Caldwell, Idaho - Junior wide receiver
Brock Richardson caught eight passes for 163 yards and a touchdown, senior wide receiver
Jon Schofield scored two touchdowns out of the Wildcat formation and sophomore defensive back
Isaiah Griffin ran back an interception for a touchdown as host No. 12 College of Idaho defeated Southern Oregon, 42-16.
Southern Oregon (0-1) converted a pair of field goals after drives of 16 and 20 plays, respectively for the early 6-0 lead. After the second field goal of the day by the Raiders' Brian Batres, the College of Idaho offense came alive with a 13 play, 87-yard drive after back-to-back third down conversions, junior quarterback
Andy Peters connected with Schofield on a 15-yard touchdown reception that put the host Yotes ahead 7-6.
The momentum was back on the side of the Yotes after the touchdown, then on the next play for SOU, Griffin stepped in front of a pass by Matt Struck and ran it back for a 30-yard touchdown. The pick 6 amped up the sideline and the crowd at Simplot Stadium in favor of the Yotes. A field goal just before the halftime buzzer by the Raiders cut into the lead as College of Idaho led 14-9 at the break.
College of Idaho (2-0) added to its lead on its second drive of the second half. Peters led the Yotes down the field on a 6 play, 94-yard drive that stretched the lead to 21-6. The touchdown came when Peters connected with Richardson for a 26-yard reception. Earlier in the drive, the two connected for a 56-yard reception. The longest reception by the two since they connected on a 75-yard pass and catch against Montana Tech on October 8, last year.
After a 3-and-out by the defense, College of Idaho added to its lead when Schofield scored on a one-yard rush. In the drive, College of Idaho benefitted from a SOU penalty and a successful conversion on fourth down as the Yotes went ahead 28-9.
SOU cut into the lead on a 64-yard touchdown pass from backup quarterback Blake Asciutto to Jackson Clemmer to make it a 28-16 contest. A two-yard touchdown run by Schofield and a 25-yard touchdown run by
Hunter Gilbert put the game out of reach as the Yotes went on to win 42-16.
The 42 points are the most since a 42-24 win over the Raiders on September 17 in Ashland.
Defensively,
Tanner Steele racked up seven tackles including a sack and
Willie Nelson added six stops with two TFLs to lead the defense for College of Idaho. The Yotes limited the Raiders to 88 yards on the ground and 4.1 yards per play. SOU had built a 21:30 to 8:30 advantage in time of possession in the first half but College of Idaho had a 19:08 to 10:52 advantage in the final 30 minutes.
Next, College of Idaho will begin Frontier Conference play with its third-straight home game as they welcome Montana Tech to Simplot Stadium for a 1 p.m. kickoff.
