defense
Photo by Willis Glassgow for the NAIA.
14
Southern Oregon Universit SOU
31
Winner Marian (Ind.) MAR
Southern Oregon Universit SOU
14
Final
31
Marian (Ind.) MAR
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
SOU Southern Oregon Universit 0 0 0 14 14
MAR Marian (Ind.) 0 14 0 17 31

Game Recap: Football | | SOU Sports Information

Marian gets payback, tops Raiders 31-14 for second NAIA title

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Southern Oregon may have had the highlight of Saturday evening's NAIA Football Championship game with a trick play, but the Marian (Ind.) Knights weren't fooled otherwise.

A year after getting embarrassed by the Raiders on the same stage, the sixth-ranked Knights returned the favor and claimed their second national title in four years with a decisive 31-14 win at Municipal Stadium. Quarterback Hayden Northern got his redemption, All-American receiver Krishawn Hogan capped off an unprecedented postseason run with two more touchdowns, and the Marian defense was as mean as advertised.

The seventh-ranked Raiders – who defeated the Knights 55-31 in the 2014 championship – went home with the second-best season in program history and a record of 11-3. Marian finished 12-2.

Northern, the man who was previously intercepted six times by SOU, was a clean 21-of-29 for 211 yards and a touchdown. Eleven of those completions found the 6-foot-4 Hogan, who brought his postseason total to 16 TDs and logged his 12th consecutive 100-plus-yard receiving game with 147.

Hogan's night started with a first-quarter fumble at SOU's 19-yard line, but, after turning it over eight times last year, that turned out to be Marian's only one of the night. Hogan went on to punch in a two-yard TD run and later dragged a couple of Raiders into the end zone for a 55-yard TD catch with 8:02 remaining – giving the Knights a 28-7 lead and essentially sealing the outcome.

The Raiders, who put 38 points on Marian in the first half last year, were shut out through one half for the first time since Sept. 3, 2011 at Portland State, and became the first team to get blanked through three quarters of a championship game since 2000. They were limited to 208 yards of total offense – their lowest total since 2011, also at Portland State – and, without Melvin Mason (who was injured on the first drive), they had just 44 rushing yards on 22 attempts against the NAIA's top ground defense.

Dewayne Beckford, the former Big Ten all-star for Purdue who has spurred the Knights at defensive end, was named the defensive player of the game for his two sacks and two more tackles for losses.

SOU quarterback Tanner Trosin completed 17 of 40 passes for 132 yards and was picked off once. That, along with a stale running game, resulted in nine Thomas Giddens punts. His previous season-high had been seven.

Following a scoreless first quarter for both teams, SOU was stuffed on fourth-and-two on its first drive of the second. Marian took advantage with a 13-play, 76-yard drive that was capped by a 19-yard rush by freshman Maurice Woodard, his first TD since Oct. 31.

The Raiders' ensuing drive was a three-and-out, and Hogan's first score of the night was next, taking the Knights into halftime with a 14-0 lead.

Marian failed to score on the first drive of the third quarter but still managed to eat six minutes off the clock. After gaining 29 yards in the second quarter, the Raiders possessed the ball for just three minutes of the third and totaled 16 yards.

Woodard's second TD, an 18-yard rush, made it 21-0 40 seconds into the fourth.

SOU was granted new life on the next possession, but only momentarily. On a drive that was extended by a running-into-the-punter penalty – Marian's first flag of the night – Raiders executed a trick play to perfection out of a timeout: Trosin skipped a backward pass to Jeremy Scottow, who launched a 32-yard pass into the end zone that found a streaking Matt Retzlaff. An extra point cut Marian's edge to 21-7.

Hogan's 55-yard score came next, however, and Matt Plesac added a season-long 37-yard field goal following Trosin's interception.

Trosin connected with Retzlaff for a 10-yard TD pass with 50 seconds left, marking SOU's final score.

Retzlaff made eight catches for 82 yards, and Teran Togia caught four passes for 35. Before the fourth quarter, only two of SOU's 44 plays from scrimmage had gone for 10 or more yards.

Retzlaff finished with 22 catches for 321 yards in the last three rounds of the NAIA Championship Series.

Julius Rucker, SOU's All-American free safety, made a game-high 15 tackles. Isiah Carter had 11 and Joseph Lealofi added 10.

The Raiders were limited to one sack, recorded by Kalan Hoedl. They'd totaled 13 sacks in their first three playoff games.

Marian, which ended the season on a nine-game win streak, had 412 yards of offense. Woodard rushed 13 times for 77 yards, and Robert Gibson added 50 rushing yards on 16 attempts.

The Raiders' point total was their lowest in 53 games, dating back to a 31-9 loss on Sept. 17, 2011 at Willamette.
 
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