CALDWELL, Idaho – Louis Macklin rushed for 112 of the 340 Southern Oregon yards on the ground, as the No. 4 ranked Raiders outlasted the College of Idaho, 42-27, before 4,810 fans at Simplot Stadium.
SOU (2-1, 2-1 Frontier) scored 20-straight second quarter points to erase a 14-7 C of I lead, getting two long second half touchdowns to put the game away.
Raiders quarterback Tanner Trosin rushed for 92 yards and a second quarter touchdown in his first start, tying the game at 14-14 with the four-yard scoring run. Southern put the game away in the second half as Macklin scored on a 48-yard touchdown jaunt and Matt Retzlaff returned a punt 91-yards for a touchdown, as the visitors built a 42-20 lead.
Teejay Gordon became the 12th Coyote (1-3, 1-2) player to rush for a 1,000-yards in a career, eclipsing the mark with a second quarter run. The C of I quarterback set a new career-high with 20 completions on the day, passing for 179 yards on the day, adding a team high 80 yards on the ground.
The visitors jumped out to a quick 7-0 first quarter lead, using a 10-play, 75-yard drive, capped by a Jeremy Scottow one-yard scoring run. C of I answered, marching 84-yards in 15 plays, with J.J. Hyde barreling in from five-yards out to knot the score.
After a C of I defensive stop, the Yotes marched the length of the field to take the lead, as Gordon had runs of 15 and 12-yards to set up a Hyde 13-yard scoring run early in the second quarter to make it 14-7.
SOU answered, getting two big third down conversions to set up Trosin's game-tying score, then took the lead midway through the period on the first of two Marcus Montano field goals. The Raiders would extend the lead to 24-14 scoring six plays after a C of I fumble, as Keegan Lawrence plowed in from a yard out.
The Coyotes cut the margin to 27-20 late in the third quarter on a touchdown run from A.J. Martin, but Macklin bust loose on his long touchdown run, and after a defensive stop, Retzlaff sprinted down the left sidelines untouched for his second return score of 2015.
All-America back Melvin Mason had 92 rushing yards for SOU, with Zack Davis making four grabs for 42 yards to lead the Raider receivers.
C of I hits the road for two road games – next Saturday at No. 15 ranked Montana Tech – and after a bye week, a date Oct. 10 at Montana State-Northern.
YOTE NOTES:
- Zach Garzoli led C of I on the ground with 80 yards on 12 carries, with Hyde rushing for 29 yards before exiting the game due to injury.
- Austin Diffey had a team-high five receptions for 51 yards, with Shayne Robinson adding three catches for 38 yards. As a team, C of I receivers dropped four passes, three of them on either third or fourth down
- Three-sport athlete Joe Bolin make his football debut, going 3-of-4 on extra point attempts; the All-Cascade Conference performer in soccer and track was last week's CCC Player of the Week in soccer and will start for C of I tomorrow in their conference game vs. Rocky Mountain.
- Nate Moore had his NAIA-leading fourth interception of the season, while recording a career-high 13 tackles; Ben Ceccarelli added 10 tackles
