#1 Julius Rucker Jr.

@SOURaiders @SOU_Football @Jrucker10

For the first time since the preseason poll, the NAIA football coaches (or at least the 15 with voting power) have selected SOU as the #1 NAIA football team. Ironically, it’s the first week that Massey has SOU as anything other than #1. Massey shows Reinhardt as their new #1 and SOU as #2. The coaches have Reinhardt at #6. Reinhardt has a bye week followed by their most difficult opponent, so far, Campbellsville on the road on 11/7. Reinhardt is still a 7-point favorite in that one. SOU is a 14-point favorite at Rocky Mountain this weekend.

Posted on October 26th, 2015 under only in ashland, people. Tags: football, julius rucker, Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G VR II, Nikon D750, Raider Athletics, Southern Oregon University, sports photography. Comments Off on #1

#6 Karrington Jones had two interceptions today for the Raiders

@SOURaiders @SOU_Football @k_jeezy6 @Jrucker10 @RunForMylz

Mylz Blake blocked an extra point attempt and had some key tackles against Montana-Western

Posted on October 10th, 2015 under people. Tags: football, julius rucker, mylz blake, Nikon D750, Raider Athletics, sports photography, Tamron SP 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Di VC USD Lens for Nikon. Comments Off on Raiders beat Bulldogs 37-30 in OT

Joseph Lealofi and Julius Rucker Jr.

@SOURaiders @SOU_Football @Jrucker10

SOU football jumped two spots in the 2015 NAIA Football Coaches’ Top 25 Poll released today, up from the #4 position. The Raiders continue to be ranked #1 in the Massey Ratings. All of the Frontier Conference teams have a bye this weekend.

Posted on September 28th, 2015 under only in ashland, people. Tags: football, julius rucker, Nikon D750, Raider Athletics, sports photography, Tamron SP 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Di VC USD Lens for Nikon. Comments Off on The new #2

SOU football @ Carroll College (9/5/15)

@SOURaiders @SOU_Football

Last weekend’s loss at Carroll hurt, but it will mean little if the Raiders beat Eastern this weekend and Carroll in October in Ashland. It’s better to win your last game than your first.

Take last season for example. Carroll and SOU split the regular season series (and neither team had lost to any other team at the time), but Carroll was ranked four spots ahead of SOU after winning the game over SOU later in the season.

Tickets to this Saturday’s game in Ashland can be purchased here.

Posted on September 8th, 2015 under people. Tags: football, julius rucker, Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G VR II, Nikon D750, Raider Athletics, Southern Oregon University, sports photography. Comments Off on Another big game this Saturday

The Pick 6 of Julius Rucker Jr. (12/19/14)

@SOU_Football @SOURaiders @Jrucker10 #TBT

This memory never gets old.

Posted on May 7th, 2015 under people. Tags: AF-S Teleconverter TC-17E 1.7X II for Nikon, football, julius rucker, NAIA National Championship Game Daytona Florida, Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G VR II, Nikon D750, Raider Athletics, sports photography. Comments Off on Throwback Thursday

“Becoming” Dose of Dopeness

@SOU_Football @SOURaiders @Jrucker10

Tomorrow (3/31/15) “Becoming” will be shown for the first time to the general public. Showings will be at 6:30 and 8:30 at the Ashland Street Cinema. Admission is free, and tickets will be given away on a first-come, first-serve basis. However, the 6:30 showing has extremely limited seating availability due to many of the tickets being provided to VIP guests. In other words, don’t show up at 6:20 and expect to get in to the 6:30 showing. Maybe come at 6:20 to pick up a ticket for the 8:30 showing and then go grab some dinner. There will also be a showing at 6:30 on Wednesday (4/1/15). The Saturday showing is only for players and coaches.

For trailers click here and here.

P.S. The original version of this image can be found here.

Posted on March 30th, 2015 under only in ashland. Tags: football, julius rucker, Raider Athletics, Southern Oregon University. Comments Off on “Becoming” begins tomorrow

Ben Bachman will be a sophomore, Jeremy Scottow will be a senior, and Sean McShane will be a senior in 2015.

@SOU_Football @SOURaiders @Matt_Retzlaff @Ben_Bachman23 @giddentn

Grant Torgerson will be a senior in 2015.

Melvin Mason will be a junior in 2015.

Thomas Giddens will be a senior in 2015.

Nathaniel Timoteo will be a senior in 2015.

Gannon Schroder and Tylor King will be seniors in 2015.

Aldrick Rosas, whose string or 116 consecutive PATs was broken this year but he has started another string of 15 to be continued next year, will be a junior in 2015.

Matt Retzlaff will be a junior in 2015.

I’m still getting lots of requests for prints of these photos of the football team in the NAIA Championship game. Instructions are in this earlier post.

Posted on December 28th, 2014 under people. Tags: Aldrick Rosas, alex stork, ben bachman, football, gannon schroder, Grant Torgerson, julius rucker, Matt Retzlaff, NAIA National Championship Game Daytona Florida, Nikon D750, Raider Athletics, sean mcshane, Southern Oregon University, sports photography, thomas giddens, Tyler Stinn, tylor king. Comments Off on More returning Raiders

All-American Daniel Breaux has graduated

@SOU_Football @SOURaiders

The SOU football team will be losing many of their seniors from the championship team for next season.

Dustin Fretwell has used up his eligibility and will be graduating with a degree in business

However, the national championship should help with recruiting top student athletes in future years.

Austin Dodge will of course be gone, but Melvin Mason (over 1,000 yards and 17 TDs in 2014) will be a junior in 2015.

In addition, all three of the running backs have at least two years remaining.

Sean Tow averaged 5.6 yards per carry in 2014 and will be a junior in 2015.

Keegan Lawrence averaged over 7 yards per carry and will be a sophomore in 2015.

Julius Rucker will be a junior in 2015.

#92 David Weider will be a senior, #26 Daniel Abernethy will be a sophomore, and #42 Isaiah Carter will also be a sophomore in 2015.
#10 Tevin Lake on Marian rushed for over 5,400 yards in his career, but the Raiders allowed only 68 of those yards on 18 carries.

Jaylenn Hart had 57 tackles this year and 3 interceptions against Marian. He will be a senior in 2015.

The future looks bright. More photos of next year’s returning players coming…

Posted on December 26th, 2014 under people. Tags: Daniel Breaux, dustin fretwell, football, julius rucker, keegan lawrence, NAIA National Championship Game Daytona Florida, Nikon D750, Raider Athletics, sean tow, Southern Oregon University, sports photography. Comments Off on Past and future stars of the Raiders

@SOURaiders @SOU_Football @Jrucker10

The play of the day, and ESPN’s SportsCenter agreed, was the Julius Rucker return of an interception for a touchdown on Marian’s first possession. The play set the tone for the rest of the game.

The pick 6 would not have happened without the assistance of Dustin Fretwell, pictured above. I actually took the above photo of Dustin a split second before the ball was snapped on this very play.

After Fretwell’s tip, Rucker came down with the ball, dodged, weaved, and broke tackles before hitting the open field.

Julius Rucker Sr. could not have been happier

If you are in the Rogue Valley, don’t forget about today’s parade.

Posted on December 21st, 2014 under people. Tags: AF-S Teleconverter TC-17E 1.7X II for Nikon, dustin fretwell, football, julius rucker, NAIA National Championship Game Daytona Florida, Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8G VR II, Nikon D750, Raider Athletics, Southern Oregon University, sports photography. Comments Off on Pick 6 sequence