Document text
--> --> Oct. 4: Raiders not looking past Bears By Joe Zavala Ashland Daily Tidings Southern Oregon University football coach Jeff Olson is having no problem motivating his team for this weekend's clash with Rocky Mountain College, and that's saying something. The Battlin' Bears are 1-3 on the season, have dropped seven of their last eight games overall and fell behind to the Raiders 50-0 last season before losing 50-7. SOU, on the other hand, is coming off its second win in three weeks over NCAA Division II foe Humboldt State, is the seventh-ranked NAIA team in the nation and has its sites set on a national championship. Still, the seventh-ranked Raiders and unranked Bears will face off in what appears to be an NAIA mismatch at 1 p.m. (noon locally) Saturday on Klindt Field in Billings, Mont. "The guys understand the importance of every game," Olson said. "We cannot take any Saturday off. It's an experienced group ... and they understand the importance of every Saturday." If the Raiders are tested, it will be on defense. Rocky Mountain freshman quarterback Benton Johnson already has completed 104 of 202 passes for 1,116 yards and seven touchdowns, mostly out of the shotgun and four or five wide receiver sets. His favorite receivers in the pass-happy offense - Johnson averages 50 passes a game - are 6-4 junior B.J. Charlton (29 catches, 362 yards, two touchdowns) and sophomore Jon Owen (19-152-1). When the Bears decide to run the ball, they'll usually hand it off to 6-2 junior Cory Albin, who's amassed 175 yards on 53 rushing attempts. Rocky Mountain put all those weapons on full display Sept. 14 in a 45-6 whipping of Montana State-Northern, SOU's next opponent. Results like that have been few and far between for the RMC, however. Their three losses to Carroll (20-3), Montana Tech (35-23) and most recently to Montana-Western (Sept. 23, 45-6) have come by a combined score of 100-32, and against Montana-Western the Bears trailed 31-6 with 5:37 left in the first half. Still, Olson says the Bears are a legitimate threat to his Raiders, especially when playing in Montana. "They played the two top teams in the Frontier Conference very tough, and they were impressive in their win over MSU-Northern," Olson said. "It's a team that will throw the ball 50 or 60 times a game, and they have a receiver (Charlton) who is similar to (Dustin) Creager at Humboldt. They have a lot of experience returning on defense and an All-American at free safety. "They seem to play really well at home. We'll be a long way from home, so we're in for a real challenge." Though the Bears have plenty of standout players on offense, their top player among 14 returning starters from 2001 is two-time All-American safety Travis Salter. Salter has averaged nearly 12 tackles per outing the past two seasons and had 17 in last year's loss to SOU. He may get even more this time around if the Raider offensive line continues to open up holes for tailback Dusty McGrorty. McGrorty, who led the country with 25 touchdowns last season, is the second leading scorer so far this year and is averaging 154.9 rushing yards per game, third in the nation. Olson said the Raiders will continue to go ground. "Certainly, we're going to have wrinkles every week," Olson said, "but our M.O. is to try to establish the line of scrimmage ... and take our passing off an effective running game." Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing