GAME 2 – SOU (0-1) at MSU-Northern (0-1)
10:30 a.m. PDT Saturday | Tilleman Field | Havre, Montana
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ASHLAND – Southern Oregon didn't have the luxury of easing into the season last week against No. 19-ranked Rocky Mountain (Mont.), but the Raiders' Game 2 matchup projects a little more favorably as they attempt to even their record heading into a bye week.

The Raiders (0-1) will visit the Montana State-Northern Lights (0-1) on Saturday to continue a Frontier Conference series in which they've never lost. The Lights snapped their 46-game conference losing streak in 2021 but have dropped four in a row since, including last Saturday's 31-3 season-opening setback at College of Idaho. They're now coached by Jerome Souers, the longtime Northern Arizona head man who served as SOU's defensive coordinator last year, and will see a new starting quarterback for the Raiders after Matt Struck sustained an injury last week.

TIME CHANGE: Like last week in Ashland, Saturday's kickoff has been moved up 90 minutes to 11:30 a.m. local time and 10:30 a.m. Pacific due to high temperatures that are forecasted to reach 105 degrees. Rocky Mountain (Mont.) made the same change for its home game against College of Idaho.

HEAD-TO-HEAD VS. NORTHERN: In a series that dates back to 2000, the Raiders are 14-0 against MSU-Northern and have won all nine Frontier matchups by an average of 31 points. Included is a 7-0 record on the road, though their last matchup in Havre – a 27-19 SOU win in 2019 – was the closest FC game the teams have played. This will be the Raiders' first trip to Tilleman Field, the new on-campus stadium that the Lights moved into last year. In 2021, the Raiders and Lights played at University of Oregon's Autzen Stadium in Eugene due to unhealthy air quality in Ashland. SOU won 42-7 and accumulated a season-high 494 yards of total offense.

RAIDERS ON THE ROAD: The Raiders, hitting the road for the first time in 2022, have lost six consecutive Frontier away games after going winless in five tries last year. They're returning to the site of their most recent road win, though it occurred nearly 22 months ago in Havre. The Raiders are 25-20 overall in Frontier road games since joining the conference in 2012, and that includes a 22-11 record against unranked opponents.

LAST WEEK IN REVIEW: Defending FC co-champion Rocky Mountain performed as advertised at Raider Stadium, defeating SOU 27-10 in the opener for both teams behind all-conference quarterback Nathan Dick and running back Zaire Wilcox's big day. Dick led the Battlin' Bears to 456 yards of offense with two passing touchdowns and one rushing, while Wilcox rushed for 134 yards on 24 attempts. The Raiders lost their quarterback, Struck, minutes into the second quarter and didn't score until midway through the third. After backup Blake Asciutto led them on a 72-yard TD drive, they regained possession trailing by 10 points with just under six minutes left, but a turnover nixed their comeback. Spoiled was Dyllon Daniels' two-interception afternoon.

BRIEFLY:

• Blake Asciutto was productive in three starts at QB as a freshman in 2021 after Struck went down and will get another one Saturday in a familiar scenario. The 6-foot-3 Camas, Wash., product has completed 51 percent of his attempts (88-of-171) for six touchdowns and five interceptions as a Raider, averaging 205 passing yards per start. Levi Durrell – a freshman who joined SOU as an early enrollee last spring – will move into the backup roll. At Newberg High, he was the Pacific Conference Offensive Player of the Year and ranked top-five in the state in both passing yards and TDs.
• The numbers weren't flashy, but SOU's running game had an encouraging outing against Rocky, producing the team's highest yards-per-carry average (3.5) in 15 games dating back to 2019. The Raiders netted 85 yards on 24 attempts, as senior Christian Quirarte accounted for 45 and junior Champ Robertson had 31. Against the Lights, they'll attempt to snap a streak of six consecutive games without a rushing TD from a running back.
• Senior linebacker Jake Regino – who missed all but one game in 2021 with an injury – impressed in his return to the lineup with 12 tackles and two for losses. Over his last five games going back to 2019, Regino has averaged 9.4 tackles. He and Nolan Rinefort were the only players in the Frontier with double-digit tackles in Week 1.
• Dyllon Daniels became the ninth Raider to pick off two passes in one game in the Frontier era, doing so on back-to-back pass attempts against Rocky. He was one of just four players across the NAIA with two interceptions in Week 1.
• Freshman Colton Samis posted 42.5 yards per punt on six attempts against Rocky, an average that would have ranked second in the NAIA last year. He had a long of 51.
• Christian Graney is up to 124 career receptions, just 15 away from cracking the top-10 on SOU's all-time list. He also owns 1,222 reception yards, and Bryce Goggin is 162 away from 1,000.

MORE ON NORTHERN:

• The Lights faced another defending FC co-champion last week in College of Idaho and were limited to six first-downs and 133 yards of offense while surrendering 426 yards. A year ago, they ranked 92nd of 98 NAIA teams in yards per game (242.5) and 73rd in yards allowed (403.1).
• Their first-year starting QB, redshirt-senior Brenden Medina, is a converted tight end. He went 13-of-28 for 109 yards against the Yotes.
• They have one returning all-conference player in junior linebacker Dylan Wampler. He had a monster sophomore season with 115 tackles and 10 ½ for losses. He had eight at C of I.
• Of the 63 players on MSU-Northern's roster, 26 are freshmen.