ASHLAND, Ore. – Southern Oregon recovered a College of Idaho onside kick with one minute remaining to thwart a late Coyote rally, as the No. 4 ranked Raiders earned a 35-28 victory at Raider Stadium.
The Yotes (0-3, 0-3 Frontier) battled back from a 27-14 second half deficit, as a
Darius-James Peterson scored a pair of short touchdown runs – the second with 74 seconds left, to pull C of I within a touchdown. Following the conversion, kicker
Kyle Mitchell bounced a quality onside kick – but SOU defensive back Dareion Bell recovered the ball and the Raiders ran out the clock.
A week after rushing for just 23 yards, C of I for 192 yards against a stout Raiders (2-0, 2-0) defense – with
Dominic Garzoli logging his second career 100-yard game, running for 109 yards, including a 77-yard first quarter jaunt that tied the score at 7-7.
SOU answered with consecutive touchdown drives, as Quaderius Clemmons scored on a 23-yard run and quarterback Wyatt Hutchinson capping a 14-yard drive with a 14-yard scramble for a score to give the hosts a 21-7 lead.
The Yotes cut the margin to 21-14 late in the half on a Peterson 16-yard touchdown pass to
Connor Gagain – but SOU got two Marcus Montano field goals – 34-yarder to close the second quarter and a 23-yard kick midway through the third quarter, to extend the lead.
Peterson's first touchdown run, a 3-yard dash on a 4th-and-1, got the Yotes within 27-21 with 12 minutes to play – but after stopping SOU on consecutive drives, C of I could not capitalize, as a late interception led to a Rey Vega touchdown and the 35-21 lead.
C of I held Southern to just 392 yards of total offense – including just 141 yards through the air, as
Jayden Dawson picked off two Hutchinson passes.
David Ford led the team with 10 tackles, with
Forrest Rivers adding nine stops.
Peterson finished 10-of-18 for 114 yards, adding 44 yards on the ground – but was sacked five times by the Raiders defense.
Hunter Juarez had two catches for 37 yards and
Keegan Crafton added two grabs for 33 yards to lead the receiving group.
Vega was the workhorse for SOU, rushing 24 times for 158 yards, with Hutchinson finishing 17-of-27 for 141 yards and the two picks.
C of I travels next week to Portland State for a 2 p.m. (PDT) kickoff.
NOTES: It marks the second-straight season C of I has opened 0-3, with the Yotes falling to 1-8 all-time at SOU…the Coyotes had just 101 total yards rushing through their first two games, nearly doubling the total against a Southern defense that allowed just 33 yards at Eastern Oregon…the Yotes were penalized nine times for 110 yards – the third straight game with 100 or more penalty yards – while SOU had 13 penalties for 134 yards, leading to six C of I first downs…the Yotes finished just 1-for-11 in third down conversions…Peterson now has 31 career touchdowns, No. 2 in C of I history.
