ASHLAND, Ore. -- The Southern Oregon Raiders trailed Carroll College 28-9 late in Saturday's Frontier Conference matchup in Ashland, Ore., but Southern Oregon rallied and shocked the Fightin Saints, 29-28.
Carroll built a 14-0 lead after the first quarter on a 20-yard touchdown run by Matthew Burgess and a 38-yard touchdown pass from Dev Bridgewater to Tony Collins. Southern Oregon added a field goal to open the second quarter, but Carroll carried a 14-3 advantage into halftime.
Southern Oregon then forced a Carroll fumble to grab possession on the Saints 24 yard line. The Raiders capitalized with a 4-yard touchdown pass from Chase Knutz to Parker Randle to cut the Saints' lead to 14-9.
Matthew Burgess would tack on two more rushing touchdowns in the third quarter to push Carroll's lead to 28-9 with 3:50 to play in the third quarter. But the Southern Oregon offense suddenly sprung to life.
Austin May scored on a 13-yard run with 56 seconds left in the third quarter to trim the deficit to 28-16. Southern Oregon scored on its next possession, too, as Knutz found Hykeem Massey for an 18-yard touchdown. The PAT was missed leaving Carroll with a 28-22 lead.
After forcing a Carroll punt, Southern Oregon methodically drove the field, capping an 11-play, 75-yard drive with a 15-yard scoring strike from Knutz to Christian Graney with 44 seconds to play.
Southern Oregon picks up its first win of the season, improving to 1-4 (1-3 Frontier Conference). The Red Raiders will host Rocky Mountain College on Oct. 12. Carroll College falls to 2-2 (2-2) and will host College of Idaho on Oct. 12.
