GAME 2 – No. 22 SOU (1-0) at Western Oregon (0-0)
1 p.m. Saturday | Monmouth, Oregon | McArthur Field
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The 98-year-old rivalry between Southern Oregon and Western Oregon turned abstract since the teams' last meeting in 2010, playing out solely on the recruiting trail. That'll change when they hook up for their 75th all-time matchup Saturday in Monmouth.

The former Oregon Collegiate Conference and Columbia Football Association compatriots are set for a 1:05 p.m. kickoff at McArthur Field. It'll be the second of four non-conference games for the No. 22-ranked Raiders, who opened with a 59-0 shellacking of Simpson (Calif.) on Aug. 28, and the season debut for the Wolves.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: The demise of the relationship between the teams can be traced back to WOU's transition to the NCAA Division II level at the start of the century, and to the Raiders' acceptance into the Frontier in 2012, which left less (and in some cases no) non-conference room on their schedule. The Wolves are 47-26-1 in the series and won the last 10 matchups – most recently a 24-23 decision in Ashland on Oct. 2, 2010, that was sealed when SOU's 36-yard-field goal attempt fell short as time expired. The Raiders last won in Monmouth on Oct. 10, 1998, taking a 56-35 affair as Griff Yates (the father of current start running back Gunner Yates) rushed for 165 yards and two touchdowns.

QUICK HITS:

• Last week's shutout of Simpson was the first for the Raiders in seven years, and just their second since 2003. They held the Red Hawks to just 46 passing and 193 total yards of offense.
• Two defensive all-stars made big returns to the field. Junior safety Spencer Kuffel – appearing for the first time since he finished the 2023 season with a Frontier-best six interceptions – recorded a pick and 2 ½ tackles for losses. Senior defensive end Gabe Foster, the reigning Frontier sacks leader, logged his eighth sack in his last six games dating back to last year.
• Though he saw limited action in the blowout, junior running back Gunner Yates became the fourth member of SOU's 40-touchdown club while rushing five times for 43 yards. Yates has posted at least one TD in 13 consecutive outings; he ranked second in the NAIA last year with 29 total and 27 rushing, breaking team single-season records in both categories. He'll bring a career clip of 6.5 yards per rush into Saturday's contest.
• Senior receiver Brandon Barthel was voted the Frontier Offensive Player of the Week after posting seven receptions for 182 yards with TD catches of 60, 53 and 14 yards. He has already equaled his scoring output from 2024, his first season at SOU, when he was the team's second-leading receiver.
• SOU's new quarterbacks both impressed in their debuts. Oregon State transfer Dom Montiel, the starter, finished 21-of-28 for 346 yards and four TDs. Rieger Sayre was active on the ground with six designed runs for 55 yards and two scores.

MORE ON WESTERN: The Wolves – one of two NCAA DII teams on the West Coast – have been part of the Lone Star Conference since 2022 after previously competing in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. They went 6-5 overall last season, winning six of their first seven Lone Star contests before finishing third place at 6-3. In this year's Lone Star preseason poll, they were picked to finish fifth out of 10 teams. They returned a large chunk of their defense, including two players named to the D2Football.com Elite 100 Watch List: senior linebacker Malcolm Liufau (66 tackles, 10 TFL) and junior defensive back Andrew Simpson (6 interceptions). Their starting quarterback, Kainoa Jones, completed 60% of his passes last year for 95 yards per game and rushed for four TDs. Arne Ferguson is their 22nd-year head coach, sporting a 115-101 record at WOU. He led the team to its first GNAC co-title in 2019.

COMING UP: The first of two bye weeks on the Raiders' schedule – compared to none a year ago – is up next. They'll return to action Sept. 20 for a 1 p.m. clash at Raider Stadium's Laurel Field with No. 11-ranked Montana Tech, the Frontier's East Division favorite. Though it will be a non-divisional game, it carries major ranking implications given the Diggers are expected to move up after opening with last week's 38-27 upset of No. 5 Montana Western.

PRESEASON POLLS: The Raiders were picked second in the Frontier West Division, behind Montana Western, and were included in the preseason edition of the NAIA Top 25 for the first time in six years at No. 22. The first poll of the regular season will be released Sept. 15.