EPHRAIM—Optimism is rampant as a new football season dawns in the smallest college town in Utah. The Badgers finished last year third in the nation, and the new season's poll has Snow College up a spot, ranked No. 2 nationally.
The Badgers will find out quickly whether or not the pollsters' confidence in them is well founded. This Saturday they open a season for the 90th time in their history as the go on the road to face No. 20 Glendale, opening with a conference game for the first time since 2003. (Snow College first played football in 1920, but did not play in 1938 or the war years of 1943-45. Snow opened the 2003 campaign against Pima College.)
On Aug. 31, Snow's home opener will feature Georgia Military (GMC) in the Badgers' only non-conference game of the year. The Badgers then travel to Scottsdale in the third week of the season. GMC, the only team to beat last year's 11-1 Badgers, is ranked 22nd. Snow and GMC have played each other early during the last four seasons with the home team winning each time. At the end of their nine-game regular season, the Badgers will join the rest of the Western States Football League (WSFL) in a first-ever post-season playoff.
"I look at the first three games as a huge test," says first-year head coach Britt Maughan. "Scottsdale beat us the last time we played at their place, and Glendale is the last WSFL team to win the national championship." Glendale won the last three national titles for the WSFL, taking the crown in 2005, 2000 and 1988. Snow won its only national title in the first year of the WSFL (1985). Mesa (1973 and 1975), Arizona Western (1972) and Phoenix College (1964) won national championships when most of today's WSFL teams played in the now defunct Intermountain Collegiate Athletic Conference. Former Snow rivals Dixie and Ricks never won titles while they were in the junior college ranks.
Maughan likes his team's "go to work type of attitude." He says something he has observed about this year's team is that "the players are here with purpose. We don't have a lot of guys who don't know why they are here." He thinks that the real strength of the team starts with the lines. "The O and D lines are as talented as they have ever been," Maughan says. Even though last year's starters on the defensive line will be playing this fall at Oklahoma State, Oregon State, Hawaii and Dixie State, Maughan says that with the returnees and an outstanding incoming group, this year's Badger front will have a lot of depth.
Maughan is looking for what he calls "that dynamic guy. Do we have that Ofa Hautau who will rise to a new level and bring everyone else with him?" Last year Hautau, who is now at Oklahoma State, put up good enough numbers, even though he was double-teamed on virtually every play, that he was the unanimous selection as WSFL Defensive Player of the Year.
Offensively, Kalama Molisi (575 yards, 5 TD) and Jeffie Johnson (242 yards, 3 TD) return at running back. Both got significant carries last year even though they were playing behind All-American Breon Allen who became the first Badger ever to lead the nation in rushing. This year, joining Molisi and Johnson in the backfield will be freshman Marcus Dixon who is following Allen's footsteps to Snow after breaking the star's rushing records at Warner Christian High School in South Daytona Beach, Fla. Dixon rushed for career school records of 6,107 yards and 110 TD's at Warner Christian.
The starting quarterback position is still a battle with Crosby Jensen and Ryan Rosenvall pushing each other for the starting nod. Jensen, a 2010 Cottonwood HS graduate who is returning from a Mormon mission, is a strong down field thrower, and Rosenvall is a play-maker with a lot of running ability. Rosenvall led Alta HS to a 5A state championship in 2007 and had an offer to play at Middle Tennessee State after playing his freshman year at West LA Community College in California. There he was first team All-Pacific Conference in 2008, but when Rosenvall also chose to go on a mission, Middle Tennessee pulled his scholarship.
Coaches Mike Meifu and Clay Bayard both return as run game and passing game coordinators. They will be co-offensive coordinators. Taking over the head coaching position from Tyler Hughes who left to pursue an advanced degree at Ohio State, Maughan will also retain his role as defensive coordinator, a position he held for the past two years. Maughan says that the Badgers will have a new defensive mindset, but he says "there will be some new twists on offense I don't want to go into, but I think the fans are going to really enjoy."
The first year head coach has great respect for Snow football history. "When kids come here, they understand Snow's tradition," Maughan says. "They know they will act a certain way, do certain things, respect what is here and know what sacrifices are going to be required of them."
Maughan is focused for now on the opening weeks and is hoping for a huge home crowd when they host Georgia Military on August 31. "Georgia Military is our only home game in the first four weeks," Maughan says. "It is our only non-conference game this year, but it may have big national implications." He went on to say he thinks many fans underestimate how important it is for a team to have a home crowd pulling for them. "Snow has a tradition of being a tough place for opponents to come play," Maughan says, "And we need the advantage our crowd gives us." Following road games at Scottsdale and Pima in weeks 3 and 4, Snow will host Mesa and New Mexico Military on Sept. 21 and 28.
