BUTTE, Mont. – Sophomore running back Gunner Yates scored four more touchdowns but No. 7-ranked Southern Oregon came up short in a 42-35 Frontier Conference loss to No. 16 Montana Tech on Saturday at Alumni Coliseum.

Special teams and a pair of costly turnovers were the difference in the Raiders' third consecutive Top 25 matchup. The Diggers (4-1 overall, 2-1 FC) had SOU (4-1, 1-1) on its heels from the opening kickoff, which Levi Torgerson returned 95 yards for a touchdown. They took a 28-14 lead into halftime and went up by three touchdowns early in the fourth quarter en route to their seventh consecutive win in the head-to-head series.

The Raiders got within seven points on Blake Asciutto's 13-yard touchdown pass to Jeremiah Faulstick with 3:46 left to play. They had the Diggers stuck on third-and-5 from midfield at the two-minute warning before Blake Thelen rolled out for a completion to his tight end, Logan Kennedy, that went for 18 yards and served as the final dagger.

Yates netted 139 yards on 19 carries in his fourth consecutive 100-plus-yard performance. His first two touchdowns tied the score, but the Diggers answered back both times by working condensed fields thanks to two more kickoff returns that started them at their own 43- and 39-yard lines.

The Raiders had the ball trailing 21-14 with two minutes left in the first half when a fumbled snap gave the ball back to Tech at its 49-yard line. Thelen capitalized, throwing a 26-yard trike to Wyatt Alexander in the end zone to make it a two-touchdown game just before the break.

Yates – who also made six catches for 78 yards, including a 12-yard score – got the Raiders back in the game with a 19-yard TD run on the first possession of the third. The Diggers responded again, though, with an 80-yard march that culminated in a Landers Smith rushing TD in the final minute of the quarter. SOU fumbled the ensuing kickoff, the Diggers recovered eight yards away from the end zone, and three plays later they were up 42-21.

Thelen completed 17-of-22 attempts for 225 yards and became the first quarterback the Raiders have failed to sack since their 2023 opener. Logan Kennedy made seven catches for 80 yards and a touchdown, and Smith ran for 94 yards with two TDs on 25 carries.

Asciutto's fourth consecutive game without an interception saw him go 29-of-39 for 309 yards. It was the third time he's gone over 300 in his last four outings. He found Brandon Barthel six times for a season-high 84 yards.

NOTES:

• Jordan Faifai came up with his second interception of the season during the first quarter. It was the only drive of the half that SOU kept Tech out of the end zone.
• Jaxon Jedrykowski led the Raiders for the third game in a row with seven tackles. Faifai, Dyllon Daniels and Ty Glumbik each matched him.
• Yates is up to 15 touchdowns on the season, including 14 on the ground. No other player in the Frontier has more than seven rushing TDs. In two career games at Tech, Yates has accumulated 435 yards of total offense and seven TDs.
• When the afternoon began, the Raiders had won seven consecutive games dating back to last season. It matched the second-longest winning streak of their Frontier era (2012-present).
• They return to Raider Stadium next Saturday for Homecoming against Rocky Mountain (Mont.), which will enter at 1-4 overall and 0-3 in the Frontier. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.
• Carroll (Mont.) is the only team in the standings without a loss at 3-0 in conference play. Each of the Saints' opponents so far was picked to finish in the bottom half of the Frontier standings.