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Tuesday, March 19, 2024
March 19, 2024

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Clark County trio lead Southern Oregon to NAIA title game

By , Columbian Sports Editor
Published:

NAIA championship game: Southern Oregon vs. Marian, noon, Friday, ESPNU (Comcast Ch. 411).

It’s fitting that Austin Dodge will play his final college football game near Daytona International Speedway.

Dodge has spent the past four years steering a Southern Oregon offense that is football’s version of a race car.

Now the Skyview High School graduate and two other starters from Clark County are on the ultimate cross-country road trip.

Southern Oregon will play in the NAIA championship game in Daytona Beach, Fla. The Raiders will face Marian University of Indianapolis on Friday.

Southern Oregon’s offense operates as fast as referees will allow, usually running a play every 20 seconds. Dodge might be the driver, but linemen Max Proudfit and Dylan Bratlie are pistons in the engine.

“Those guys are incredible,” Dodge said. “There are not a lot of guys at 300 pounds who can run with this offense and be able to do what we do.”

Proudfit, a junior from Union, starts at left guard. He saw up close the effect Southern Oregon’s tempo has on opponents.

“The first game I played, the defensive linemen were puking by the second half,” he said of the 2012 season opener against Montana Western. “It took a while to adjust. But everything we do in practice is up-tempo. Even when we lift, there are no breaks.”

That tempo allowed Dodge to blaze through the NAIA record book this season. Dodge’s 16,821 career passing yards are 3,433 more than Ohio Dominican’s Chris Reisert, whose record had stood since 2007. His 151 touchdown passes are 31 more than Reisert’s old record.

Bratlie, a junior from Skyview, starts at right guard. He said Dodge lets the linemen know that his individual records belong to the team.

“The offensive linemen definitely take a ton of pride in our craft,” Bratlie said. “None of Austin’s records would be possible if we didn’t block for him.”

Dodge shows his appreciation by taking the linemen to dinner at The Olive Garden or cooking meals at his apartment.

“As linemen, we’re never in the papers,” Proudfit said. “We don’t get to score touchdowns. So when Austin does good, we feel good. At the same time, when one of us makes a mistake, he’s the first one to pick our head up. And when he throws an interception, we let him know we’ve got his back.”

Road Raiders

Southern Oregon’s journey to Daytona has been anything but a lazy Sunday drive. By the time the Raiders return to Ashland, they will have covered about 9,800 miles since the playoffs began.

After a first-round win at home, the No. 8-ranked Raiders traveled to Helena, Mont., to face top-ranked Carroll College. Southern Oregon won 45-42 on a day when snow fell steadily and the gametime temperature was minus-4.

One week later, Dodge threw for 460 yards and five touchdowns in a 62-37 semifinal win over No. 3 Saint Xavier in Chicago.

The Raiders arrived in Daytona Beach on Monday. Between then and Friday’s game, players will visit local high schools to tout NAIA athletics, tour the Daytona speedway and take part in official banquets and functions.

“There are a lot of distractions,” Dodge said. “The team that handles the distractions the best will be the one that wins. There’s the beach, of course. But for us, this is a business trip.”

The game itself will be the first time two teams not ranked in the top three will play for the NAIA title. No. 8 Southern Oregon (12-2) will face a No. 7-ranked Marian team that is 11-2 and has won nine straight games.

Dodge said he’s a bit nervous but mostly excited to play on national television for the first time. He said a win Friday would be the crowning achievement of his record-setting career.

NAIA championship game: Southern Oregon vs. Marian, noon, Friday, ESPNU (Comcast Ch. 411).

“To win a national title would be so much better than the individual records,” he said. “That’s because it reflects all the hard work by everyone on this team and the coaching staff. … We will never be able to bring back this experience again. We’ll never play with this exact group of guys again.”

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