Raiders Dominate in Blizzard

images          Over the break the SOU Raiders proved their strength as a football team by winning in the quarterfinals of the 2014 NAIA Football Championship on the 29th of November. Despite single-digit temperatures and a snow covered field, the Raiders claimed a spot in their first-ever FCS semifinals with a nail-bitingly close win against the Saints. Prior to Saturday, the Raiders were 0-4 all-time in the quarterfinals, including a pair of losses to their Frontier Conference rival the Carroll Saints. Saturday marked the first time the SOU Football Team has ever made it into the semifinals.

During the first half of the game, Carroll took the lead, more than doubling the Raiders halftime score with a score of 28-12.  It was at the 4:38 mark of the fourth quarter when the Raiders took their first leading score of the game. The Saints came back, recovering their lead at 42-39 with only 1:53 left in the game. A back-and-forth of skill and determination on both teams ended with a crucial 1-yard carry by SOU running back Melvin Mason, winning the game 45-42, with only 22 seconds left on the clock.

The SOU Raiders Basketball team found great success over the break while away from home, adding three more wins to their now 9-1 record for the season. The team relied heavily upon both Eric Thompson and Tim Weber throughout the three-game run. With Thompson scoring a full 51 points in just the two first games and Weber stuffing the stat sheet and racking up a total of 50 points from all three games combined. Once again the previously mustached Weber proved a figurative life-saver for the team.