ASHLAND – Southern Oregon looked outmanned against defending Frontier Conference champion Rocky Mountain (Mont.), especially without the services of Matt Struck, in a 27-10 season-opening loss Saturday afternoon at Raider Stadium.

All-conference senior quarterback Nathan Dick passed for two touchdowns and ran in another, leading the No. 19-ranked Battlin' Bears to 456 yards of total offense. He accounted for 81 of their 246 rushing yards, and Zaire Wilcox netted 134 on 24 attempts.

The Raiders were kept off the board until the second half and out of the end zone until the fourth quarter. They had no points to show for getting into RMC territory on their first two drives of the game, then suffered a deflating blow minutes into the second quarter when Struck – their senior quarterback who missed the last four games of 2021 due to a shoulder injury – was sidelined for good after being knocked to the ground on a pass attempt.

Sophomore Blake Asciutto took over and completed 15-of-34 passes for 161 yards. After falling behind 20-3, he gave the Raiders late life by connecting on 7-of-10 attempts for 72 yards on a drive that ended with his seven-yard receiver-screen TD pass to Ben Graziani with 8:07 left in the fourth.

A three-and-out turned in by the defense gave the Raiders possession down 10 points with 5:38 to go, but John Waddell's interception, tipped initially by Wes Moeai at the line of scrimmage, effectively ended the threat.

Dyllon Daniels picked off two consecutive Dick passes in the third quarter to keep the Raiders within striking distance. Cesar Ruiz's 31-yard field goal following the second gave them their first points.

Dick still managed 210 passing yards, and he connected with Wicox for a seven-yard TD with four seconds left in the first quarter to put the Battlin' Bears in front. In the second quarter, Wilcox's 49-yard rush preceded Dick's seven-yard jaunt into the end zone to put them up two touchdowns. Austin Drake connected on a 30-yard field goal before halftime to make it 17-0.

SOU's Christian Quirarte netted 45 yards of SOU's 85 rushing yards on 11 attempts. Graziani (45 yards), Christian Graney (54) and Adrik Lamar (29) had four receptions apiece.

The Raiders are on the road next Saturday, facing Montana State Northern in Havre. Following a bye week, they'll return to Ashland to play College of Idaho on Sept. 17.

NOTES: Senior linebacker Jake Regino, who missed the final nine games of last season, matched a career-high with 12 tackles in his return. Sophomore safety Nolan Rinefort, making his first start, had 10 … Daniels became the fourth Raider in six seasons to intercept two passes in one game. Stokes Botelho was the last to pull off the feat on Oct. 30, 2001 … Colton Samis, a freshman from South Medford High, impressed in his debut as SOU's punter, averaging 42.5 yards on six tries. That average would have ranked second last year among all NAIA punters … SOU's rushing average of 3.5 yards was its highest in 15 games dating back to the 2019 season … Rocky had been 0-5 against SOU at Raider Stadium entering the afternoon. The Raiders still lead the all-time series, 9-4, but have dropped three of the last four matchups … SOU is now 8-2 in Frontier home-opening games.