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SOU prepares for Rocky Mountain By KRIS HENRY Although most of the Southern Oregon players weren't alive in Elvis' time, it hasn't stopped them from adopting his motto. "Takin' care of business" was the swivel-hipped one's credo and it's exactly how the 10th-ranked Raiders have approached their run toward a berth in the NAIA playoffs. "That's certainly been the plan from Day 1," says SOU coach Jeff Olson. "We just want to take care of business each time out and take it one step at a time." SOU's next step comes 1 p.m. Saturday in the form of Rocky Mountain College from Billings, Mont. The Raiders (6-1) will be looking to send their seniors off with a bang and cap the team's second undefeated slate at Raider Stadium in three years. As one of the two remaining games in the regular season, Olson vows that his team will be ready for the Battlin' Bears (3-5) - and all playoff talk will be left to someone outside the Raider camp. "We can't afford to look ahead," says the sixth-year coach. "I don't even like to hear talk of the playoffs. Being in this position as an independent team, we don't have the luxury other teams have. Our approach is we have to win out and then we'll see what happens." Olson and crew have reason to be cautious. In 1999, a playoff berth appeared imminent thanks to a 7-1 start and resounding road win at defending national champion Azusa Pacific. But after a poor performance in a season-ending loss at Western Oregon, SOU was left on the outside looking in as the Raiders dropped 11 spots in the NAIA rankings. The numbers may be nearly the same, with SOU coming off a 64-21 spanking of Azusa, but the attitude is very different in 2001. "I learned my lesson the hard way a couple years ago," admits Olson. "I got my hopes up kind of high and got the rug pulled right out from under me. I don't want to go through that again." If the Raiders continue at their current clip, he may not have to. SOU is outscoring its opponents by a 45.6 to 18.3 margin and ranks fourth in the country with a 443.6 yards-per-game average. Everywhere you look in the SOU record book, it seems a top mark is being threatened thanks to the most balanced attack Raider fans have seen in quite a while. Be it the passing of senior quarterback Travis Mari, the running of sophomore sensation Dusty McGrorty or the playmaking skills of Leo Stoddard, SOU's offensive flow has been a touchdown waiting to happen. "We're not nearly as dependent on one person to carry the load for us as in years past," says Olson. SOU's high-octane attack will be asked to make an impact early Saturday. "I think the biggest thing we have to do is come out of the gate fast and establish the tempo right off the bat," he says. "We can't wait around and allow them to get in their flow." Rocky Mountain expects to counter with a sturdy defense that ranks 19th for stopping the run (118.6 ypg) and has held foes to only 232 total yards per outing. "They're certainly a very capable team," says Olson. "They do some things on offense that creates problems and defensively they like to put on pressure." Although the Bears' spread-option attack sounds imposing, it hasn't been this season. Rocky Mountain has mustered only 15 touchdowns in eight games. To put that into perspective, McGrorty alone has 19 TDs on the season - one shy of Griff Yates' school mark of 20 established in 1997 and '98. "Dusty is definitely healthy again and is emerging as one of the best running backs out there," says Olson. "He's so much more confident now and is much more aggressive." And that's just one reason the Raiders have teams all shook up. Reach reporter Kris Henry at 776-4488, or e-mail khenry@mailtribune.com |
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