ASHLAND – Junior quarterback Ya'j Vance scrambled for a 13-yard touchdown as time expired and Simpson (Calif.) walked off with a 36-35 Frontier Conference West Division win against Southern Oregon on Saturday afternoon at Raider Stadium's Laurel Field.
Vance and the Red Hawks (3-3 overall, 1-1 FC West) trailed 35-23 midway through the fourth quarter before driving 71 yards to the end zone and getting a fourth-and-1 stop to take over at their own 26-yard line with 1:56 on the clock and no timeouts left. Vance brought them downfield with six completions, the last an eight-yarder to Jakari Williams at SOU's 13.
Williams was unable to get out of bounds, but Vance took the final snap with seven seconds remaining. The clock hit zero a moment after he decided to escape the pocket: He took off through the heart of it, ran toward the left sideline, cut back to the middle of the field and left a few Raiders in his tracks as he got in untouched and triggered Simpson's celebration of its first-ever divisional victory.
Vance was dangerous on his feet throughout the day, gaining 56 yards on the ground and extending a several plays to complete 21-of-32 attempts for 346 yards. He hooked up with Ivan Huerta five times for 159 yards and three TDs.
The outcome soured a monster performance by SOU running back
Fresh Ison, who netted career-highs of 212 yards and four TDs on 27 carries. His final score gave the Raiders a 28-23 lead at the end of the third quarter. With 7:15 left in the fourth, they extended it on
Dom Montiel's short TD pass to
Walker Bonar that capped an 80-yard march.
The Raiders (2-4, 1-1) rushed twice as often as they passed and averaged 6.6 yards per carry.
Coen Coloma got 12 for 75 yards.
The Raider defense also got to Vance for a season-high six sacks.
Raiden House had two and
Josue Santos was credited with 1 ½.
Both of the Raiders' West Division games have been decided by a single point. The latest was their fourth game out of six this season decided on the final play of a contest.
In the teams' non-divisional season opener on Aug. 29, the Raiders clinched a 38-35 win when
Danny McDonnell got his fingers on a 41-yard field goal attempt as time expired.
The Red Hawks, in their third year of football existence, had lost the program's first 20 games until winning three of their last five.
SOU plays next week at rival Eastern Oregon. The Mountaineers are 3-1 entering their West Division opener on Saturday night at Arizona Christian.
