ASHLAND – Senior receiver Ben Graziani scored two touchdowns in his return from injury, but Southern Oregon came up a score short in a 24-17 loss to No. 23-ranked Carroll (Mont.) on Saturday afternoon at Raider Stadium.

With two minutes left, Garrett Worden's hit on Raider quarterback Blake Asciutto behind the line of scrimmage knocked the ball loose at SOU's 18-yard line. Tucker Jones recovered, giving the Saints the ball and ultimately their first win in Ashland since the 2001 NAIA quarterfinals.

The Saints moved to 7-2 in the Frontier Conference and will play for a share of the title when they visit 8-1 College of Idaho next Saturday on the final weekend of the regular season.

The Raiders fell to 3-6. They got themselves back in the game, though, after falling behind 17-3 early.

With 12 seconds left in the second quarter, Asciutto hit Graziani – who'd missed SOU's last six games – in the corner of the end zone for a two-yard score. Their second connection from five yards out tied the game with 13:33 left in the fourth.

The Saints answered methodically with a six-minute, 12-play, 76-yard drive, completed when Jack Prka found Chris Akulschin wide-open for a seven-yard TD at the 7:15 mark.

All-Frontier running back Matthew Burgess accounted for Carroll's first two scores and netted 129 yards on 24 carries. Prka added 44 rushing yards and completed 20-of-32 attempts for 238 yards.

Bryce Goggin totaled 85 yards on seven receptions for the Raiders, giving him 201 yards in their last two games. Gunner Yates took 13 handoffs for 52 yards.

Defensively, SOU linebacker Jake Regino, the Frontier's leading tackler, hit double figures for the seventh time this year with 11 stops. Defensive back Stokes Botelho took on emergency kicking duties and connected on a 33-yard field goal and hit both extra-point attempts.

The Raiders finish the season at home next Saturday against Eastern Oregon, kicking off at 1 p.m.