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Raiders lose in three-OTs By FRANK SILOW BURNABY, B.C. -- Southern Oregon University football coach Jeff Olson took the blame after the Raiders' 43-37, triple-overtime loss to Simon Fraser at Swangard Stadium Saturday. It was Southern Oregon's third straight defeat and fourth in the last five games. The loss dropped SOU to 1-2 in the Columbia Football Association. The Raiders have three three-point losses this season and now an overtime loss after rallying from a 23-point, fourth-quarter deficit to send the game into a modified Kansas Plan tiebreaker format. "You've got to point fingers at me," said Olson. "We're 3-5 and we're not where we were expecting to be. We were expecting to be challenging for a league championship and we're not there. I have to take a gut check to see what I can do." The Raiders certainly showed no quit against the Clansmen after Marchi Gabriele dashed 80 yards for a touchdown to put Simon Fraser ahead 37-14 with 9:48 remaining. "Without question there was a point where we could have folded the tents and it could have gotten real ugly," said Olson. Griff Yates scored his second of three touchdowns with 6:40 left to cut the SOU deficit to 37-21. The Raiders scored twice in the final 55 seconds -- on a Yates 3-yard run and Leo Stoddard's 19-yard pass reception from quarterback Dan Walters. SOU then converted a two-point conversion on a Mike Long catch to send the game into overtime with 23 seconds to go. Both teams missed field goals in the overtime format, which gives each squad the ball 25 yards from the end zone. Finally Kairns Graham ended the 3-hour, 45-minute contest on a 12-yard TD reception from quarterback Terry Kleinsmith. Kleinsmith completed 22 of 36 for 306 yards, passing for two TDs and running for another to lead Simon Fraser. Southern Oregon never had the lead. The Raiders trailed 17-7 at halftime and 30-7 at the end of the third quarter. "They were just beating us on the defensive side and their (offensive) line outplayed our defense," said Olson. "Our offense didn't have an identity until the fourth quarter. Then we started playing like we're capable." Yates had another big day, with 221 yards rushing. But he was outdone by Gabriele, who gained 276 yards on 29 carries. The Clansmen had an offensive bonanza with 619 total yards to 396 for the Raiders. "Our goals that we set at the beginning of the season are gone," said Olson. "But we have a three-game losing streak, and we've got to turn that around." Today's Sports Index Mail Tribune Copyright� The Mail Tribune 1998, Medford,