff (Medford, Ore./South Medford) – kept the Cougars from ever getting closer than two scores away. Dodge ran in the final touchdown from one yard out with 3:57 left.

SOU's 62 points were the most scored in a semifinal game since Georgetown (Ky.) put up 66 in 1999. It was the Raiders' second-highest output of the season.

Melvin Mason (Vacaville, Calif./Vacaville) led SOU's ground game with 90 yards on 16 carries, and Tow had 60 on 14. SXU's rushing attack was paralyzed, averaging 2.9 yards on 40 tries.

Rhode passed 59 times, completing 30 attempts for 308 yards and three scores – one to Stephen Simms, one to Ryan Carroll, and the other to DeBenedetti.

Calcango led SOU with 11 tackles, and Altenbach had 10. The Raiders had two sacks: Isiah Carter (Las Vegas, Nev./Canyon Springs), Joseph Lealofi (Los Angeles, Calif./Barstow), Kalan Hoedl (West Linn, Ore./West Linn) and Kellii Pedillo were each credited with half of one.

The Cougars, who won the 2011 NAIA title against Carroll, are now 1-6 all-time in the semifinals. Before Saturday, however, they were 10-1 at home in the postseason.
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