ASHLAND, Ore. - The Red Hawks took down Southern Oregon today 36-35 in a thriller that came down to the final play of the game.
The first quarter belonged to the Red Hawks as they took a 9-0 lead. The first points of the game belonged to Tyler Hinrichs as he drilled a 32-yard field goal on the Red Hawks' first offensive possession of the game.
The Simpson defense turned away the Raiders in the red zone as William Weathington picked off a pass from Dom Montiel to keep Southern Oregon off the scoreboard.
The Red Hawks took momentum on their second offensive possession as they marched 80 yards on 11 plays to find the end zone on a 14-yard touchdown pass from Ya'j Vance to Ivan Huerta.
The Raiders responded in the second quarter as they put together back-to-back touchdown drives to take a 14-9 lead on two touchdown runs by Fresh Ison.
The Red Hawks countered with an eight-play, 75-yard drive to take a 16-14 lead on a Vance-to-Huerta touchdown connection.
The Raiders owned the final points of the first half as Ison found the end zone for the third time in the second quarter to give Southern Oregon a 22-16 lead going into halftime.
The connection between Vance and Huerta proved lethal as they connected for their third touchdown pass of the day. This time, it was a 66-yard bomb on a second-and-long play to give Simpson a 23-22 lead.
Ison proved lethal on the ground for the Raiders as he found the end zone for the fourth time late in the third quarter to take a 28-23 lead as the Red Hawks denied their two-point attempt.
The Raiders took a 12-point lead halfway through the fourth quarter as Montiel found Walker Bonar for a one-yard touchdown pass. Needing a quick strike, Vance completed a 45-yard pass to Huerta to set up a trick play that allowed Micah Sua to find Tyler Shoffner for a three-yard touchdown pass, cutting the deficit to five points with five minutes left in the game.
The Red Hawks defense came up with a game-saving stop as James Webster and Matthew Galvan stuffed Ison for a one-yard loss on fourth-and-short.
The Red Hawks offense took full advantage as they drove the length of the field. Vance scrambled on the final play of the game to find the end zone to propel the Red Hawks over the Raiders, 36-35.
Ya'j Vance had a monster game as he accounted for four touchdowns. He completed 21 of 32 passes for 346 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for the game-winner.
Ivan Huerta had a big game through the air as he hauled in five passes for 159 yards and three touchdowns.
On defense, Charlie Walden registered a team-high 12 total tackles. Mike MacNiel and Julian Hart each posted a sack, while William Weathington had one pass breakup and one interception.
Drew Adamson played a key role on special teams as he pinned the Raiders inside their own 20 on two out of his three punts, recording a long of 53 yards.
With the win, this marked Simpson's first conference victory as they move to 1-1 in conference play in the Frontier West Division.
The Red Hawks look to stay hot as they take on Caroll College this Saturday at 1 pm at Central Valley High School.
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