LA GRANDE – Eastern Oregon's fast start added intrigue to its first dual against Southern Oregon in 41 years, but the sixth-ranked Raiders triumped in the last eight bouts of the night to notch a 28-10 victory Friday at Quinn Coliseum.

The teams had split the first 12 duals in the all-time series but were meeting for the first time since 1975-76 season, right before the Mountaineers shut their program down. They revived it this year, also adding a women's team, and settled with the Raiders on starting a new tradition: They'd call these the Wagon Tire Duals – Wagontire, Ore., being the unincorporated community that marks the halfway point on a map between the two campuses – and made an actual wagon tire the hardware up for grabs.

For the first time, it's going home with the Raiders. Oregon State Rep. Greg Smith was in attendance to commemorate the event, which was EOU's first at home in the new era.

A night after faltering late and losing a 16-5 lead against Great Falls (Mont.), the Raiders' impressive finish put them over the top and made them 2-2 on the year.

EOU's lightweights, Mhar Caballa (125) and Matthew Nguyen (133), spotted the Mountaineers a 10-0 lead with a major decision and a pin to start the night.

SOU then worked five consecutive decisions, starting with 14th-ranked Devin Poppen's shutout at 141 of Brendon Vladic and second-ranked Tyler Cowger's seventh straight win to start the season, 7-3 over Jared Neiss, at 149.

Chandler Michael (157) then held on for a 5-3 win against Ryan Middleton, and third-ranked Hunter Hodges wrestled up a weight class to 165 and threw Brandon Davidson on his side in overtime for a 3-1 sudden victory, putting SOU up for the fist time at 12-10.

James Bowers (174) edged Jacob Dupuis, 14-12, and Max Hane gave the Raiders their first bonus points of the night at 184 with a 13-3 major decision over Clark Woodward. Tanner Fischer, ranked sixth at 197, sealed the win with a second-round pin of Zach Wardle, and heavyweight Alejandro Sandoval piled on with a 7-1 defeat of Braeden Phillips.

"We got it done after a rough start but built on our momentum and brought home the wagon tire," SOU head coach Mike Ritchey said. "(Hodges) did a gerat job going up a weight to surprise them, Bowers came out and put them on their heels, and Hane nearly sealed it but Tanner Fischer put them away."

SOUTHERN OREGON 28, EASTERN OREGON 10
125 – Mhar Caballa, EOU, maj. dec. Ian Rogers, 19-7. (0-4)
133 – Matthew Nguyen, EOU, p. Casey Coulter, 3:00. (0-10)
141 – Devin Poppen, SOU, dec. Brendon Vladic, 7-0. (3-10)
149 – Tyler Cowger, SOU, dec. Jared Neiss, 7-3. (6-10)
157 – Chandler Michael, SOU, dec. Ryan Middleton, 5-3. (9-10)
165 – Hunter Hodges, SOU, dec. Brandon Davidson, 3-1 SV. (12-10)
174 – James Bowers, SOU, dec. Jacob Dupuis, 14-12. (15-10)
184 – Max Hane, SOU, maj. dec. Clark Woodward, 13-3. (19-10)
197 – Tanner Fischer, SOU, p. Zach Wardle, 4:33. (25-10)
285 – Alejandro Sandoval, SOU, dec. Braeden Phillips, 7-1. (28-10)