CALDWELL, Idaho – Jon Schofield's four-yard touchdown run with 22 seconds left quashed Southern Oregon's upset bid and kept 12th-ranked College of Idaho atop the Frontier Conference standings with a 28-24 win on Saturday afternoon at Simplot Stadium.
The Raiders (3-5) made the Yotes (7-1) play from behind for most of the afternoon by picking off quarterback Andy Peters three times in the first half as
Cente Borja,
Stokes Botelho, and
Seth Miller had an interception apiece. They went into halftime up 21-14, and with 3:03 remaining in the fourth quarter
Cesar Ruiz's 30-yard field goal gave them a 24-21 edge.
The Yotes answered by chipping away at the field with a 14-play, 80-yard march. The longest gain of their drive came courtesy of a roughing-the-passer penalty that brought them to SOU's 19-yard line with 50 seconds left, and two Peters completions to Brock Richardson set up 1st-and-goal. Two plays later, Schofield got into the end zone.
SOU lost fourth-quarter leads to C of I in both matchups this season.
Raider quarterback
Blake Asciutto completed 22-of-38 attempts for 260 yards, 116 of which went to
Bryce Goggin. Goggin made a 24-yard touchdown catch with nine seconds to go in the second quarter, and
Christian Graney, who collected six receptions for 65 yards, had a six-yard score to tie the game a minute earlier before Miller's pick gave the ball back to SOU.
Christian Quirarte rushed 21 times for 65 yards with a TD. The Raiders totaled 367 yards of offense to C of I's 328 but matched the Yotes with three turnovers.
Jake Regino had a game-high 13 tackles with a half-sack, and
Alejandro Sanchez totaled 1 ½ sacks and eight tackles.
The Raiders will play their last two games at home, Nov. 5 against Carroll (Mont.) and Nov. 12 against Eastern Oregon. Both kick off at 1 p.m.