ASHLAND – The Southern Oregon football team made Berk Brown's first win as head coach a stress-free one Saturday at Raider Stadium.

In their home opener, the Raiders pounced on Willamette for a 49-7 triumph with three touchdowns in the second quarter and three more in the third to even their record at 1-1 entering Frontier Conference play. The Bearcats, an NCAA Division III outfit matching up with SOU for the first time in 12 years, dropped to 1-2.

Spencer Kuffel snatched two interceptions, quarterbacks Matt Struck and Blake Asciutto combined for 352 passing yards on 20-of-25 accuracy, and Avery McCuaig rushed in three TDs during the onslaught. Moku Noah made the most of his two receptions, traveling 119 yards and creating one of several highlight-worthy plays with a 71-yard breakaway score.

The Raiders exceeded 500 yards of offense (504) for the first time in five years. Willamette's point total was the lowest for a Raider opponent in 20 games, its yardage total (170) was the lowest for an opponent since 2016 and the margin of victory was SOU's widest at Raider Stadium since that same season.

Struck, who went 15-of-19 for 180 yards, found Isaiah Hidalgo for an over-the-shoulder 23-yard TD grab in the first quarter. In the second, McCuaig finished off two drives and Champ Robertson capped another with rushing TDs, giving the Raiders a 28-0 lead at the break.

Asciutto took over at QB in the second half and completed all five of his attempts for 167 yards, hitting Jeremiah Faulstick for a 15-yard TD and Noa for both of his grabs.

Kuffel became the ninth Raider to pick off multiple passes in the same game during the team's Frontier era (2012-present), and Jaden Fliegel ended the day with another interception. In total, the Bearcats completed just six passes for 62 yards.

They had sparse luck on the ground, too, averaging 2.6 yards per carry. SOU cut down that clip with five sacks – getting one apiece from Myles Montgomery, Saia Porter, Alejandro Sanchez and Noah Turnbull, and a shared sack from Shea Miller and Braeden Yee. Bryson Kievit led the team with five tackles.

La'Akea Lik forced two fumbles for the Bearcats and made a game-high 10 tackles. Gabriel Herrera paced their offensive attack with 62 yards and a score on 16 carries.

The Raiders are back on the road next week, starting FC play at Montana Western, which owns a 2-1 record. They return home Sept. 30 to face No. 16 Montana Tech.