Southern Oregon shows no mercy against Northern

In what has clearly become a rebuilding season, things continue to be tough for the young Montana State University-Northern Lights.

After two straight games where the MSU-N offense got shut out, that streak finally ended Saturday in Ashland, Oregon. But it mattered little as the Lights could do nothing to stop the No. 4 Southern Oregon Raiders at home.

In record-setting fashion, the defending NAIA national champion Raiders pummeled the winless Lights 82-9 Saturday afternoon, dropping Northern to 0-4 in the Frontier Conference and 0-5 overall.

The loss was a bitter one for the Lights considering they had their best offensive output in weeks. Not only did Northern put together solid drives that resulted in a Jess Krahn touchdown pass to Qwaundre Yancy, but the Lights also got a field goal from Jaime Tomasco.

In the end, MSU-N totaled 264 yards and ran 78 plays, including 159 yards on the ground. Zach McKinley had a strong day with 81 yards rushing and 43 receiving on four catches. Yancy also had 39 yards on four grabs, while Krahn was 9-of-26 for 96 yards and a score.

However, those numbers were nothing compared to SOU's explosion. The Raiders scored 12 touchdowns against the Lights, and none of the drives took longer than three minutes. SOU scored 41 points in the first quarter alone and led 62-3 at halftime.

The Raiders ended up with 686 yards of offense on 70 plays, including 469 yards in the first half.

In the air, quarterback Tanner Trosin and Kamerun Smith combined to throw for seven touchdowns, while the Raiders had 369 yards passing. SOU also rushed for 317 yards, including 110 yards on just eight carries by Melvin Mason, who also had 57 yards receiving. Eleven different Raiders ran the ball Saturday, while 14 different players caught passes, as SOU improved to 3-1 overall and 3-1 in the Frontier. With the win, the Raiders moved into a four-way tie for first in the Frontier, along with Carroll College, UM-Western and Montana Tech.

Defensively, Garet Jericof and Jesse Morales combined for 15 stops, while Malcolm Manuel had an interception.

The Lights will now have their second bye week, and will look to regroup during that time. Northern doesn't take the field again until a home game with College of Idaho Oct. 10 at Blue Pony Stadium.

Southern Oregon 82, Lights 9

MSU Northern 0 3 6 0 - 9

Southern Oregon 41 21 13 7 - 82

SOU: Matt Retzlaff 31 pass from Tanner Trosin (Marcus Montano kick)

SOU: Adonis Griffin 3 pass from Trosin (Montano kick)

SOU: Melvin Mason 44 pass from Kamerun Smith (Montano kick)

SOU: Sean Tow 18 run (Montano kick)

SOU: Retzlaff 16 run (Montano kick)

SOU: Sean Angel 13 pass from Smith (kick fail)

MSU-N: Jaime Toscano 32 field goal

SOU: Retzlaff 43 pass from Trosin (Montano kick)

SOU: Zack Davis 27 pass from Smith (Montano kick)

SOU: Davis 73 pass from Smith (Montano kick)

SOU: Louis Macklin 1 run (Montano kick)

SOU: Jesse Needles 8 run (Montano kick)

MSU-N: Qwaundre Yancy 25 pass from Jess Krahn (kick failed)

SOU: Bobby Lum 6 run (Montano kick)

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

RUSHING - MSN: Zach McKinley 26-81, Qwaundre Yancy 1-47, Jett Robertson 7-14, Mario Gobatto 7-13, Jess Krahn 10-4. SOU: Melvin Mason 8-110, Louis Macklin 8-41, Sean Tow 6-32, JJ Latu 2-28, Tanner Trosin 2-18, Matt Retzlaff 1-16, Kamerun Smith 1-12, Jesse Needles 2-12, Bobby Lum 2-9, Adan Madera 2-7, Keegan Lawrence 2-6, Jack Singler 1-2.

PASSING - MSN: Jess Krahn 9-26-96-2, Holden Maki 1-1-9-0. SOU: Kamerun Smith 6-8-167-0, Tanner Trosin 8-12-159-0, Jack Singler 8-13-67-1.

RECEIVING - MSN: Zach McKinley 4-43, Qwaundre Yancy 4-39, Kagen Khamaneh 1-14, Malachi Flores 1-9. SOU: Zack Davis 2-100, Matt Retzlaff 3-89, Melvin Mason 3-57, Dominic Giampaoli 3-45, Sean Tow 2-43, Jeremy Scottow 2-23, Sean Angel 1-13, Lantz Worthington 2-11, Caden Johnson 1-10, Adonis Griffin 2-8, Jesse Needles 1-(minus 6).