CALDWELL, Idaho –
Darius-James Peterson rushed for three touchdowns and passed for three more, helping the College of Idaho to their third-straight victory, stunning No. 14 ranked Southern Oregon, 45-34, at Simplot Stadium.
The junior quarterback recorded his fourth 100-yard rushing game against the Raiders (4-3, 4-3 Frontier) – breaking the career rushing touchdowns record of Tom Winbigler with a 4-yard scoring run late in the fourth quarter that sealed the win.
Trailing 27-17 at halftime, the Yotes (3-5, 3-4) took advantage of a Wyatt Hutchinson interception on Southern's first drive of the second half – marching 89 yards on 11 plays – with Peterson capping the march with a 10-yard touchdown run to pull C of I within a score.
After an SOU punt, C of I regained the lead – as Peterson found
Dominic Garzoli on a 14-yard swing pass to midfield and Garzoli busted loose for a 21-yard run into Raider territory. On a 3rd-and-9, Peterson found a wide open
Connor Richardson on a 28-yard touchdown pass to make it 31-27.
The Raiders took a chance on their next drive – but the C of I defense stopped Quaderius Clemmons on a 4th-and-1 at their own 44-yard line. The Yotes converted the short field into a touchdown – as Nick Calzarreta rushed five times on the drive for 24 yards and Peterson closed the march with a 13-yard run to the endzone and a two score lead.
Southern made it interesting, as Hutchinson marched the Raiders 80 yards in seven plays – calling his own number on a 6-yard run – getting the visitors within 38-34.
C of I used their ground game to put the contest away, driving 75 yard in 10 plays – all run plays – to regain the two score lead. The Yotes took advantage of a crucial SOU personal foul call after C of I was stopped short of a first down on a third down run to move the chains – with Peterson closing out the day with a 4-yard touchdown jaunt.
The Yotes took an early 7-3 lead, as Peterson found
Keegan Crafton in the end zone from 28-yards out on a 4th-and-4 play, but SOU got a big 49-yard pass to Bronson Ader to set up a Rey Vega touchdown to regain the lead. After forcing C of I to put, SOU drove 98 yards to make it 17-7 – Vega going the final 23-yard for the score.
C of I pulled within 17-10 after a
Hunter Juarez 41-yard catch set up a
Kyle Mitchell 33-yard field goal, but Vega raced 71-yards for a touchdown – including a fumble midway in the run that he recovered.
Peterson found Juarez on a 78-yard scoring strike to make it a one-score game, but following an interception, Marcus Montano kicked a 34-yard field goal as time expired in the first half to give SOU the 10-point lead.
The Yotes finished with a season-high 510 yards of total offense – including 306 yards through the air. Peterson was 14-of-20 for 266 yards and a career-best three touchdowns, while running 16 times for 100 yards. Calzaretta added 84 yards on 23 totes, with Juarez catching three passes for 131 yards.
Vega led SOU with 123 yards on 12 carries before being forced from the game due to injury in the third quarter. Hutchinson had 15 carries for 100 yards, while adding 294 passing yards on 20 completions.
C of I closes out their home schedule next Saturday, hosting nationally-ranked Eastern Oregon at 1 p.m.
NOTES – Peterson now has 40 touchdown runs in his career, breaking the record Tom Winbigler's 69-year-old record of 39 set from 1946-49…Peterson recorded his tenth career 100-yard game – his fourth against SOU – while becoming the first C of I player to throw two or more touchdown passes in five-straight games…Peterson had 366 yards of total offense, surpassing the 6,000-yard mark for his career (6,142)…Richardson caught a touchdown pass for the fourth-straight game – joining R.C. Owens as the only C of I player in program history to achieve the feat…Lyons had a team-best nine tackles, with his interception the team-leading third of the year…after SOU rushed for 189 yards in the first half, the Yotes limited the Raiders to just 64 yards on the ground after halftime…it marks the second three-game win streak for C of I since football returned in 2014 – joining the 2017 team that closed the year winning three in a row…it is the first time the Yotes have defeated consecutive Top-25 teams…back-up quarterback
Nathaniel Holcomb finished 4-for-4 through the air for 40 yards after Peterson was briefly knocked out of the game in the third quarter…the two teams combined for 1,053 total yards on 138 snaps and punted just three times.
