ASHLAND – Brandon Barthel's 93-yard kickoff return for a touchdown was the only offense Southern Oregon came up with in a 21-7 loss to Eastern Oregon on Saturday afternoon at Raider Stadium's Laurel Field.

The Raiders had nothing to show for driving into Eastern Oregon territory seven times as they went to 2-5 overall and 0-2 in the Frontier Conference's West Division. The Mountaineers improved to 3-3 and 2-0, picking up their first win in the rivalry series since 2022. They've held three of their last four opponents to seven or fewer points.

EOU quarterback Elia Kirisimasi's three-yard TD run was the only score of the first half, and he gave the Mountaineers a 14-0 lead on a four-yard pass to Dalin Knighten with 50 seconds left in the third quarter.

Barthel responded with SOU's first return TD of the season, but the Mountaineers traveled 67 yards on their ensuing drive that ended on another Kirisimasi dive into the end zone. He finished 9-of-15 for 169 yards through the air and upped his season rushing TD total to six.

The Raiders sacked him six times, getting one apiece from Brandon Dominguez, Raiden House, Will Kanavalov Jr. and Bryson Kievit. Gabe Foster shared a sack and led the team with eight tackles.

Nehemiah Medrano paced the Mountaineers with 13 tackles and 1 ½ for losses as they limited the Raiders to 190 yards of offense. They also got key first-half interceptions from Jason Grant and Cole Martin.

SOU quarterback Dom Montiel completed 23-of-41 attempts for 190 yards and found freshman Donovan Glove 10 times for 67 yards.

The Raiders are on the road next week to face Arizona Christian. They're home for the last time Nov. 1 against No. 12-ranked Carroll (Mont.).