cooper
Al Case, Ashland Daily Photo
Al Case, Ashland Daily Photo.
41
Southern Oregon SOU 4-4 , 4-3
44
Winner College of Idaho CI 3-5 , 2-5
Southern Oregon SOU
4-4 , 4-3
41
Final
44
College of Idaho CI
3-5 , 2-5
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th OT F
SOU Southern Oregon 7 14 7 10 3 41
CI College of Idaho 7 7 7 17 6 44

Game Recap: Football | | SOU Sports Information

Peterson, Yotes sting SOU in overtime

CALDWELL, Idaho – College of Idaho's explosive true-freshman quarterback was responsible for Southern Oregon's undoing Saturday afternoon at Simplot Stadium. His performance in the Yotes' 44-41 overtime win will likely erase the 17th-ranked Raiders from the playoff picture, too.

Darius-James Peterson completed nine of 19 passes for two touchdowns but took off 25 times for 228 yards and three scores, leading the Yotes (3-5 overall, 2-5 Frontier Conference) back from a 35-21 fourth-quarter deficit with late rushing TDs of 26 and 80 yards.

Tied 38-38 after the teams ended regulation by exchanging field goals – SOU's Marcus Montano converted a 32-yarder, and C of I's Kyle Mitchell made his from 25 yards out with 2 minutes 39 seconds remaining – the Raiders started overtime with the ball and failed to gain a yard. Montano matched a career-long by drilling a 42-yard attempt, but it wasn't enough.

On fourth-and-2 at SOU's 17-yard line, C of I kept its offense on the field out of a timeout and Peterson came through with a five-yard run up the middle. Two plays later, his four-yard TD rush was called back due to a holding call, but on the very next play he lofted the 14-yard game-winning pass to tight end Marcus Lenhardt in the corner of the end zone.

The Raiders (4-4, 4-3) lost their second straight game and fell in overtime for the first time since the 2012 national quarterfinals. They escaped C of I's upset bid three weeks earlier in Ashland, 31-27, when James-Peterson came off the bench to rush for 132 yards.

The Yotes were nursing a four-game losing streak and started the day with a home record of 0-3. Their last win against SOU was in 1968.

In need of a spark, they turned to the freshman.

SOU receiver Matt Retzlaff established new career-highs with 13 catches for 188 yards – his fourth 100-yard game in six outings this season, and the 13th of his career – and got the Raiders going with a 50-yard TD reception from Jack Singler on their first drive.

Peterson tied it by the end of the quarter with a 66-yard TD run down the sideline, and Tyler Cox put the Yotes ahead 14-7 with a six-yard pass to Turner Simmons to start the second, topping off an 84-yard drive. But SOU's defense, which had recorded two interceptions in seven games coming into the day, kept the Raiders in it by picking off Peterson twice and Cox once in the first half. Linebackers Isiah Carter, Tyson Cooper and Devvon Gage all got in on the action.

Singler completed 34 of 59 attempts for 377 yards, two TDs and three interceptions. His five-yard fade pass to Jordan Suell and Louis Macklin's nine-yard touchdown run made it 21-14, SOU, at halftime.

Sean Tow rushed 21 times for 85 yards and scored in his 12th consecutive regular-season game. His nine-yard TD run extended the Raider lead to 28-14 with 3:18 left in the third quarter. The teams swapped touchdowns on the next three possessions – for SOU, a two-yard rush for Rey Vega; and for C of I, Peterson's 35-yard pass to Simmons and his 26-yard TD run – before the Yotes forced a three-and-out and Peterson got loose his 80-yard score on their first play from scrimmage.

The game was tied, 35-35, with 8:35 left. The Raiders had an answer, going 60 yards to set up Montano's first go-ahead field goal, but Peterson's 47-yard connection with Simmons was enough to set up Mitchell's game-tying kick.

In their two-minute drill, the Raiders traveled 56 yards to give themselves a chance, but Singler was picked off from C of I's 30-yard line by Nate Moore inside the 10, sending them to an extra session.

It went down as SOU's first-ever overtime loss in Frontier play.

Simmons finished with five catches for 133 yards for the Yotes. They totaled 574 yards to SOU's 601.

The Raiders remain on the road next week at 21st-ranked Montana Western, which was a 21-13 loser Saturday at Eastern Oregon.
 
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