gauger
Al Case, Ashland Daily Photo
39
Winner Eastern Oregon EOU 4-2 , 4-2
29
Southern Oregon SOU 4-3 , 4-2
Winner
Eastern Oregon EOU
4-2 , 4-2
39
Final
29
Southern Oregon SOU
4-3 , 4-2
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
EOU Eastern Oregon 14 15 7 3 39
SOU Southern Oregon 7 7 0 15 29

Game Recap: Football | | SOU Sports Information

No. 16 Mounties wreak more havoc at Raider Stadium, win 39-29

ASHLAND – Day or night, rain or shine, the Eastern Oregon football team has found Raider Stadium to be a welcome sight in recent years and Saturday was no exception in a 39-29 upset of No. 8 Southern Oregon.

Under the lights and a steady downpour, the 16th-ranked Mountaineers (4-2 overall, 4-2 Frontier) sustained clean execution while the Raiders (4-3, 4-2) succumbed to the sloppy conditions – fumbling six times, getting intercepted twice and allowing a blocked punt.

The Mountaineers didn't commit a turnover and their only fumble, which slipped out of the hands of tailback Alfred Gross, was recovered in the end zone by Josh Richards for a touchdown, giving them their biggest lead at 36-14 with 8:47 left in the third quarter.

EOU's Zach Bartlow threw touchdown passes to Brenden Kelly and Calvin Connors and gained 72 yards on the ground. Gross and Nicolas Slater had a rushing touchdown apiece, and John Payne picked off SOU quarterback Jack Singler twice in the second half, halting any thoughts of another comeback.

The Mountaineers have defeated SOU in Ashland three of the last four seasons, the exception being last year's meeting when they blew a 35-14 lead. For the first time in a series that dates back to 1930, they've defeated the Raiders twice in the same season.

SOU receiver Matt Retzlaff made his return after losing two games to injury and continued his mastery of EOU to keep the Raiders afloat early. After Bartlow's 75-yard TD connection with Kelly put the Mountaineers up midway through the first quarter, Retzlaff brought in a 48-yard TD pass from Singler to tie it. And after Slater's 18-yard touchdown run on the final play of the first quarter, Singler went up the middle to Retzlaff for a 35-yard score to make it 14-all three minutes into the second.

Retzlaff also caught an 18-yard TD pass from Singler with 2:08 left in the game and added a reception on the two-point conversion, finishing with nine catches for a career-high 180 yards. He broke the SOU career receiving-yards record in the process, upping his total to 2,983, and he brought his career totals against EOU to 52 catches for 756 yards and 13 TDs in eight games.

Singler completed 26 of 47 passes for 319 yards, also hitting Sean Tow for a one-yard TD in the fourth.

By then, though, the game was out of reach.

After Retzlaff's second TD tied the game, the Mountaineers worked a short field and Gross finished off a 45-yard drive with a four-yard score. With 4:51 left in the half, a snap directed at Singler sailed 30 yards through the back of the end zone for a safety. On SOU's next drive, Louis DesPrez's punt was blocked by Justin Hughes and brought by Kai Turner to SOU's 16-yard line. Four plays later, Bartlow hit Connors, who dived in for a five-yard score that made it 29-14.

SOU totaled 448 yards to EOU's 398. Rey Vega and Sean Tow rushed for 50 yards apiece. Bronsen Ader, Jordan Suell and Tow each caught four passes.

SOU linebacker Devvon Gage, the Frontier's reigning defensive player of the week, established another career high with 19 tackles, including a sack and four for losses. Tyson Cooper made 12 tackles and had two sacks.

Ninth-ranked Montana Tech took over sole possession of first place in the standings, and SOU is on the road the next two weeks: at College of Idaho next Saturday and at Montana Western on Oct. 29.
 
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