ASHLAND, Ore. – Seventh-ranked Southern Oregon took advantage of five College of Idaho turnovers and recorded a season-high 11 sacks, cruising to a 36-7 victory at Raider Stadium.
The first-place Raiders (7-0, 7-0 Frontier) forced turnovers on five of the Yotes first six possessions, sprinting out to a 22-0 lead early in the second quarter – as quarterback Tanner Trosin rushed for a score and added a scoring pass.
SOU marched 75 yards on their first drive, capped by a 4-yard Rey Vega touchdown run for an early 7-0 lead. C of I would fumble on their second play from scrimmage, but the Yotes (3-5, 3-4) forced a 3-and-out.
Zach Garzoli ripped off a 49-yard run to set C of I deep in Raider territory, but a fumble on the next play thwarted the drive.
The hosts made it 15-0 late in the first quarter, as Trosin sprinted 14-yards for a touchdown and extended the margin early in the second quarter – as SOU capitalized on a strip sack by Sean Rogers – with Trosin finding Jordan Suell in the corner of the end zone from 22-yards out for the three score lead. A 28-yard touchdown run by Michael Roots on a draw play made it 29-0 at the break.
C of I had their chances – missing a pair of short field goals and limited SOU to just seven second half points – but did not get on the board until late in the fourth quarter on a
Darius-James Peterson 9-yard touchdown run.
Peterson tied a school record with 31 carries in the loss, rushing for 108 yards – his seventh career 100-yard game – but lost a pair of fumbles. Garzoli finish with 81 yards on 12 carries – as C of I rushed for 216 yards against the top run defense in the Frontier Conference.
Trosin finished 26-of-39 for 304 yards and two touchdowns, with Vega rushing for 52 yards to lead Southern.
The Yotes close out the road portion of their schedule next Saturday with a 1 p.m. (PT) kickoff at Eastern Oregon.
