ASHLAND—A season removed from a disappointing 6-4 showing, marred by inconsistency on the offensive side of the ball, the Southern Oregon football team took the first step on Friday in proving that 2019 will be a different story.

Quarterback Wyatt Hutchinson and his star-studded cast of wide receivers connected on a flurry of deep balls, leading the offense to a 36-16 win over the defense in SOU’s Spring Game.

"That is our strength and we're going to play to our strength,” head coach Charlie Hall said. “With the receiving corps we have and Wyatt getting more confident and getting the ball down the field accurately, that's something that people are going to have to take away.”

Hutchinson found senior Jordan Suell for a long touchdown on the opening play of the game, and that was immediately followed by Chase Knutz hitting Bryce Goggin in stride on the ensuing play.

Hall thinks it’s a sign of things to come once the season starts in August.

“If you know Ken Fasnacht, if you don't take that away, then we're going to keep throwing that ball up there until you take it away,” he said. “It's a little reminiscent of the years before I was here where we put up those big numbers, those gaudy numbers on offense. We do have the potential to do that with the type of receiving corps that we have right now and Wyatt playing as well as he is."

Friday’s Spring Game marks the end of organized team activity until the start of fall camp in August.