GAME 5 – SOU (1-3) at Eastern Oregon (0-5)
1 p.m. Saturday | Community Stadium | La Grande, Oregon
LIVE STATS | LIVE STREAM

ASHLAND – The 81st all-time meeting between the Southern Oregon and Eastern Oregon football teams presents a golden opportunity for the Raiders to get back in the win column on Saturday afternoon at Community Stadium.

SOU (1-3 overall, 1-3 Frontier Conference), on the road for the third time in four games, will attempt to keep the Mountaineers (0-5, 0-4) winless while stopping a two-game skid. The time to pounce is now for the sixth-place Raiders, who will play each of their following four games against teams with winning records – three of which are among the NAIA Top 25.

LAST WEEK IN REVIEW: Defense – in particular that of senior linebacker Jake Regino, who recorded 16 tackles and an interception to claim Frontier Defensive Player of the Week kudos – kept the Raiders in the contest, but three first-half turnovers were too much to overcome in a 26-14 loss at Carroll (Mont.). They fumbled away the first drive of the game, then lost two more fumbles in Saints territory over their next five possessions to go into the break trailing 13-0. Gunner Yates' 29-yard touchdown run gave the Raiders life in the third quarter, and Blake Asciutto's nine-yard TD pass to Bryce Goggin with 3:05 left in the fourth brought them within six points at 20-14. They were on the verge of getting the ball back with the same score at the two-minute mark, but Carroll's Baxter Tuggle escaped on 4th-and-1 for a 41-yard TD run to clinch the win.

HEAD-TO-HEAD VS. EOU: The Raiders are 56-21-3 all-time against the Mountaineers, including an 11-7 mark in Frontier contests, but the teams have split each of the last three season series. Last year, the Raiders drubbed then-No. 18 EOU 24-3 at Raider Stadium, and the Mountaineers won the season finale 14-10 in La Grande on a 21-yard TD with three seconds left to play. The latter decision landed EOU in front of SOU in the Frontier standings for just the second time since the Raiders joined the circuit in 2012. Home field has been less than advantageous in the teams' Frontier matchups: The Raiders are 7-2 against EOU in La Grande, 3-5 in Ashland, and 1-0 on neutral ground.

AROUND THE FRONTIER: College of Idaho (4-0) kept its grip on first place with a 41-0 home win over EOU last week and maintained the No. 11 spot in this week's edition of the NAIA Top 25 coaches' poll. Carroll, Montana Tech and Rocky Mountain (Mont.) all triumphed to remain one game back in a tie for second place. Tech had the win of the week – kicking Montana Western out of the tie with a 33-24 win on the Bulldogs' home field – and jumped into the rankings at No. 21 as a result. Rocky moved up five spots to No. 20 after its 56-0 thumping of MSU-Northern, and Carroll entered the poll at No. 24.

RAIDERS ON THE ROAD: Last week marked SOU's seventh loss in its last eight away games dating back to the end of 2019. The Raiders are 26-21 overall in Frontier road games and have a 23-12 record on the home fields of unranked FC opponents. They haven't lost two straight at EOU since falling in 1978 and '80.

BRIEFLY:

• With 16 tackles last week and 15 the week before against College of Idaho, Jake Regino became the first Raider in the Frontier era with 15 or more in back-to-back games. His latest total matched the eighth-highest in SOU single-game history. His average of 11.5 tackles per game ranks first in the conference and fifth among all NAIA players.
• Sophomore quarterback Blake Asciutto is tied for the Frontier lead with eight TD passes and ranks second at 221.3 passing yards per game. Last week he established new career-highs for completions (22) and attempts (44), and his total of 263 passing yards was his second-highest of the season.
• Christian Graney collected six receptions for 79 yards last week, moving into the top-10 on SOU's career receptions list with 140. In 2022, the senior is No. 2 among Frontier players in receptions (20) and No. 7 in reception yards per game (59.8). (Graney also finished the 2019 and '21 seasons second among Frontier receivers in total receptions.) Adrik Lamar is No. 8 on the yards-per-game list at 52.8, and his average of 19.2 yards per catch ranks third.
• Gunner Yates' 29-yard TD rush last week was SOU's longest for a score in four years. Since debuting in Week 2, the freshman has netted 141 yards on 29 attempts – an average of 4.9 yards per carry that ranks sixth in the Frontier. SOU's collective mark of 5.1 yards per rush is the 11th-best in the NAIA and a 3.2-yard improvement over last year.
• SOU's offensive line continued its stellar work against Carroll, surrendering just its second and third sacks of the year. At this point last season, Raider quarterbacks had been sacked 12 times.

MORE ON EASTERN:

• Since soaring to No. 11 in the NAIA rankings after a 3-0 start last year, the Mountaineers have lost 11 of their last 12 games – getting their only win in that span against SOU. Their offense has been especially sterile during that stretch, being held to seven or fewer points six times.
• The loss of two All-Americans on the defensive line is showing on that stat sheets: They're conceding 37 points and 431.8 yards per game, and opposing quarterbacks are competing 63 percent of their pass attempts.
• Sophomore quarterback Carson Bohning is listed as the starter, though two others are getting opportunities. Bohning is completing 40 percent of his attempts, averaging 108.7 yards per game, has been picked off six times and thrown for one TD. Malachi Spurrier is a bright spot on the offense, posting 71.4 reception yards per game with a pair of TDs.
• Tim Camp is the Frontier's longest-tenured head coach in his 15th season. He boasts a 78-72 record.