LA GRANDE — Eastern Oregon knew what to expect Saturday afternoon but still couldn’t stop the Southern Oregon train from rolling through town in the season finale for both football programs.

Behind the running of senior tailback Dusty McGrorty and the blocking of offensive linemen Todd Wesolowski, T.J. Woodley, Jason Woody, Aaron Hayman and Marc Garcia, the Raiders steamrolled past the Mountaineers 35-12 to clinch their fifth straight winning season.

McGrorty rushed a school-record 46 times for 303 yards and four touchdowns to set an NAIA record for career rushing TDs at 75. The All-American from Warrenton also capped his standout run with the Raiders ranked No. 4 overall in NAIA history with 5,414 career yards rushing on 983 carries. He’s No. 2 on the NAIA’s all-time list in touchdowns (79) and points (474), moving past former Jackson State running back Walter Payton (464).

"This kid is the complete deal," eighth-year SOU head coach Jeff Olson said of McGrorty, who also had a 70-yard touchdown run called back in the second half. "Work ethic, attitude, desire ... he just refuses to lose and he sets the mind-set for the rest of the players."

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McGrorty and company helped get SOU (5-4) off to a fast start Saturday en route to its fourth straight win, capping a five-play, 65-yard opening drive with a 22-yard scoring scamper by McGrorty.

After a three-and-out series by the Mountaineers (4-6), the Raiders jumped back on board the McGrorty express for another score, this one a 2-yard effort by McGrorty after he rushed for 65 yards on the seven-play, 75-yard drive.

The 14-0, first-quarter lead proved pivotal to SOU, which was hoping to offset inexperience at the quarterback and receiver slots due to suspensions with a steady ground game.

"It was so important to come out fast and get up fast to develop some confidence," said Olson.

After Eastern Oregon cut its deficit to 14-6 on a 5-yard scoring run by Ryan Teicheira, SOU answered with two more McGrorty TDs, of 3 and 9 yards, to make it 28-6 with 4:50 to go in the half.

The Mountaineers managed a 10-yard scoring run by Damien Johnson to make it 28-12 1½ minutes later, only to watch helplessly as SOU marched 64 yards in 10 plays for an equalizer. Brandon Griffith capped the near three-minute drive with a 4-yard scoring pass to Jared Leeper with 28 seconds to go until halftime.

The Raiders’ 35-12 lead held up in a scoreless second half thanks to a sturdy effort by SOU’s defense, which was the most decimated by this week’s suspensions but limited the Mountaineers to 337 total yards. SOU countered with 517 total yards of offense.

"We started 11 underclassmen on defense and they all played their hearts out," said Olson. "I’m very proud of these kids."

David Zauher led the Raiders with 10 tackles, while Kellan Quick had eight and Toby Walker and Mario Vital each adding six. Nick Coursolle came up with an interception in his first start of the season, while Francis Sesepasara notched 1½ sacks as he and Willis Cooley shared one against Eastern Oregon quarterback Scott Jensen.

The overall effort through all this week’s turmoil proved further testament to SOU’s ability to battle through adversity.

"Once we got down at 1-4," Olson said in recapping the season, "we knew our playoff chances were done and we could’ve folded our tents, but instead we went out and ran the table. It’s just a testament to the kids to not give up."

At Community Stadium

Southern Oregon 14 21 0 0 —35

Eastern Oregon 0 12 0 0 —12

SOU — McGrorty 22 run (Baker kick)

SOU — McGrorty 2 run (Baker kick)

EOU — Teicheira 5 run (kick failed)

SOU — McGrorty 3 run (Baker kick)

SOU — McGrorty 9 run (Baker kick)

EOU — Johnson 10 run (pass failed)

SOU — Leeper 4 pass from Griffith (Baker kick)

TEAM STATISTICS

SOU EOU

First Downs 25 16

Rushes-yards 59-324 31-131

Passing yards 193 206

Comp-Att-Int 13-21-1 13-39-1

Total yards 517 337

Punts 6-39.2 7-39.6

Fumbles-lost 4-1 0-0

Penalties-yards 13-110 6-44

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING

Southern Oregon — McGrorty 46-303, Stout 7-24, Despotakis 1-10, Griffith 2-3, Johnston 1-(-1).

Eastern Oregon — Johnson 14-98, Caldwell 10-20, Persche 1-11, Teicheira 1-5, McIntosh 1-2, Jensen 4-(-5).

PASSING

Southern Oregon — Despotakis 4-8-1 56. Griffith 9-13-0 137.

Eastern Oregon — Hazel 1-7-0 16, Jensen 11-31-1 173, Johnson 1-1-0 17.

RECEIVING

Southern Oregon — Leeper 4-53, Stout 3-49, Poeltl 3-25, Hill 2-45, McGrorty 1-21.

Eastern Oregon — Hamlin 6-84, Johnson 1-57, Caldwell 1-19, Jensen 1-17, Dickerson 1-16, McIntosh 1-7, Killgore 1-7, Alsterlund 1-(-1).