CALDWELL, Idaho – The Southern Oregon University football team's season ended Saturday with another tantalizing look at what little separated the Raiders from the top of the Frontier Conference West Division in a 24-21 loss to No. 13 College of Idaho at Simplot Stadium.

The Yotes (9-1 overall, 6-0 FC West) scored two unanswered fourth-quarter touchdowns, the last with 1:08 remaining, to lock up the outright division championship. The Raiders had them down 21-10 near the end of the third quarter after Aukai Grace intercepted C of I quarterback Caden Young in the end zone and SOU quarterback Dom Montiel hit Brandon Barthel for an 80-yard touchdown on the very next play.

After being kept out of the end zone all day, the Yotes' offense marched methodically on its last two drives, traveling 65 yards over eight minutes and 70 yards over six minutes while converting on a pair of fourth-down plays along the way. Young's six-yard TD pass to Corban Freese and Rylie Byington's one-yard dive into the end zone gave them the scores they needed to thwart the upset bid.

The Raiders – who lost their previous game 41-40 to second-place Carroll (Mont.) – finished 3-7 overall and 2-4 in the FC West. Carroll ended a game back of the Yotes, who had already clinched at least a co-title and the division's automatic NAIA Championship Series bid when the day began.

A few Raider seniors went out with some of their best performances. Spencer Kuffel and Darium Mims picked off passes in the first half after the Yotes had jumped out to a 10-0 lead. Additionally, Kuffel recovered a fumble that he forced and came up with another caused by Mystic Sampaga.

Offensively, Barthel caught two TD passes – the first gave the Raiders their first lead at 14-10 with 4:15 left in the second quarter – and compiled 165 total yards on seven receptions. It was his fourth 100-yard game of the season.

Montiel also connected with freshman receiver Donovan Glover six times for 55 yards, including a nine-yard TD that got the Raiders on the board early in the second quarter. The junior QB finished 23-of-44 for 319 yards, shaking off a first-quarter pick-six. Graduate running back Fresh Ison contributed 79 yards on 18 attempts.

Raiden House made 15 tackles, the highest total for a Raider this season. Will Kanavalov Jr., SOU's other starting linebacker, made 13 and Kuffel added eight.

Though he was intercepted three times, Young did his best work on the ground with 139 rushing yards on 24 carries. Byington took his 15 carries 123 yards, helping the Yotes average 6.1 yards per attempt.

Each of SOU's last three Frontier-counting games at C of I have been decided by four or fewer points. The Yotes won each of them.

NOTES:

• Kuffel's interception gave him 10 in three seasons on the field for SOU. The all-star safety became the first Raider in 10 years to reach double figures.
• Barthel's big day made him the second-leading receiver in the FC West at 87.2 yards per contest over 10 outings. He also ranked second with 11 receiving touchdowns, a total that was the highest for any Raider since 2019.
• Senior defensive end Gabe Foster was held without a sack for just the third time this season. His final total of 17 ½ over two years with the team put him at No. 8 on SOU's career list.
• Opponents scored game-winning touchdowns with less than 1:10 remaining in three of SOU's last five losses.