(October 25, 2008)-- The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor football could not battle back from an early deficit as turnovers and crucial penalties derailed the comeback attempt in a 40-28 loss to Southern Oregon University Saturday afternoon in Ashland, Oregon. The loss drops the Cru, ranked 3rd in the nation in both major polls, to 6-1 on the season. The Raiders improve to 3-5 on the year with their second straight win.

Southern Oregon grabbed a 7-0 lead when J.C. Hunsaker hit Brandon Stout with a 24-yard touchdown pass with 2:28 remaining in the first quarter. The Cru answered with Josh Landrum's seven-yard TD run two minutes later to tie the game at seven. Hunsaker threw a nine-yard TD toss to Darryl Price with 8:52 left in the second to make it 14-7 and the Raiders stretched the lead to 21-7 when Josh Saenz fumbled in the end zone and Ben Baker pounced on it with 4:21 to play in the first half. The Cru stormed back with a pair of touchdown passes to tie the game at 21. Saenz hit Brian Scott with a 47-yard strike for the first score and then found Aerttrail Robinson with a 33-yard TD pass to even the game at 21 at halftime. Marlon Rosales scored on a two-yard run to early in the second half to take a 28-21 lead and pushed it to 34-21 on Hunsaker's 17-yard TD strike to Stout. The Cru pulled to within 34-28 when Derrick Williams scooped up a fumble and returned it 47 yards for a score. The Raiders added some insurance when Bryan Sconiers fell on a fumbled pitch in the Cru end zone to provide the final margin.

UMHB finished with 305 yards of total offense on just 55 offensive plays. Southern Oregon rolled up 324 yards on 79 plays with 174 of those coming on the ground. Saenz finished 12-24 passing for 213 yards and a pair of touchdowns, but he also threw his first three interceptions of the season. Robinson caught eight passes for 88 yards and a score and Landrum finished with 60 rushing yards on 15 carries. Rosales ran for 139 yards on 35 carries and Hunsaker finished 21-32 passing for 150 yards and three scores. The Cru turned the ball over five times, only held the ball for 21:59 of the game and committed 11 penalties for 115 yards as they continually shot themselves in the foot in the loss.

The Cru will now return to action with an American Southwest Conference showdown against East Texas Baptist University next Saturday. That game will kick off at 1:00 PM in Marshall. The Cru has a one-game lead over Hardin-Simmons University in the ASC standings.