Box Score
ASHLAND -- The Eastern Oregon University football team fell in its 2009 season opener to Southern Oregon, 32-28.
The Raiders' Brandon Baldwin ran for 195 yards and led SOU past Eastern for the rallying victory. The Mountaineers led through three quarters, never surrendering the lead, before being shutout 13-0 in the final quarter.
Baldwin, a sophomore transfer from Shasta Junior College, had 101 yards rushing in the first half and finished with 195 on 37 carries and two touchdowns.
The game featured over 800 yards of total offense by the in-state rivals. Eastern Oregon finished with 411 offensive yards and the Raiders amassed 443. The Mountaineers had 96 yards rushing and 315 yards through the air. SOU gained 222 passing yards and 221 yards on the ground.
Eastern's Chris Ware found Kirk Miller over the middle for the game's first score with a 21-yard pass with 11:15 remaining in the first quarter. Southern countered with a pair of field goals. Joel Haran then finished a seven play, 70 yard drive with a one-yard leap into the end zone to extend EOU's lead to 14-6 with 12:20 left in the second quarter.
Ware and Miller hooked up again for the Mountaineers with a 35-yard touchdown reception six minutes later. The Raiders' Vance Beach then stepped in front of two Mountaineer defenders to grab a 26-yard touchdown reception. SOU closed the half with a 37-yard field goal from Tyler Crowley. The score at the half was 21-16 in Eastern Oregon's favor.
EOU's Rick Copsey opened the second half with a 28-yard touchdown reception from Ware. The Mountaineers had it's largest lead of the game at 28-16 with 11:00 remaining in the third quarter. It would be the final time Eastern would score.
Crowley added a field to end the third quarter and cut the lead to 28-19. Baldwin crossed the goal line twice in the fourth quarter for a pair of Raider touchdowns that gave Southern Oregon a 32-28 lead with 4:51 remaining in regulation.
The Mountaineers failed to advance the ball on their next possession and were forced to punt back to SOU. After stopping the Raiders on the ensuing drive, EOU got the ball back with just over a minute to play. However, Ware's first past from scrimmage on the possession was intercepted by Southern's Nate Best.
Ware finished the game completing 16 of his 31 pass attempts and threw two interceptions and two touchdowns. SOU's Paul Sweeney completed 18 of his 32 passes for 222 yards and a touchdown with no interceptions.
The Mountaineers were led by Haran on the ground with 10 carries for 53 yards. Miller had a team-high 117 yards receiving on five catches and a pair of touchdowns and Jordyn Jackson had five receptions for 102 yards.
Eastern Oregon will host Rocky Mountain College in La Grande Sept. 5 in its home and Frontier Conference opener. The game kicks off at 1 p.m. KCMB will have live radio with pregame beginning at 12:40 p.m. The game will also be streamed live on video on EOUSports.com.
