LA GRANDE – Southern Oregon broke open a seven-point game in the fourth quarter to down Eastern Oregon 41-24 at Community Stadium on Saturday.

Leading 24-17 at halftime, Southern Oregon scored three straight touchdowns to open the fourth. It began with an Avery McCuaig 1-yard touchdown run followed by a Blake Asciutto 44-yard pass to Sawyer Cleveland to make it 38-17 with 10 minutes left in the game. Brian Batres would add a 42-yard field goal.

EOU’s Malachi Spurrier hauled in a 92-yard pass from Luke Ross with 53 seconds left in the game to reach the final score.

The Mountaineers opened the scoring in the game when Andre Martinez ripped off a 90-yard touchdown run on the first play of the drive. After Southern Oregon tied the score, Ethan Cutler hit a 43-yard field goal to give EOU a 10-7 lead.

SOU would take a 14-10 lead in the second quarter, but EOU’s final score of the first half came on a Waylon Riedel to make it 17-14.

The Mountaineers passed for 226 yards with Ross accounting for 127 yards. Spurrier had eight receptions for 119 yards and the score. Josh Mendoza led the EOU defense with 16 tackles and Henry Diaz added 11.

Southern Oregon’s Asciutto threw for 238 yards and four touchdowns.

Eastern Oregon is now 2-6 in Frontier Conference play and 2-8 overall. It closes out the regular season at Montana Western on Nov. 11.