ASHLAND – Southern Oregon was on the wrong end of a game-of-the-year candidate in its home finale, falling 41-40 to No. 8-ranked Carroll (Mont.) on Saturday afternoon at Raider Stadium's Laurel Field.

Kaden Huot's 14-yard touchdown pass to Carson Ochoa and his find of Gavin VandenAcre in the back of the end zone on the ensuing two-point try with 56 seconds left were the difference as Carroll (7-1 overall, 4-0 Frontier West) remained tied for first place.

The Raiders (3-6, 2-3) put together their best effort of the fall to put the Saints on the ropes. After trailing 27-13 at halftime, they scored the first three touchdowns of the second half and took their first lead at 34-27 with 4:19 remaining when Dom Montiel hit Brandon Barthel up the middle for a 14-yard score.

The Saints answered with a touchdown pass from Huot to VandenAcre at the 1:55 mark, but SOU defensive end Gabe Foster blocked their point-after kick for the tie. They were forced to try an onside kick, which Trevor Jaasko took cleanly on a bounce and brought 48 yards down the sideline for a touchdown.

The Raiders, however, were unsuccessful on their own extra-point kick, leaving them up 40-33 and the Saints with 1:48 to work with.

Connor Sullivan's 50-yard kickoff return set them up in SOU territory. Six plays later, Huot registered his fifth touchdown pass and the Saints lined up for two. Huot had to scramble outside of the pocket but eventually found VandenAcre with just enough space to make an over-the-shoulder catch of a lob over the defense.

Huot completed 18-of-31 pass attempts for 269 yards. Montiel matched him for most of the afternoon, going 32-of-52 for 308 yards and TD passes to Barthel and Jaasko. Montiel was also on the receiving end of a 10-yard touchdown pass from freshman receiver Donovan Glover, who finished with career-highs of 13 receptions and 116 yards.

Fresh Ison starred on the ground for the Raiders, notching his second consecutive triple-digit game with 108 yards and a TD on 17 carries.

Spencer Kuffel made five tackles and recovered a fumble that was forced by Raiden House. Da'mon Carter totaled five tackles, a sack, another for a loss, and a pass break-up. Mipam Jampa had SOU's other sack and Bryson Kievit contributed two tackles for losses.

Braeden Orlandi led Carroll's defense with 16 tackles and Daxon Graham picked off a desperation pass to end the first half.

The Raiders have a bye next week and finish the season Nov. 15 at No. 15-ranked College of Idaho, which is the other team tied for first in the Frontier West.