Box Score On the final regular season game before the playoffs, the #8 ranked Snow College Badgers secured home-field advantage and the leading spot in the WSFL outright with their 48-27 win over the Pima Community College Aztecs.  After going into halftime down 3 at 10-13, the Badgers came out of the locker room fired up and put 28 unanswered points on the board in the 3^rd quarter to erase all question marks around their place in the playoff picture.
 
"Home field advantage is a big deal," says Head Coach Britt Maughan in his post game interview with Mike Traina. "We are going to get the best from the teams we play and that is the way we want it.  We want to be able to win great games in front of our fans."
 
Snow's defense proved to be the difference as they accounted for 21 of the Badgers'48 points.  The momentum changing play came on the 3^rd play of the 3^rd quarter when DL Handsome Tanielu forced a fumble on Pima's QB that was picked up by DB Jantz Arbon on the 25 yard line.  Arbon channeled his inner Barry Sanders, juking left and right, making multiple Aztecs miss and forcing his way into the endzone to give the Badgers a 17-13 lead on one of the most exciting plays of the day.  "Jantz is one of those guys I can put at any position and he is going to find a way to do his job," says Coach Maughan.  "I thought he was tackled and started to call the offense, and he just kept finding a way to get in the endzone."
 
The Badgers' only touchdown in a very physical first half came on an 81 yard bomb from QB Stefan Cantwell that hit WR Jonah Trinnaman in stride as he peeled away from the defense and sprinted into the endzone untouched with 3:32 remaining in the 1^st quarter for a 7-3 lead.
 
The Aztecs were able to hit a pair of field goals and picked up a late touchdown on a 30 yard pass to take a 3 point lead with 12 seconds remaining in the half.
 
Jantz Arbon's spectacular play on defense opened the 2^nd half scoring account and the offense would follow suit with a touchdown on each of their next two drives.  Stephen Shepard scored a 1 yard rushing touchdown to cap a 52 yard drive on Snow's first attempt of the 3^rd quarter.  The Badgers drove 85 yards on 6 plays on their next outing as Cantwell connected with WR Tamalii Campbell on a 20 yard touchdown pass to give Snow the 31-13 lead.
 
Snow's defense added to the lead when Pima QB, Donovan Moore, threw a pass to the sideline that Snow LB Tamiela Tuuhetaufa intercepted as he tipped the ball to himself and ran 33 yards into the endzone for a 38-13 lead.
 
Pima mounted a late comeback, scoring 2 touchdowns in 1 minute after a successful onside kick attempt, but Snow's defense put the game away when DB Parker Preator got the Badger's 4^th interception of the game and returned it 47 yards down the sideline for a touchdown to secure the 48-27 victory.
 
Snow was outpaced by Pima's offense on the stat sheet with 392 total yards to Pima's 410.  RB Josh Labrador led Snow in rushing with 81 of the Badgers' 199 yards on the ground, while WR Jonah Trinnaman had 98 yards on 2 catches to account for more than half of the Badgers' 193 total passing yards.
 
Snow will host the 1^st round of the playoffs as they will take on the 4^th place team in the WSFL at noon in Ephraim on Saturday, October 31^st.