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Raiders' long wait nears end By KRIS HENRY Tidings Correspondent Excuses are for losers. That may be harsh, but it's the reality Southern Oregon's football team is working under as the Raiders sit idly by while their peers get game-action under their belts. Southern Oregon University senior quarterback Dan Woodward gets ready to pass during 7-on-7 drills back in August. The Raiders' season and home-opener is Saturday vs. Linfield. Ashland Daily Tidings/DENISE BARATTA "We've tried to turn it into a positive and remind ourselves our time's going to come," eighth-year SOU coach Jeff Olson said of his team's late starting date. "It's been hard, but what's made it a little better is we're starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel." Fifth-ranked Southern Oregon is set to open its season at 6 p.m. Saturday against Linfield (1-0) at Raider Stadium, roughly 10 days later than SOU's past six openers and the Raiders' latest start since Olson took over in 1996 (Sept. 21). A recent trend to bump up season openers has meant many teams begin play during the final weekend of August or first weekend in September. But given SOU's status as an NAIA independent and Olson's desire to only schedule teams with a reasonably similar number of scholarship athletes, filling out the 2003 ledger was a bit of a chore. To wit, SOU has only three home games this season, plays Humboldt State twice and won't have the luxury of a bye week. "This way, we're just going to start the ball rolling and just keep it going," said Olson. "We haven't played well after a bye the last few years anyway." While the coaching staff has enjoyed the extra time to prepare for the likes of Linfield and Humboldt State, senior tailback Dusty McGrorty says the players have a similar "make the most of it" attitude. "It was weird having a long summer while other teams were already starting their camps," said the All-American, "but it hasn't been too bad. The way I look at it, wins are wins, and they don't really have to come early in the season. They count whenever you get them." Still, the mounting wins for teams like defending NAIA champion Carroll College (3-0) are difficult to ignore when you're plodding through daily doubles. "It's been hard waiting and waiting and waiting to get after it," said McGrorty. "You get tired of hitting your same guys every day, but that's something you have to go through anyway. "But now we're a week away, so we're ready to roll. We're all just fired up and ready to get Linfield down here." One major plus involving the late start stands to be an improvement in the Raiders' conditioning. "We got to stay in the weight room longer and lift harder and heavier while other teams were having to back off for daily doubles," says 6-foot, 215-pound McGroty. "That definitely could help us maintain our strength longer through the season." Opening fall camp in September instead of mid-August typically would have given players a break in terms of field temperature, but All-American offensive lineman Todd Wesolowski says SOU's preparedness and the mild summer negated that theory. "We all came in in pretty good shape, so it really didn't make much difference," said the 6-foot-4, 265-pounder. "It doesn't really matter to me when we start, as long as we start." The major downfall to SOU's delayed start is the fact that practice is useful, but there's no greater barometer for a team than getting into true game action. Linfield, for instance, opened the season Saturday with a 49-10 whipping of Redlands College. "The thing I don't like is I don't know what we're going to be like and everybody else in the country knows since they've already gotten a game under their belt," said Olson. "We may be OK here or need help there, but we won't really know until we get the gear on and go play." That concern, however, isn't echoed by McGrorty. "Coach (Olson) always does a great job preparing us and getting us ready for game situations," he says. "We'll be ready." The Raiders have won their last four season openers and are 5-2 in that category under Olson. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -