OPENING KICKOFF:  Coming off a shutout loss for the first time in over a decade, Snow College turns its attention to Garden City Community College for homecoming.
 
Saturday's homecoming game marks a turning point in the Badgers schedule for the rest of the season.  After playing four of their first six games against ranked opponents, Snow College has only one game against a ranked opponent in their final five games.  
 
Additionally, Trinity Valley Community College was not ranked at the time of the game, the Cardinals have since entered the rankings at No. 14.  GCCC is not currently ranked, but they were amongst the teams receiving votes in the latest NJCAA Division I Football Poll.
 
After the 26-0 defeat at the hands of Iowa Western Community College, the Badgers dropped to No. 9 in the rankings.  This is the lowest the Badgers have been in the rankings since they were ranked 10^th after their defeat against New Mexico Military Institute. 

The Homecoming events will begin Friday, October 14 at 6:00 p.m. with the Athletics Hall of Fame Ceremony where Richard Peterson and Keith Uperesa will be honored.  On Saturday, the events will kick off at 9:00 a.m. with the Chalk It Up event.  The parade will follow at 10:30 a.m. with the tailgate party beginning at 11:00 a.m.  The football game will kick off at 1 p.m. inside Terry Foote Stadium.  For additional information, visit snowbadgers.com.
 
The matchup will take place inside Terry Foote Stadium in Ephraim with first kick slated for 1:00 p.m.
 
TURNING THE PAGE:  The Badgers are happy to turn the page after suffering a 26-0 defeat against the Reivers in which they turned the ball over seven times and had a muffed punt.  IWCC scored 20 of their 26 points off Badger turnovers.
 
The Badgers have turned the ball over 12 times in their last two games after having five giveaways against Georgia Military College the week prior.  In all, the Badgers are committing 3.8 turnovers per game and have not had a game this season in which they didn't turn the ball over.
 
Saturday's loss also marked the lowest rushing total the Badgers have had all season.  Leading up to the game, the Badgers were averaging 235.6 yard per game on the ground.  They managed just 49 rushing yards against the Reivers front who came into the gave giving up less that 40 yards per game rushing.  
 
The Reivers were the nation's number one defense and entered the game allowing just 137.8 yards of total offense per game.  It was the stout defense that gave the Badgers problems moving the ball throughout the entire game.
 
KNOW YOUR FOE: GCCC currently holds a record of 3-3 with victories over Highland Community College (14-6), Dodge City Community College (40-7), and Independence Community College (17-7).  The Broncbusters finished last season with an 8-3 overall record and a 5-2 mark within the Kansas Jayhawks Community College Conference.  They were defeated by Hutchinson Community College in the KJCCC championship game.
 
The last time the Badgers faced GCCC was August 24, 2019. Ranked No. 6 at the time, Snow College got the better of the then No. 3 Broncbusters 30-27 in Garden City, Kansas on a last second field goal.  
 
GCCC enters Saturday's game averaging 22.2 points per game on 322.7 yard of total offense per game. Defensively, the Broncbusters are allowing 23 points per game on 264.2 yards per game.  After losing the first three games of the season allowing 39.3 points per game, they have won their last three allowing just 6.7 points per game.
 
LAST TIME OUT: The Snow College football team suffered a 26-0 defeat at the hands of Iowa Western Community College Saturday in Council Bluffs.  It is the first time the Badgers have been shut out in over a decade.
 
Things started out promising for the Badgers as they forced and recovered a fumble on the Reivers opening drive.  The ensuing drive quickly soured, however, as Snow College's Daisean Cash threw an interception on the second play to give the ball right back to IWCC.
 
The Badgers and Reivers exchanged punts for the rest of the opening quarter and into the second quarter until IWCC broke the scoreless tie with a field goal midway through the period.  The Reivers would add another field goal a few minutes later and would take the 6-0 lead into halftime.
 
The Badgers struggled to move the ball effectively in the first half and throughout the game.  They managed just 87 yards of total offense in the first half.  Most of those yards came on a 49-yard drive that resulted in a 23-yard field goal attempt being blocked by the Reivers. 
 
The second half was one the Badgers would like to forget.  They turned the ball over on six of their seven possessions and had a muffed punt that was recovered by the Reivers.  Snow College threw four interceptions and turned the ball over on downs twice.  The only drive that didn't result in a turnover ended in a punt after losing one yard on three plays.
 
IWCC would tack onto the lead as a result of the muffed punt with a field goal six minutes into the third quarter.  The Reivers capitalized on an interception on their next drive and found the end zone for the first time and took a 16-0 lead late in the third quarter.  
 
They would add another field goal to start the fourth quarter and finish off the scoring with an interception that was returned for a touchdown with under six minutes to play to seal the victory.
 
IWCC doubled the Badgers in first downs – 22-11 – and nearly tripled them in rushing yards – 139-49.  The Badgers totaled 201 yards of total offense.  Defensively, they limited the Reivers to 323 yards of offense, but the seven turnovers and the muffed punt were too much to overcome, and the Badgers suffered their second loss of the season 26-0.
 
Cash led the charge for the Badgers going 6-16 for 140 yards and two interceptions.  Carsen Manookin gained 44 yards rushing and caught one pass for 60 yards.  Duece Roberson totaled 43 yards receiving for the Badgers.
 
Sitting at 4-2 overall, the Badgers will play three of their final five games at home beginning with their homecoming game against Garden City Community College.
 
COACHING STAFF: Zac Erekson (Brigham Young University, 2007: 34-19 overall record) is entering his third season at Snow College (19-4), second as the head football coach and his 13th year overall in coaching. In Erekson's first season as Head Football Coach he led the Badgers to an 8-0 regular season finish and a trip to the National Championship game. Prior to coming to Snow College, Erekson served as the athletics director and head coach at Skyline High School in Salt Lake City. Before his tenure at Skyline, Erekson coached high school football throughout Texas for 8 years. Erekson coached at 5A Abilene Cooper in Abilene, TX where his team went 12-2 in 2011.
Erekson is joined on the sidelines by Defensive Coordinator Jordan Pulou (Missouri S&T; 1st season), Special Teams and Wide Receivers coach James Dye (Brigham Young University; 1st season), Defensive Backs coach Dustin Pressley (Arkansas Monticello; 1st season), Offensive Line coach Trever McFalls (Southern Utah University; 1st season), Running Backs coach Ryan You (Arizona State; 4th season), Defensive Line coach Kyle Murray (Dixie State; 1st season), and Linbackers coach Devon McKinney (Louisiana Tech; 1st season).

BREAKING DOWN THE SCHEDULE: Snow College will play a total of 11 games this season including six home games and five road games.  The Badgers will play host to Trinity Valley Community College (8/25; 7 p.m.), Gila River Community College (9/17; 7 p.m.), Georgia Military College (10/1; 1 p.m.), Garden City Community College (10/15; 1 p.m.), Community Christian (Detroit) (10/29; 7 p.m.), and Monroe College (11/12; 12 p.m.), while playing road games against New Mexico Military Institute (9/3; 4 p.m.), Butler Community College (9/10; 1:30 p.m.), Iowa Western Community College (10/8; 12 p.m.), Us Air Force Academy Preparatory School (10/21; 1 p.m.), and Lackawanna College (11/19; 11 a.m.).
The Badgers biggest test came against No. 1 New Mexico Military Institute.  The Badgers suffered a 38-7 loss.  Snow College also faced off against No. 3 Iowa Western Community College, both of which were in the NJCAA national title game last season. The reigning national champion New Mexico Military Institute Broncos finished the season 12-1 and culminated the season defeating IWCC 31-13 in the National Title game.  IWCC defeated Snow College in last year's semi-final game 30-29 in overtime and finished the season 10-1 with its lone loss coming at the hands of the Broncos. 

Snow College will also face two other opponents currently ranked inside the NJCAA DI top 15 and another who recently fell out of the top 15 but received votes in the lates poll.  In addition to facing No 1. NMMI, and No. 2 IWCC, and No. 10 GMC, the Badgers will also take on No. 13 Lackawanna College November 19.  The Badger will also take on Monroe College, who boasted a preseason ranking of 13.  As mentioned earlier, TVCC was not ranked during their meeting, but now sit at No. 14 in the current rankings.

UP NEXT:  The Badgers will head back out onto the road to take on the US Air Force Academy Preparatory School.  The game is scheduled to start at 1:00 p.m. at the Husky Football Field in Colorado.