ASHLAND – Backup defensive back
Jackson Buckingham intercepted a pass a yard in front of the goal line with just over a minute to play, locking up Southern Oregon's 24-17 Homecoming victory over Arizona Christian on Saturday at Raider Stadium's Laurel Field.
The banged-up Raider offense did enough early to take control and the defense delivered throughout the afternoon in holding the Firestorm to 205 total yards, the lowest total for an opponent this season by a margin of 150. Defensive lineman
Bryson Kievit was in the middle of it with 3 ½ tackles for losses.
Near the end of the third quarter, SOU was in the red zone with a 21-10 lead when ACU's Tyras Blake took a pick-six 84 yards to get the Firestorm back in the game.
Andy Nguyen finished SOU's next drive with a 29-yard field goal to extend the advantage back to seven points, and the defense held up the rest of the way.
The Firestorm (0-7 overall, 0-3 Frontier West) got to SOU's 17-yard line but were facing 4th-and-13 when Buckingham, a redshirt-freshman from Salem, made the clinching play.
The Raiders (3-5, 2-2) have played five consecutive games decided by seven or fewer points. Their win snapped a seven-game home skid. It was also the 20th in the career of head coach
Berk Brown.
SOU quarterback
Dom Montiel threw for 225 yards, including a 22-yard touchdown pass to
Dawson Douglas in the first quarter to give the Raiders an 11-0 head-start after Nguyen opened the scoring with a 31-yard field goal.
Jamin Miller – a fourth-string running back starring for the second week in a row with several other Raiders sidelined – rushed 23 times for 82 yards and punched in a two-yard score.
Glen Leith-Ross added 44 yards on 10 carries.
Douglas made five catches for 49 yards,
Sean La Chapelle made grabs of 70 and 21 yards, and
Alex Nevarov contributed the first three receptions of his career from the tight-end spot for 47.
Kievit,
Da'mon Carter and
Jojo Czyz led the Raiders with seven tackles apiece.
Brandon Dominguez made five with 1 ½ for losses and a sack.
The Raiders are on the road next week at No. 11-ranked Carroll (Mont.). Following a bye week, they'll play their regular-season finale at Raider Stadium against top-ranked College of Idaho on Nov. 14.
