Box Score EPHRAIM, Utah — Snow College safety Eric Takenaka was named today as the Defensive Player of the Week by the National Junior Collegiate Athletic Association for his performance last Saturday in the Badgers' 24-7 win over Arizona Western College (Yuma, Ariz.). Takenaka is a sophomore from West High School in Salt Lake City who was named the Defensive Player of the Week by the Western States Football League (WSFL) earlier in the week. In Saturday's game, Snow scored 17 points in three consecutive possessions which spanned the third and fourth quarters to put the game away after being tied 7-7 at halftime. Snow held Arizona Western to only seven points after the Matadors had scored 45 and 49 in their first two weeks of the season.Â
Takenaka was a big reason for the Badgers' defensive prowess, picking off two passes and returning one of them for 33 yards which led to a fourth quarter touchdown. He also led the Badgers with eight tackles in the game, five of them solo. An all-around athlete, Takenaka also helped out the offense on a couple plays, rushing one time for 16 yards and catching one pass for 18 yards.
"Eric is our most complete player and arguably our best player," said Snow head coach Britt Maughan. Takenaka also returns kickoffs and punts for the Badgers and leads the nation with an average of 49.7 yards per kickoff return. He is tied with two other players for the national lead in total interceptions with four. With his return yardage and occasional plays on offense, Takenaka leads the Badgers in all-purpose yards on the season.
Snow College sits atop the WSFL standings this season at 2-0 and is ranked No. 8 this week in the NJCAA poll, climbing four spots with Saturday's win. Arizona Western (2-1) dropped five spots in this week's poll from No. 10 to No. 15.
