ASHLAND, Ore. – The NAIA’s No. 7-ranked Azusa Pacific turned 2 second-half turnovers into Mike Betancourth field goals, and the Cougar defense yielded just 71 yards of total offense over the last 2 quarters to lift the Cougars to a 13-9 come-from-behind victory over No. 17 Southern Oregon.

The victory is Azusa Pacific’s first-ever in Raider Stadium in Ashland, Ore., and also marks the first time that the Cougars have won back-to-back games over SOU after posting last year’s 23-14 come-from-behind win in Azusa.

“It really feels great,” said sixth-year Azusa Pacific head coach Peter Shinnick. “The guys are happy, the atmosphere is upbeat. We’re about to experience bus-ride home from Ashland like never before.”

Four years ago, in Azusa Pacific’s first visit to Raider Stadium, Southern Oregon hammered Azusa Pacific, 31-0, to hand the Cougars their only shutout of the past 7 years. Then 2 years ago in Ashland, SOU broke the Cougars’ spirit with a last-minute field goal to win a defensive battle, 17-14.

Again, tonight’s game was another defensive struggle, pitting 2 of the NAIA’s best defensive units against each other. The Raiders were outstanding in stopping the running of Azusa Pacific’s All-American candidate Ben Buys, who on 20 carries managed just 53 yards, his lowest output ever as a starter and the second lowest in his illustrious career.

However, junior QB Sean Davis rose to the occasion and completed a career-high 18 passes for 152 yards, including 4 in the first half that converted key third down situations.

As they did last year in Azusa, Southern Oregon took the early lead in this game, claiming a 9-0 cushion by midway through the second quarter. Ryan Baker kicked a 32-yard field early in the second quarter to put the Raiders on the scoreboard first. Then SOU took advantage of a Cameron Tucker fumbled punt on the Cougar 41-yard line by turning it into a Brandon Griffith to Bobby Poeltl 9-yard TD strike 4 plays later. Freshman Jeff Sands blocked the extra point, which at time seemed inconsequential but by the final quarter proved to be a difference maker, forcing SOU to go for a game-winning TD instead of a game-tying field goal on its last 2 possessions.

Azusa Pacific answered late in the half when Davis engineered a 12-play, 73-yard drive highlighted by his 2-yard TD toss to junior TE Ricky Burgan with 12 seconds remaining. Davis completed 6-of-8 passes on the drive for 52 yards and accounted for another 18 yards on a quarterback draw.

“Sean really had a good game,” added Shinnick. “He threw the ball well tonight, and is maturing as a quarterback. It was his arm and legs that kept us in the game.”

After stopping Azusa Pacific on its opening possession of the second half, Southern Oregon returned the favor of a fumbled punt return when senior long-snapper Mike Northcoate landed on Poeltl’s cough-up at the Cougar 48-yard line. Davis’s 32-yard screen to Burgan was enough of a gain for Betancourth, who gave Azusa Pacific the lead for good on a 33-yard field goal less than 5 minutes into the third quarter.

As it has all season, the Cougar defense was relentless in its attack on the opposing QB, and early in the fourth quarter freshman LB Clint Shamblin sacked Griffith and forced a fumble that junior LB Jacob Fisher returned to the Raider 13. That set-up a 30-yard Betancourth field goal, his seventh successful attempt in 8 tries this season.

“Betancourth made them when we needed them,” Shinnick added, “and he really banged them through. There was no doubt about them. He has been a great asset for us this year.”

The rest was up to the Cougar defense which met the challenge head on by not allowing the Raiders to go more than 28 yards on any of their 8 second-half possession. In fact, 3 times in the final 6 minutes, Southern Oregon got the ball at the 50-yard line or inside Cougar territory and yet mustered just a combined 10 yards of total offense over those 3 drives.

“It really became a game of field position,” said Shinnick. “They did a great job of keeping us at bay, but it was kind of interesting that after we took the lead in the third quarter, you just felt like Southern Oregon couldn’t score on us.”

The game could have drastically been different from the opening minutes. For the second straight week, Azusa Pacific forced a turnover inside its own 10-yard line when sophomore DB Mike Perez intercepted Griffithin the end zone on Southern’s second possession of the game.

Ironically, in Southern Oregon’s only other loss this season, the Raiders committed 5 turnovers in a setback at Humboldt State. Again tonight the Raiders had 5 ball-handling miscues, 2 of which Azusa Pacific turned into Betancourth field goals and another which prevented at least 3 Raider points if not 6.

Southern Oregon out-gained Azusa Pacific, 284 to 226. Otherwise, the 2 teams were nearly identical in every other statistical category save the Cougars’ 6-minute edge in time of possession.

The victory moves Azusa Pacific’s record to 4-0 and sets up next week’s showdown with top-ranked and 2-time defending national champion Carroll College of Helena, Mont., which makes its first-ever visit to Azusa on Saturday (Oct. 2) for a 6 p.m. game. The Saints bring with them the nation’s longest winning streak at 23 games.