“My mindset was no matter what, I’m getting into this end zone,” said Schofield, a wide receiver. “They lined up perfect for what we were running. I went outside and they all over pursued. I just took a foot, got up the field and dove into the end zone.”

The Yotes (7-1, 7-1 Frontier Conference) bounced back from their first loss of the season, suffered last week at Montana Western. With the win, College of Idaho remained alone in first place in the Frontier Conference. A win at Eastern Oregon will clinch at least a share of the conference title for the fourth straight season.

“This only helps us in the conference,” said quarterback Andy Peters, who shook off three first half interceptions and passed for 199 yards. “This is really good for our guys, now we got to keep our head down and keep winning.”

Peters led the Yotes on a game-winning drive in the final minute for the second time in three games. On Oct. 8, he led a nine-play, 77-yard drive capped by a 22-yard Hunter Gilbert touchdown run with 17 seconds left to beat Montana Tech 27-24.

This drive went 14 plays for 80 yards.

“You got to love this atmosphere, it’s why we play,” said Peters, a transfer from Boise State. “It’s why we play that game, to get that rush and get that feeling of being alive.”

If having to go 80 yards with under three minutes left wasn’t enough, the Yotes had been struggling offensively since the second quarter. Allamar Alexander had a 57-yard touchdown run on the Yotes’ opening drive and Brock Richardson caught a 40-yard score from Peters early in the second, but after that, the C of I offense had trouble moving the ball.

Peters had two late interceptions that led to a pair of Southern Oregon touchdowns in the final two minutes of the first half to take a 21-14 lead, and the Yotes had just one first down in the second half prior to the final drive.

“We always say it before every drive, it’s the power of belief,” said Peters. “Yeah, we got got a couple times, and their defense was paying really hard. I give credit to their defense, they really knew what they were doing. It just came down the last two minutes, who’s clutch, and it was us today.”

Peters started that final drive with an 11-yard pass to Richardson and was 8 of 11 for 45 yards on the drive.

“Andy was fantastic, because my whole goal was to stay composed,” said College of Idaho coach Mike Moroski. “Everything in the universe is telling you to be nervous, rush around, but that’s from the fans’ perspective, the coaches’ perspective and the media’s perspective. Sometimes when you’re out there, and I think Andy showed that, you’re in your element and you know what to do.”

While the offense was going through its struggles, the defense was holding its own after giving up a season-high 558 yards of total offense in the loss to Montana Western. The Raiders (3-5, 3-5) gained 328 yards of total offense against the Yotes, but the College of Idaho also forced three turnovers, including an interception by Jacob Arms that was returned 57 yards for a touchdown, tying the game at 21-21 in the third quarter.

“The big play of the game was the Pick-6,” said Moroski. “That got us back even-steven when it was tough sledding on offense.”

And in the second half, the only points they allowed was a 30-yard field goal with 3:03 left, which gave Southern Oregon a 24-21 lead, setting up the final drive.

“It was a kick in the face,” Arms said about last week’s performance. “We went into the week knowing that’s not who we are. We had to reevaluate how we practice, we had to reevaluate how we play. We made a couple of changes and tweaks on the defense and it showed.”

Keegan Croteau led the Yotes defense with nine tackles, while Arms had eight. Hayden Dondero had an interception and Bridger Marboe picked up a fumble that was forced by Dylan Martinez.

Alexander finished with 71 rushing yards and Richardson had 85 yards on eight receptions.