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--> --> Oct. 8: Raiders pass first test By Bobby Heiken Ashland Daily Tidings The fifth-ranked Southern Oregon University football team knew it was going to be tested Saturday afternoon against Willamette, they just didn't know how far they would be pushed. After coming away with four blowout victories in as many starts, the Raiders passed their first real test with a thrilling 29-27 victory over the Bearcats in front of almost 3,000 homecoming fans. The Raiders improved to 5-0 for the first time since 1983. "Both teams came out and played a great game," said Raider safety Nick Daniken, who made numerous big plays to keep SOU afloat. "They disregarded our record and never gave up. We just had to dig deeper. This was a big test for this football team." Sporadic play by both offenses and defenses set up an exciting final half. With the Raiders leading 29-14 at intermission, the Bearcats turned up the intensity a notch - especially on defense. Willamette held the Raider offense to 80 total yards in the second half and only 19 yards on the ground. "They were as physical of team that we've played all year," Raider guard Richard Griffin said. "We came out a little flat and Willamette took advantage of it. Luckily our defense responded." Willamette scored the first time it touched the ball in the second half on a 13-yard run by Greg Reed to cut the lead to 29-21. After that it was a matter of which defense would break first. The two teams traded nine punts the rest of the game until Willamette made one last drive late in the fourth quarter. A 38-yard pass from Tyler Gaspard to Dustin Arn set up a first down in Raider territory at the 20. Three plays later Reed was in the end zone again to cut the lead to 29-27 and set up the crucial two-point conversion with 1:23 to play. After chewing up 306 yards against a Raider defense that was yielding just 48 a game, the Bearcats shocked everyone by dropping back to pass. Gaspard looked into the end zone and tried to squeeze a pass to tight end Byron Holloway, but Daniken was there to knock the ball down and save the lead. "I'm not one to second-guess anyone, but I'm surprised they threw the ball," Raider head coach Jeff Olson said. "Especially since we were having a tough time with their sweeps and traps and that's the strength of their game." The Raider offense milked the clock down to 13 seconds before punting it over to Willamette. Two Bearcat pass attempts later - the last one knocked away by Daniken - and the Raiders remained undefeated. "They've got tremendous team speed and are a great football team," Olson said. "This was, without question, the best team we've played this season." SOU looked like it was going to blow the game open in the first half. Senior quarterback Travis Mari hooked up with junior Danny Negra and senior Leo Stoddard for a pair of scores for a 13-7 lead in the first quarter. In the second quarter the Raiders were driving again when Mari fumbled the snap on the Willamette 5. Two plays later Bearcat back Justin Peterson went untouched up the middle for 90 yards to take a 14-13 lead. But SOU answered back with a 73-yard pass from Mari to Stoddard. The Raiders also added a 1-yard plunge by sophomore Dusty McGrorty and a 43-yard field goal by Jason Manning to take the 29-14 halftime lead. "The guys came out and played for 60 minutes," Olson said of his troops. "They never had a letdown and I'm proud of that." Willamette finished the game with 440 yards of offense against a Raider team that was ranked second in the nation in total defense. "That is such a tough offense," Daniken said. "They have so much misdirection that sometimes it's tough to stay at home. But overall we did a pretty good job. They hurt us some on the pass but the cornerbacks were in position, their receivers just did a great job." When Daniken wasn't making defensive plays, he was getting it done as a returner. The Crater High product returned three punts for 66 yards and one kickoff for 49 yards. The Raider offense finished with 356 yards on the day, only 95 coming on the ground. "I thought we came out and played well in the fourth," Griffin said. "But we take it personally when we can't get anything going offensively." Mari finished with 261 yards passing, but his completion percentage took a hit by completing only 16 of 34 passes. Many of those incompletions were dropped balls, including three of his first four passes. SOU is off this week before traveling to Pacific Lutheran on Oct. 20. "We are going to approach this week like it's a game week," Olson said. "I don't want them to back off, we've got to keep going. We are playing at a high level and we need to keep that intensity up." Email your... 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