The Snow College Badgers began the season ranked seventh in the nation and picked up its first victory of the 2011 football season over Mesa's Thunderbirds on Saturday night at John D. Riggs Stadium with a final score of 19-15. The Badgers are under the direction of first year head coach Tyler Hughes.

Snow was the first to put numbers on the board after quarterback Adam Eastman threw a 42-yard pass to Ronrei Lloyd. Jon Hess added the extra point for a 7-0 Badger lead.

Eastman would go on to successfully pass for 198 yards throughout the game while Lloyd would play a major role in the offense with 4 catches for 91 receiving yards.

Snow got back on the scoreboard with another touchdown to make it 13-0. On the following routine PAT attempt by the Badgers Mesa blocked the kick and returned it for two points making the score 13-2.

The T'Birds showed a strong defense, ultimately making three interceptions throughout the game putting a strain on the Badgers and not allowing Snow College into the endzone again.

“We struggled here and there with finishing,” said Hughes. “We definitely have some areas to work on, but it's the first game of the season and it's good to get a win.”

The Badgers defense came up big with critical repeated third down stops and momentum changing turn overs. Big plays such as John Johnson's two sacks and Matt Tanuvasa's 9 tackles and 7 assists, held the T'Birds to a total of 66 yards rushing. In the secondary, strong safety Jake Palmer would have 7 tackles, two of those for loss of yards and cornerback Zac Christian recorded an interception.

“Defensively I liked a lot of the things we were able to do,” said Hughes. “We gave up the one big pass play and late we played a little soft late in the game just taking advantage of the clock in our favor.”

After halftime the Badger offense would drive the ball down field but ultimately come up short with a couple of turnovers and missed third down opportunities. Kicker Jon Hess had a key role in the win by kicking two field goals putting a total of seven points on the board.

Late in the game Snow's defense showed little fatigue by stopping Mesa's offense time and time again but a couple of big plays and penalties put the Thunderbirds back in the game by scoring two touchdowns narrowing the final score to 15-19.