Julius Rucker

@SOURaiders @SOU_Football @Jrucker10

Posted on December 13th, 2016 under only in ashland, people. Tags: football, julius rucker, Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G VR II, Nikon D500, Raider Athletics, sports photography. Comments Off on Happy birthday, Julius Rucker!

Marcus Montano

#21 Keegan Lawrence

#11 Isiah Carter

Julius Rucker

#12 Devvon Gage

Christmas Aumua

Louis Desprez

#72 Tylor King

Matt Retzlaff

Posted on November 23rd, 2016 under only in ashland, people. Tags: christmas aumua, colin davis, devvon gage, football, isiah carter, jacob proul, julius rucker, keegan lawrence, louis desprez, Marcus Montano, Matt Retzlaff, Raider Athletics, sports photography, tylor king. Comments Off on Nine Raiders named to All-Conference Team

Nathan Torres-Walker

@SOURaiders @SOU_Football @Jrucker10 @Matt_Retzlaff

18 Raiders ended their SOU football careers today. I’ll get photos of all of them up within the next few days. For now, here are three.

Julius Rucker Jr.

Matt Retzlaff

Posted on November 12th, 2016 under only in ashland, people. Tags: football, julius rucker, Matt Retzlaff, nathan torres-walker, Nikon D500, Raider Athletics. Comments Off on Senior Day

Armando Gauger, Julius Rucker, Isiah Carter, and Devvon Gage

@SOURaiders @SOU_Football #NAIAFootball

As predicted back on Saturday, the Raiders moved up three spots in the new NAIA Coaches’ Poll.

Looking at the eight teams ahead of the Raiders, here is some more fortune telling:
#1 Marian has only one challenging game on their schedule. They play at #3 Saint Francis a week from Saturday. If they win that game, they will almost certainly run the table.
#2 Morningside plays an NCAA DII school this Saturday. Morningside will probably lose, but they likely won’t drop more than a couple spots in the poll. After that, their only decent opponent is #5 Doane on Oct. 8.
#3 Saint Francis has an easy schedule other than Marian. It may take a huge upset by Davenport on November 5 in order for SOU to ever pass them in the coaches’ poll.
#4 Baker already got past their only competition (Grand View in week 1).
#5 Doane will likely lose at Morningside. Other than that, they may not lose despite not being in Massey’s top ten.
#6 Reinhardt has to get by Lindsey Wilson and Faulkner on the road. They will likely lose at least one of those games, if not both.
#7 Lindsey Wilson has Reinhardt in addition to games at Faulkner and Campbellsville. They should lose one, if not two, of those.
#8 Grand View got crushed by Baker, but they have an easy schedule other than that Baker game. If the Raiders and Grand View win out, it will be unfair for the coaches to give Grand View a higher ranking simply because SOU got beat by an NCAA DI team, especially considering the difficulty of SOU’s schedule vs. Grand View’s.
#9 SOU has six or seven more tough games (out of just eight) after starting the season against three strong teams.

In summary, even if the Raiders win out and finish 9-2, I think they will only end up at #5 or possibly #6. The system really isn’t fair if that happens. Punishing the prior year runner up for a narrow first game road loss and defeat at the hands of an NCAA DI team on the road in favor of teams with easy schedules and (probably eventually) only one loss makes no sense. The bad news for Southern Oregon is a #5 finish likely means only one home playoff game (again!). The good news is SOU will be better prepared, compared to teams with weaker schedules, for the playoffs (again!).

Posted on September 19th, 2016 under only in ashland, people. Tags: armando gauger, devvon gage, football, isiah carter, julius rucker, Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G VR II, Nikon D500, Raider Athletics, sports photography. Comments Off on Raiders #9 in new coaches’ poll

@SOURaiders @SOU_Football #RaceToDaytona #NAIAFootball @Jrucker10 @racetodaytona

Mostly sunny with a high in the 80s and the Raiders first win of the season.

Massey gives Southern Oregon a 70% chance of victory. The spread is a touchdown. If the Raiders have a positive or neutral turnover differential (something they haven’t come close to so far in 2016) then I predict a win by 17 points.

Posted on September 17th, 2016 under only in ashland, people. Tags: football, julius rucker, Raider Athletics, sports photography. Comments Off on Today’s forecast

tackling Jr.s

@SOURaiders @SOU_Football #RaceToDaytona #NAIAFootball @Jrucker10 @racetodaytona

This Saturday’s game is a nominee for “NAIA Game of the Week”. Click on the image below and then like it on FB to vote.

Click on this image and then “like” to have the Raiders home opener be the NAIA game of the week.

Posted on September 13th, 2016 under only in ashland. Tags: football, julius rucker, michael chisley jr, Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G VR II, Nikon D500, Raider Athletics, sports photography. Comments Off on “Game of the Week” finalist

SOU Football Coach Howard at the Stan Smith Memorial / Tailgate / Pep Rally

AD Matt Sayre

Stan Smith’s family and Matt Retzlaff

Melvin Mason tells a Stan Smith story

Posted on April 30th, 2016 under only in ashland, people. Tags: Coach Craig Howard, football, julius rucker, Matt Retzlaff, melvin mason, Nikon 24-120mm f/4G ED AF-S VR, Nikon D500, Raider Athletics, stan smith. Comments Off on Mr. Raider Memorial

#1 (2015 NAIA All American) Julius Rucker

@SOURaiders @SOU_Football #RaceToDaytona #NAIAFootball @Jrucker10 @racetodaytona

I said it way back in early September, and it’s as true now as it was then, “It’s better to win your last game than your first.”

Posted on December 18th, 2015 under outside of ashland, people. Tags: football, julius rucker, NAIA National Championship Game Daytona Florida, Raider Athletics. Comments Off on 1 day…

Time to answer the question. Who’s #1?

@SOURaiders @SOU_Football #RaceToDaytona #NAIAFootball #RoadToDaytona

For those interested in watching the SOU football team in the National Semifinals today against Morningside, below are some options. Game time is 10 a.m. PST.

The game will be webstreamed by Morningside University for free.

You can also join other fans in Ashland by viewing the game at the following locations: RedZone, Oak Tree, Northwest, and Omars. If you have anyone in your party under 21, you’ll want to go to Northwest.

Go Raiders!

Posted on December 5th, 2015 under people. Tags: football, julius rucker, mylz blake, Nikon D750, Raider Athletics, sports photography. Comments Off on Gameday!