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EOU Athletics
40
Southern Oregon SOU 0-1 , 0-1
45
Winner Eastern Oregon EOU 1-0 , 1-0
Southern Oregon SOU
0-1 , 0-1
40
Final
45
Eastern Oregon EOU
1-0 , 1-0
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
SOU Southern Oregon 7 7 7 19 40
EOU Eastern Oregon 7 10 21 7 45

Game Recap: Football | | Seth Dahle, Sports Information Director

(RV) EOU Football Knocks Off No. 2 Southern Oregon in Season Opener, 45-40

LA GRANDE, Ore. – Southern Oregon has a knack for making second-half comebacks in its heated rivalry with the Blue and Gold. After robbing the EOU football team last season with a late comeback in Ashland, it almost seemed like the Raiders were bound to repeat history, except this time at Community Stadium.
 
But the Mountaineers (1-0) stood slightly taller than their southern rival when the final whistle blew, as (RV) EOU held on to muster a thrilling 45-40 upset over second-ranked Southern Oregon on Saturday night.
 
"I'm very proud of this team and the coaches," said head coach Tim Camp. "This is one of those games that both teams played their hearts out, and we were able to come out with a big win over the No. 2 ranked team in the country. Give credit to Southern Oregon and their coaches, as they were playing to win."
 
Senior quarterback Zach Bartlow was solid from the get-go, completing 23 of 31 passes for 292 yards and two touchdowns. He also recorded 70 yards on 13 carries for two rushing touchdowns.
 
In addition to grabbing six passes for a team-high 103 receiving yards, junior wide receiver Calvin Connors posted a 65-yard punt return for a critical touchdown in the third quarter. Junior wide receiver Joshua Richards snagged a team-high nine catches for 96 yards and a touchdown, while senior running back Alfred Gross paced the ground attack with 82 yards on 10 carries.
 
On the defensive end, junior linebacker Michal Arenas was all over the place, registering a career-high 16 tackles (five solo) and one pass breakup. Junior defensive back Justin Hughes added a career-high nine tackles, while freshman linebacker Eli Teuteu forced one fumble to go along with four tackles.
 
THE RUNDOWN
After Southern Oregon (0-1) scored on its first possession of the contest, EOU fired back with a seven-yard touchdown pass from Bartlow to Richards to launch a back-and-forth pattern for the remainder of the affair.
 
Trailing by four (14-10) with just over 20 seconds left in the first half, EOU took the lead for good after Bartlow found Gross for a one-yard touchdown to cap the stanza.
 
The back-and-forth nature only carried over to the start of the second half. On EOU's first possession, Bartlow tossed passes to junior wide receiver Brenden Kelly (13 yards) and senior wide receiver TJ Esekielu (10 yards) to anchor an 8-play, 56-yard drive that ultimately led to a 17-yard rushing touchdown by Bartlow to push the advantage to double digits. (24-14).
 
With a 24-21 lead in the third, EOU forced the Raider offence to punt on its second possession of the quarter. That's when Connors showed why he's one of the best returners in the country, as he wheeled his way through traffic to post a 70-yard touchdown return to put the Mountaineers back up by 10 (31-21) with 4:47 left in the third.
 
On the very next play, EOU's special teams again delivered for the Mountie faithful, as senior running back AJ Prom recovered Southern Oregon's muffed kick return in the end zone for another touchdown.  
 
While a 17-point, fourth-quarter edge may have seemed reassuring to some, it was the Raiders who erased EOU's 21-point lead nearly a year ago in Ashland. Staying true to its comeback fashion, Southern Oregon responded with two touchdowns in a 39-second span to open the fourth. Tanner Trosin heaved a touchdown pass to Matt Retzlaff, and then Mylz Blake recovered Bartlow's fumble and returned it for another tally to make it a four-point (38-34) contest with 13:48 on the clock.
 
A tight scoreboard sparked even greater tension on the field. During an EOU punt midway through the fourth, the referees whistled two penalties on Southern Oregon's block in the back, as well as a targeting penalty on Bronson Ader, leading to his ejection.
 
Despite those two penalties, Trosin and the Raiders continued to march into EOU territory until sophomore defensive lineman Zach Lacey recovered a muffed handoff at EOU's 14-yard line.
 
From there, Bartlow issued two carries for 15 yards to spark a 7-play, 84-yard drive into the end zone. Gross broke out a 57-yard carry to Southern Oregon's 6-yard line, and then Bartlow concluded the drive with a 10-yard rush for a touchdown, which for many fans sealed the victory.
 
But EOU couldn't celebrate just yet, as the Raiders issued a 10-play, 73-yard drive to cut the Blue and Gold's lead to five (45-40) with 1:34 left to go after a failed two-point conversion.
 
In a matter of seconds, the Mountie faithful went from exuberant to silent, as Southern Oregon executed an onside kick at EOU's 48-yard line and then a 28-yard pass to inch to the Blue and Gold's 20. With the Mountaineers' backs against the end zone and seconds left to play, a pair of senior defensive backs in John Payne and Jesus Retano broke up potential touchdown receptions on third and fourth downs, and EOU's sideline erupted to celebrate the wild victory.  
 
BY THE NUMBERS
1st – Win over Southern Oregon since Nov. 16, 2014.
6 – Wins all-time for EOU vs. top-10 opponents under Camp.
4 – Touchdowns for Bartlow (two passing, two rushing).
5-5 – EOU's mark for red-zone conversions.
 
UP NEXT
EOU heads to Dillon, Mont., to face No. 25 Montana Western on Sept. 10. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. MT.   
 
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