GAME 2 – No. 22 Western Oregon (1-0) at SOU (1-0)
1 p.m. Saturday | Ashland, Oregon | Raider Stadium (Laurel Field)
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ASHLAND – If there were concerns about the Southern Oregon University football team overlooking its first opponent, they won't apply to the second. Old rival Western Oregon, ranked No. 22 in the AFCA's NCAA Division II poll, visits Raider Stadium on Saturday representing perhaps the most imposing hurdle of the fall.

The Raiders (1-0) and Wolves (1-0) kick off their first meeting in Ashland since 2010 at 1 p.m. on Laurel Field. It'll be their 76th all-time matchup and part two of a home-and-home series that began last year. Both teams picked up opening-week road victories – SOU at upstart Simpson (Calif.), 38-35, and WOU at established DII power Colorado Mines, 22-20.

THE MATCHUP: The Wolves are 48-26-1 in the series and winners of 11 straight against SOU. They rolled 27-7 last Sept. 6 in Monmouth, the teams' first matchup since 2010, and physically overpowered the Raiders on the lines with just 28 rushing yards allowed on defense and no sacks yielded on offense. Defense has been the Wolves' calling card during their resurgence – they've limited opponents to 20 points per game since the start of last year, when they hit their highest win total (8-3) since 2007 – but they returned the Lone Star Conference Preseason Offensive Player of the Year in quarterback Jordan McCarty and an All-LSC running back in Jermaine Land, who got SOU for 139 yards on 19 attempts in 2025.

The teams used to be regular opponents, formerly competing in the Oregon Collegiate Conference and Columbia Football Association. The rivalry's demise was twofold: WOU completed its transition to the NCAA DII level at the start of the century, and SOU lost non-conference scheduling space after joining the Frontier in 2012. In WOU's last trip to Ashland (Oct. 2, 2010), the Raiders lost 24-23 when a 36-yard field goal attempt fell short as time expired. The Raiders last defeated the Wolves in 1998, when Griff Yates (the father of current junior running back Gunner Yates) ran for 165 yards and two touchdowns.

NEW STREAMING HOME: SOU home games for all sports will be available to stream free in 2026-27, live and on-demand, on Hudl at cascadesportsnetwork.com. Fans can also watch on their smart TVs by downloading the Hudl Fan app. Using the search function, click the "Schools" tab and type in "Southern Oregon."

QUICK HITS:

• Video evidence confirmed some last-second heroics from Danny McDonnell that secured last week's win at Simpson. McDonnell, a sophomore defensive lineman, got his fingertips on Simpson's 47-yard field goal attempt for the tie that landed with a thud, well short of the uprights, as time expired. Two more linemen, Stephen Del Giudice and Caden McGowan, contributed sacks in the contest.
• The Raiders finished with 501 yards of offense at Simpson, their highest total in a season debut since 2014. They also won a game in which they gave up at least 35 points for the first time since 2015. Fresh Ison – a Western Oregon transfer who joined SOU last season – helped them do it with 133 rushing yards on 23 carries and 70 more yards on six receptions. Ison, an All-Frontier West selection averaging 5.6 yards per carry in 11 total appearances for the Raiders, has put up 105 rushing yards per game over his last four outings.
• Dom Montiel completed 26-of-36 passes for 336 yards, the eighth-highest total in the NAIA last week, and accounted for four touchdowns. It marked the fifth time the second-year Raider has eclipsed the 300-yard mark and brought him to 22 career TD passes. He spread his completions out to 10 different receivers; with the exception of true freshman Luke Taylor, all were part of last year's team but combined for 535 receiving yards in 2025.
• All-America running back Gunner Yates saw limited time in his return to action after missing the final eight games of 2025 due to injury. He enters this week sitting on 40 career touchdowns – 36 rushing, four receiving – the fourth-most in SOU history. With 2,234 career rushing yards, he needs 191 more rushing yards to take over the No. 5 spot on the program list and is averaging 6.3 per carry over 25 appearances.
• All-FC West junior linebacker Raiden House notched a game-high 11 tackles at Simpson and brought his career total to 105. He ranked seventh in the division last season at 7.4 per game and had seven for losses.
• Prior to the win at Simpson, the Raiders had dropped six consecutive games decided by seven or fewer points dating back to 2024.
• Fourth-year head coach Berk Brown's teams are 18-14 overall and 18-2 when they score at least 25 points.

HOME HISTORY: SOU is 117-74 all-time at Raider Stadium and had won eight consecutive games in Ashland before dropping four in a row at home to end 2025, including three against top-eight teams in the NAIA rankings. Of the five teams slated to visit SOU this fall, three currently have Top 25 designations. Against ranked teams under coach Berk Brown, the Raiders are 3-5 at home – most recently defeating such opponents in back-to-back weeks during 2024, Sept. 21 over No. 9 College of Idaho and Sept. 28 over No. 4 Montana Western. Since joining the Frontier in 2012, this will be the team's sixth non-conference regular season home game (4-1).

MORE ON WOU:

• The Wolves are one of just two NCAA DII teams left on the West Coast and joined the Lone Star Conference in 2022 after previously being part of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, with which their non-football athletic programs remain affiliated.
• Arne Ferguson, their 21st-year head coach, brought back eight starters on offense (including four on the line) and five on defense. In addition to their No. 22 AFCA ranking, they were No. 14 in the preseason D2Football.com poll.
• McCarty took over as the starting QB last season and completed 55% of his attempts for an average of 138 yards per game, 12 TDs and nine interceptions, adding six scores on the ground. Land had only six carries last week but compiled 578 yards and four TDs last season, enjoying his best outing against SOU.
• The Wolves have a pair of all-conference defensive linemen in tackle Nijawn Sterling and end LJ Imo, who helped the group generate 28 sacks and hold opponents to 3.1 yards per rush last year. Senior safety Malik Ross is the reigning LSC Defensive Player of the Week after registering eight tackles and a key interception in the end zone at Colorado Mines, which mustered just 273 yards of offense.

COMING UP: Starting this week, the Raiders will face Top 25 teams in each of their next four games. They're off next Saturday before traveling to No. 5 Montana Tech, the Frontier East favorite, on Sept. 19. They're back home Sept. 26 to face No. 25 Dakota State (S.D.), then begin divisional play Oct. 3 at No. 18 Montana Western.