Box Score EPHRAIM – Snow College claimed third place on Saturday afternoon with a 49-21 win over Glendale Community College (Ariz.) in the Western States Football League championship tournament. The game was played in the Round Valley Ensphere Dome in Eager, Ariz., and was followed immediately by the league championship game in which eighth- ranked Western Arizona soundly defeated the defending WSFL champion No. 4 ranked Scottsdale, 52-27.
The Badgers rebounded from a heartbreaking 43-42 loss the week before at Scottsdale in the championship semifinal round. "I was really proud on how we played after such a disappointing loss the previous week," said Snow head coach Britt Maughan. "Offensively, we continued to be physically tough and ran the ball really well."
Snow, ranked at No. 11, jumped to a 28-7 lead at halftime and the game was never in doubt in the second half. Sophomore quarterback
Alex Kuresa threw for 261 yards and four touchdowns for the Badgers in the win. "Our quarterback, Alex (Kuresa), is a big play waiting to happen and it's fun to watch," Maughan said. Back-up
Thomas Jewell had 22 yards passing in the second half after the game had been salted away by the Badgers.
Wide receiver Conner McGuire made a sparkling diving catch in the end zone for a 41-yard TD in the first half, and tight end
Tui Satuala had touchdown receptions of five and 18 yards for Snow. Tight end
Dalton Fackrell had Snow's first score of the game, a three-yard pass from Kuresa that gave the Badgers their first lead of the game on the first play of the second quarter.
Snow had eight different receivers catch passes, with McGuire leading the corps with four receptions for 80 yards and a touchdown.
Jake Trujillo grabbed three receptions for 51 yards, while Satuala, Fackrell,
Jeff Ginolfi and Arlonzo Simpson each had two.
Chris Copier teamed up with Jewell for a 22-yard reception late in the game as Snow was trying to maintain control to run out the clock.
Kuresa added 128 yards on 15 carries with Stephen Shepherd, Darrell Millburn and
Reupena-James Moors sharing time in the backfield as the Badgers ground out 263 yards on 40 running plays for an average of more than 6.5 yards per carry. Darrell Millburn and Stephen Shepherd were workhorses -- Millburn picking up 46 yards on nine carries and Shepherd rushing for 35 yards on nine carries including a one-yard run to tie the game at seven after Glendale had scored on its first possession in the first quarter. "We struggled on the first drive but rebounded and played some aggressive football down the stretch," Maughan said.
"Defensively, we had some injuries and missed a few key players," Maughan said. "
Eric Takenaka, arguably our best all-around player was out, and a couple other key defensive players saw limited action." Still, Snow maintained its position as the tenth stingiest defense nationally against the run with an average of 93.1 yards allowed per game. Individually, even though he missed Saturday's game, Takenaka is still tied for the national lead with eight interceptions, and is second on the Snow squad in number of tackles and leads the team in all-purpose yards (rushing, receiving and returns).
Snow stands at 8-2 with both losses coming against Scottsdale by a total of seven points including a 43-42 heartbreaker in last week's semifinal game. The Badgers must now wait to see if they will receive a bowl bid as only seven bowl games will be played this year in the National Junior Collegiate Athletic Association, down from 10 that were played last year. Bowl bids will be extended in the morning on Tuesday (Nov. 11).
