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'It's McKendree. Here' The seventh-ranked Southern Oregon University football team and head coach Jeff Olson have waited a long time for a playoff game. After 14 years, that wait is finally over as the Raiders play host to McKendree College on Saturday By KRIS HENRY Mail Tribune ASHLAND - Watch the clock, listen for the phone, check the NAIA Web site. Watch the clock, listen for the phone, check the NAIA Web site. That was the scenario being played out Sunday morning in the office of Southern Oregon coach Jeff Olson. Although his seventh-ranked football team had wrapped up an 8-1 regular-season record less than 24 hours before, Olson still couldn't keep the nervous twitches from creeping into his office. Why haven't the final top-25 rankings been posted? Where was his phone call welcoming SOU to the NAIA Championship Series after a 14-year playoff drought? The Raiders couldn't be passed over once again, could they? "It's 11," Olson said as his watch chimed off the passing hour. "They said they'd call at 11. I thought it was going to be 10 but they said 11." No sooner were those words out of his mouth, Olson was inundated by questions from his wife Linda, their 4-year-old son Dante, defensive coordinator Roger VanDeZande and secondary coach James Gravelle. All but one wanted to know if he'd heard from the NAIA yet. Dante was merely interested in getting $2 from his dad for a snack. A little lighter in the wallet, the sixth-year coach then decided to take a walk down the hall to the office of SOU Athletic Director Phil Pifer, who was attached to a cell phone and just as interested in what was happening. Moments later, Olson returned with two words he'd been waiting to say for a long time. "We're in," he said, smiling as broadly as a father being handed his first child. "It's McKendree. Here." And with that Olson returned to the computer. Where can I find information on McKendree College? Why haven't they posted the rest of the first-round pairings? What do you mean I have to hit reload? For the record, Southern Oregon (8-1) will make its first postseason appearance since 1987 at 3 p.m. Saturday when the Raiders play host to 16th-ranked McKendree College (8-2) of Lebanon, Ill., at Raider Stadium. Tickets are available starting this afternoon on the SOU campus at McNeal Hall. Cost is $10 for reserved grandstand, $7 for grandstand general admission, $5 for uncovered seating and $4 for students. Group discounts are available by contacting Pifer at 552-6727. All day-of-game tickets cost $10. Other pairings for the 16-team NAIA Championship Series have No. 10 Tri-State (Ind.) at No. 1 Georgetown, Ky.; No. 5 Sioux Falls (S.D.) at No. 2 Mary (N.D.); No. 14 Kansas Wesleyan at No. 3 Evangel (Mo.); No. 12 Valley City State (N.D.) at No. 4 Carroll (Mont.); No. 11 Northwestern Oklahoma at No. 6 Benedictine (Kan.); No. 13 St. Ambrose (Iowa) at No. 8 Concordia (Neb.); and No. 9 St. Francis (Ind.) at No. 15 Cambellsville (Ky.). After suffering a postseason snub in 1999 when the 7-2 Raiders plummeted 11 spots in the final national rankings, Olson and crew weren't taking any chances this time around. "We didn't want any doubts at all," said fifth-year senior Kodiak Malmstrom. "We didn't want the raters to make the decision. We wanted to control our own destiny and we did." After a tough 48-38 road loss to Pacific Lutheran on Sept. 29, Malmstrom said the Raiders took the mentality that they would have to win out in order to nail down a playoff berth. Being the top-ranked independent team would only matter if SOU remained in the top-20 of the NAIA poll. What ensued was a dismantling of Azusa Pacific, Rocky Mountain and Eastern Oregon by a combined 152-52 margin. "This is pretty much an unbelievable feeling," Malmstrom said upon hearing the good news Sunday. "I've been here five years and we've been right there every year. "This is huge for a lot of us," added the defensive end. "A lot of us have been in high school and not seen a playoff game even then. I can't wait to play somebody who you know nothing about. It's just old-school football then ... where you put your nose to the grindstone and just play." McKendree is a private college of 2,000 students that finished second in the Mid-States Football Association Midwest League. The Bearcats entered last Saturday's game with St. Ambrose (Iowa) ranked No. 8, but lost 28-21 to the then-No. 17 Fighting Bees in a battle of league unbeatens. Even with the loss, McKendree maintained its top rating in the NAIA for scoring defense. The Bearcats are allowing a paltry 10.1 points per game. Conversely, Southern Oregon has outscored foes by a 45-18 average this season and is on pace to post the highest game-scoring average in Northwest small-college history. The Raiders are 1.1 points ahead of the existing top mark of 44.1 set by the 1993 Pacific Lutheran team that won the NAIA championship. Part of what made Sunday's announcement so emotional for Olson is the fact that he's been associated with the university going on 21 years. The defensive back arrived in Ashland at age 20 and hasn't left, climbing the ladder from player to volunteer coach to a full-time position in 1985. He was handed the reins as interim coach six years ago when the program was supposed to be taken over by Ashland High coach Jim Nagel. Nagel opted to stay with the Grizzlies, and Olson has gradually returned the Raiders to a highly respected program on the national level. "I've seen a lot in my time here," said Olson. "I think that's why I got a little emotional on Saturday (after a 38-24 win at Eastern Oregon). I just got caught up in it all." Having a head coach and entire SOU staff that cares so much about the program allowed a few emotional moments for Raider players as well on Sunday. "This is not only for the players, it's for the coaching staff too," said Malmstrom. "You always have someone you play for whether it be family or friends, but I think everyone on this team plays for our coaches too. Not only is it a close-knit group as a team, but the coaches are a big part of that closeness." Those happy-go-lucky feelings won't last for long, however, as SOU coaches and players alike echoed the sentiment that the Raiders are interested in more than just making it to the playoffs. "I'll be excited when I get that national championship ring on my finger," said junior safety Nick Daniken. "Nothing else matters until then." Reach reporter Kris Henry at 776-4488, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.