BUTTE — Montana Tech's football team seems to have a penchant for upending top-10 programs at home.
Running back Landers Smith piled up 94 yards and two touchdowns while quarterback Blake Thelen tossed two scoring passes as the No. 16 Orediggers built a big second-half lead over No. 7-ranked Southern Oregon and then fended off the Raiders late in the fourth quarter to seal a 42-35 upset.
It was Tech's first home game since Aug. 29, when the Orediggers stunned then-No. 3 Georgetown College 29-22 before embarking on a three-game road trek. Tech beat Carroll College and Eastern Oregon before falling to College of Idaho in overtime last weekend.
Saturday's homecoming victory over SOU — which was coming off a 28-26 win over a then-fourth-ranked Montana Western program — was a solid way for Tech (4-1 overall, 2-1 in Frontier Conference play) to get back on track, and it all started with the opening play of the game.
Levi Torgerson fielded the first kickoff and then found a seam down the left sideline, returning the kick for a 95-yard score as Tech got its first points 13 seconds into the game.
The Raiders then marched downfield and capped off the drive with a 1-yard score from sophomore Gunner Yates, who would go on to finish the game with 139 rushing yards and three touchdowns on the ground.
Tech then retook the lead with 6:16 remaining in the first quarter on a 3-yard strike from Thelen to Logan Kennedy to put the Orediggers up 14-7. The Raiders then responded in the second quarter with another rushing score from Yates, this one from 3 yards out to tie the game at 14.
The Orediggers built a 28-14 halftime lead thanks to Smith's first touchdown (a 2-yard score) and then a 26-yard touchdown pass from Thelen to Wyatt Alexander following a Tech fumble recovery.
Tech extended its lead to 42-21 at the start of the fourth quarter off a 3-yard quarterback keeper from Thelen. Southern Oregon then scored 14 unanswered points to cut Tech's lead to 42-35 with less than four minutes remaining.
The Orediggers then went on a lengthy drive and punted to the SOU 6-yard line with 3 seconds remaining to give the Raiders one final play. The Orediggers forced a fumble that was recovered by Angel Sanchez to to lock up the upset.
The Orediggers now turn their attention to Montana Western next Saturday in Dillon while the Raiders will host Rocky Mountain College.
