ASHLAND – One near-perfect quarter was all Southern Oregon needed to erase three miserable ones and save a season that looked all but lost for a couple hours on Saturday afternoon at Raider Stadium.

The Raiders' first home game since 2019 was among their most stunning regular-season wins in decades, a 34-33 defeat of Carroll (Mont.) in which they erased a 20-point fourth-quarter deficit to even their Frontier Conference record at 2-2.

Senior quarterback Matt Struck – after completing 8-of-20 passes for 40 yards and three interceptions through the first three quarters – threw for 278 yards and all four of his touchdowns on 20-of-29 accuracy in the fourth. Trailing 33-28 with 3:20 left, he led the Raiders on a 70-yard, game-winning drive that concluded with his 12-yard completion to Bryce Goggin in the corner of the end zone.

It left the Saints (1-3) with just 30 seconds, and time expired after Jon'Mae Wafford put an exclamation mark on the afternoon with a sack of Jack Prka.

"I'm extremely proud of our players and staff for believing in each other and having the grit to make the comeback possible," SOU coach Charlie Hall said. "We were able to get everyone's best effort when we really needed it."

Goggin made eight of his 10 receptions in the final frame and ended with 131 reception yards. He also had a 32-yard TD yard that cut Carroll's lead to five points with 3:46 to play, and the Raider defense then came through with a quick three-and-out stop.

Earlier, the game had looked decided as Duncan Kraft's three-yard rush into the end zone put the Saints up 27-7 with 13:37 to go. Struck's 65-yard TD connection with Ben Graziani gave the Raiders a little life, but the Saints deflated them again when Kraft got loose for a 66-yard TD run on 3rd-and-1 with 11:09 to play.

The Raiders took over trailing 33-14 and scored within three minutes on Shane McLaughlin's 11-yard TD grab. The Saints went without first downs on each of their next three drives.

SOU had overcome a 21-point third quarter deficit against Eastern Oregon on Sept. 12, 2015, but hadn't come back from down 20 or more points in the fourth since 1998. The game had shades of Carroll's last trip to SOU in 2019, when the Saints led 28-9 in the third and lost 29-28.

It marked the Raiders' sixth straight win overall against Carroll, which advanced to the NAIA Championship Series last spring. Their ending spoiled Kraft's 145-yard day. Prka, a freshman backup, completed 23-of-38 passes for 262 yards.

SOU's Willie Te'o picked him off and finished with four tackles. Drew Schuler had a big day for the Raider defense with nine tackles, including three for losses and a sack. Alejandro Sanchez and Tua Laolagi registered two tackles for losses and a sack apiece.

Graziani totaled 88 yards on five receptions and McLaughlin had 53 on four. SOU running back Avery McCuaig netted 62 yards on 13 carries, including a four-yard TD four minutes into the game. The Raider offense then came up empty until Struck's lucrative fourth quarter.

"Matt demonstrated great maturity as he made the necessary adjustment to get the offense back in rhythm," Hall said.

The Raiders are home again next Saturday to face No. 11-ranked Eastern Oregon, which dropped to 3-1 on Saturday with a 24-7 loss at College of Idaho.