MONMOUTH – The No. 22-ranked Southern Oregon football team struggled to gain any traction in a 27-7 loss to NCAA Division II foe Western Oregon on Saturday afternoon at McArthur Field.

The first matchup between the old rivals in 15 years was dictated on the lines, where WOU's physicality overmatched the Raiders while holding them scoreless until Rieger Sayre's nine-yard rushing touchdown a couple minutes into the fourth quarter.

The Wolves, making their season debut, kept SOU at 28 rushing yards, an average of 1.3 per attempt. Their veteran defense also crowded quarterback Dom Montiel, whose final line of 248 passing yards on 45 attempts with three interceptions was skewed by near-constant heavy pressure.

Jermaine Land pushed WOU's offense with 139 rushing yards on 19 carries, and quarterback Kainoa Jones ran in a pair of first-half scores before departing with an injury. Jordan McCarty's 23-yard pass to Erick Gonzalez-Bejar in the corner of the end zone with seven seconds left in the second quarter gave the Wolves a 20-0 halftime lead.

Defensive end Gabe Foster and linebacker Raiden House both had interceptions for the Raiders, though the Wolves stopped SOU from generating a sack for the first time in eight games dating back to last season. Linebacker Will Kanavalov Jr. totaled 12 tackles, and Spencer Kuffel added six with 1 ½ for losses.

SOU got solid production from receivers Trevor Jaasko (7 receptions, 71 yards) and Brandon Barthel (7 receptions, 66 yards). Sayre came on at quarterback to produce a team-high 26 rushing yards on five attempts.

The Raiders moved the ball effectively on the first drive of the game, a more than eight-minute march extended by four first-downs and seven Montiel completions. It ended in a missed 27-yard field goal, and it was all Wolves from there.

SOU is off next week before returning to Raider Stadium's Laurel Field on Sept. 20 for a 1 p.m. kickoff against No. 11 Montana Tech.