Nov. 5: Raiders beat down Bears

By Bobby Heiken

Ashland Daily Tidings

Southern Oregon University head football coach Jeff Olson has stressed setting the tempo from the opening kickoff of every game this year.

He didn't go home disappointed Saturday as his No. 10-ranked Raiders jumped out to a 44-0 halftime lead and throttled Rocky Mountain 50-7 at Raider Stadium.

The victory improved the Raiders to 7-1 with only a road game at Eastern Oregon standing in the way of SOU and a national playoff berth.

"We were not tentative," Olson said. "And that's how we have to be week after week. On both sides of the ball we dictated the tempo of the game."

The rout was on after the first series.

On the first play from scrimmage SOU went 34 yards through the air from senior Travis Mari to senior Leo Stoddard. Sophomore running back Dusty McGrorty took care of business the rest of the way as he pounded to the goal line for a 1-yard score and a 7-0 lead.

The Bears lost a yard on their series - setting the tone of a long afternoon for Rocky Mountain.

"We are coming out and playing as a unit," said senior defensive lineman James Powers, who had three sacks. "In the past it's been an offensive team and a defensive team. Now we are a united family."

After the defensive stand, Mari kept the Bears off balance with a mix of run and pass and McGrorty broke into the end zone and the record books with his 20th touchdown of the year.

His 20 scores broke the school and regional record set by Griff Yates.

"It feels good," McGrorty said. "I never thought I'd play to his level. I learned so much from Griff his senior year. I'll definitely be giving him a call after this."

The Raiders closed out the opening quarter with a 23-yard pass from Mari to junior Danny Negra for a 21-0 lead.

The first time SOU touched the ball in the second quarter - it was back to the end zone.

This time, Mari found tight end Adam Clinton for an 11-yard score and a 28-0 lead with 9:23 still to play in the half.

The defense and special teams took over for SOU after that - giving the offense a much-needed break from scoring.

Senior linebacker Erube Magana intercepted a pass with just under six minutes until halftime and galloped 68 yards for the score.

Sophomore Vaughn Morris then tackled the Rocky Mountain punter in the end zone for a safety and a 37-0 advantage.

With under a minute to play in the half, the SOU offense got back in the act as Mari found Stoddard from 44 yards out and a 44-0 halftime advantage.

SOU's lone score in the second half was an 8-yard pass from sophomore Dan Woodward to junior

wideout Elijah Jordan.

"We came out flat in the second half, but you can't be too disappointed with 44 points in the first half," Olson said.

McGrorty led the Raiders with 118 yards on the ground.

"We had a good idea how good he (McGrorty) would be," Olson said. "He's such a competitor and he has an eye for the end zone."

Mari went 13-for-20 in his half of action for 191 yards and three TDS. Woodward went 9-for-11 for 101 yards in his half of play.

Stoddard was one of 12 Raider receivers to catch a pass - coming down with four for a team-high 87 yards.

The Raider defense held Rocky Mountain to 143 total yards - 46 of which came on the ground.

"That was a potent offense," Olson said. "But they fell behind and had to pass and that fell right into our hands."

The Raiders now travel to La Grande Saturday with visions of 1999 dancing in their heads.

Two years ago, SOU was on its way to the national playoffs with only one loss, but were thumped by Western Oregon and ended up missing out.

Raider players are determined not to let that happen again.

"Playoffs start against Eastern Oregon," McGrorty said. "We've got to bring it. An upset next week and our season's over. I was there in 1999 when they told us we weren't going to the playoffs. I don't want to go through that again."

"It's going to all come down to work ethic this week," Powers said. "We'll be better prepared."