Game 4 – No. 3 Southern Oregon (3-0, 3-0) at Carroll (3-1, 2-1)
1 p.m. MT Saturday | Nelson Stadium | Helena, Montana
Live Stats | Live Stream

Last week's drubbing of Montana Tech reinforced Southern Oregon's position as a serious operator among Frontier Conference contenders, in case the 13-game FC winning streak going back to last season wasn't enough. If the Carroll (Mont.) Saints intend to join that conversation for the first time in a few years, challenging the Raiders on Saturday at Nelson Stadium would go a long way.

The setup is favorable for the home team: No. 3 SOU (3-0 FC) traveled via bus all 900 miles to Helena for the matchup, which sits in front of an alluring bye week and behind an emotionally-charged 44-12 win against the No. 23 Orediggers. The Saints (3-1 overall, 2-1 FC) – seeking their first winning season since they won the 2014 Frontier title – are finally working with some momentum, having knocked off NCAA Division III Linfield and last-place Montana State-Northern in back-to-back weeks. Prior to the Linfield game, they also had a 19-0 season-opening loss to Rocky Mountain turned into a 1-0 forfeit victory.

SERIES HISTORY:

• SOU is 6-5 all-time against the Saints and working on a three-game winning streak in the series. The Raiders are 5-3 in Frontier meetings.
• Only one of the first nine tilts between the teams were decided by more than six points, before SOU took a 34-14 decision in 2016 at Carroll and routed the Saints 35-14 in '17 at Raider Stadium. Last year, on Sept. 23, SOU staked to a 35-0 lead with 408 first-half yards.
• Senior running back Rey Vega has dominated both of his matchups with the Saints defense. In 2016, he rushed 14 times for 154 yards and caught three passes 77. In 2017, he had 133 all-purpose yards and a 50-yard touchdown run.
• The teams have clashed three times in the NAIA Championship Series quarterfinals – 2001, '02 and '14. Carroll won the first two, but SOU's 45-42 win against the then-top-ranked Saints in 2014 – a game the Raiders trailed by 17 points entering the fourth quarter, staging a comeback in a blizzard – was a turning point in the rivalry. The Raiders went on to win their first NAIA championship, made a return trip to the title game in 2015 and advanced to last year's semifinals. Carroll has gone 15-19 since that date; prior to it, the Saints had lost 14 games in the preceding decade.
• SOU is 2-4 on Carroll's home field.

RUSHING GREATNESS: Last week, junior Quaderius Clemmons became the third Raider to gain at least 100 yards rushing in a game this season – netting 121 yards on 10 carries with a 60-yard score. Last year, the Raiders didn't produce their first 100-yard rusher until their ninth game. They're currently averaging 6.3 yards per carry, which is contrasted by their opponents' average of 3.4 yards per rush and their own average of 6.0 yards per pass attempt. SOU's mark of 254.3 rushing yards per game is the 11th-best in the NAIA, and its total of 276 yards against Montana Tech was the team's highest since Nov. 21, 2015. The Raiders have exceeded 200 yards in three consecutive games for the first time since games 2-through-4 of 2015.

SPECIAL TREATMENT: A snub for FC Special Teams Player of the Week notwithstanding, junior punter Jaxon Clark was SOU's most valuable weapon last week at Raider Stadium. Clark put five of his six punts inside Tech's 20-yard line, including two that were downed at the 1-yard line. One of those traveled 64 yards, and his best strike of the day was a 68-yarder – the longest for a Raider punter in seven years. His season average shot to 42.9 yards per attempt.

Additionally, senior kicker Marcus Montano went 3-of-3 on field-goal attempts and improved to 7-of-8 on the season. With five extra points, he also became the fourth player in team history to eclipse the 300-point mark in a career (302). He tops the NAIA leaderboard in field-goal makes and ranks second in scoring per game (10.3) this season.

BRIEFLY:

• Rey Vega struck again last week, punching in a TD for the ninth game in a row with his 15th during that stretch. His average of 108.3 rushing yards per game is the 14th-highest in the country.
• With last week's result, the Raiders now have active winning streaks of at least two games against every team in the Frontier. One more win would be SOU's 14th in a row in regular-season play, matching the team record established from 1946-47.
• The Raiders' next win will also be their 50th in Frontier action since joining the conference in 2012. They're 49-14 overall, including a record of 22-9 in FC road games.
• August Forrest III was responsible for both of SOU's sacks last week, making him the fifth Raider with multiple sacks this season. Nine different Raiders have contributed to a 13-3 combined advantage in sacks.
• SOU has held its opponents to a 24-percent success rate on third-down plays (10-of-42). The Raiders are converting at a 45-percent clip (22-of-49).
• Montana Tech became the 10th straight FC team to fail to score on its opening drive against the Raiders.
• SOU has outscored teams by a combined margin of 64-26 in second halves. Last year, its advantage was 183-156.

TOP 25 WATCH: SOU stayed at No. 3 in this week's NAIA Top 25, while Rocky Mountain (Mont.) dropped nine spots to No. 23 following a loss to Montana Western and Montana Tech dipped one spot to No. 24. Montana Western (3-0), which is tied in first place with SOU, appeared in the poll for the first time at No. 22 going into its game Saturday at Eastern Oregon. Two Top 25 games are on tap this week: No. 1 Saint Francis (Ind.) at No. 20 Saint Xavier (Ill.), and No. 17 Bethel (Tenn.) at No. 18 Southeastern (Fla.)

ABOUT CARROLL:

• Mike Van Diest is the Saints' 20th-year head coach. He's won six national titles – and was announced as an NAIA Hall-of-Famer on Monday – though the Saints have gone 4-6 each of the last three seasons. Last year, they won three of their last four games.
• Carroll's defense has totaled the seventh-most sacks in the NAIA (12.5) and yielded the 12th-fewest rushing yards per game (97).
• Sophomore quarterback Kolby Killoy, a first-year starter, has completed 34-of-60 passes for two TDs, four interceptions and 168 yards per game. The Saints have passed on just 34 percent of their plays from scrimmage, giving 78 carries to 5-foot-7, 200-pound junior Major Ali. He's turned in 92 yards per game (4.7/carry), including 154 over the last two weeks.
• Senior linebacker Reece Quade owns four sacks among his 27 tackles, and junior linebacker Chase Bowen has made a team-high 40 tackles. The Saints are giving up 302 yards per game and producing 301.5.