OPENING KICKOFF: Coming off a convincing 41-18 victory over No. 10 Georgia Military College, the Snow College Badgers football team will now turn its attention to No. 3 Iowa Western Community College.
The Badgers enter the matchup as the nation's No. 2 offense averaging 43.8 points per game trailing only Iowa Central Community College by 0.4 ppg. Conversely, the Reivers pace the country in defense allowing just 5.6 points per game. GMC held this distinction prior to its game against Snow College, but with the Badgers 41 points, the Bulldogs now fall the 3rd in the category.
Saturday's game will be the Badger's third game of their previous four against a ranked opponent. It will also be the third game the Badgers have played against another team inside the top 10.
Head Coach Zac Erekson is 5-4 against ranked opponents in his tenure at the helm at Snow College. Snow College defeated Trinity Valley Community College in the first game of the season. The Cardinals weren't ranked at the time but have recently vaulted into the top 15 and are currently ranked 14th in the NJCAA Division I Football Rankings.
The top-10 matchup will take place inside Titan Stadium in Council Bluffs, IA with kickoff scheduled for 12 p.m. MST. The game can be heard on KMTI 650 AM. For live stats, visit snowbadgers.com.
REMEMBER ME? Saturday's game will serve as a rematch of last year's NJCAA Division I Semi-Final game in which the Reivers claimed a 30-29 overtime win to clinch a berth into the national title game.
In that game, Snow College tied it with 9:01 to play but the would-be go-ahead PAT was blocked, and the game remained 23 apiece. Snow College got the final possession of the game and completed a pass that set them up inside the red zone that was called back on a holding penalty.
In overtime, the Reivers scored on the first play and took a 30-23 lead. Snow College answered with a touchdown and elected to go for two and the win, but the attempt came up short and put IWCC into the National Championship.
The semi-final game was the second matchup between the two teams last season. The Badgers and the Reivers faced off October 9 in a game that saw IWCC win 17-14. Snow College had a chance to win this game late as well but threw an interception near the goal line to seal the game.
The Badgers have lost four out of its last five matchups against IWCC. Their only win came in a 31-30 victory March 27, 2021, in Council Bluffs. All five games have all been within one score except for a 54-13 loss October 19, 2019.
IWCC enters Saturday's matchup as the No. 3 team in the country and with an unblemished 5-0 record. The Reivers have defeated Dodge City Community College (46-0), Garden City Community College (43-13), Highland Community College (24-7), Ellsworth Community College (52-0), and Independence Community College (17-8).
Having allowed just 28 points defensively, IWCC boasts the nation's top defense allowing just 5.6 points per game. The Reivers are also allowing the fewest total yards per game at just 137.8. They also have 21 sacks on the season which is good enough for third place in the country.
IWCC finished last season as the NJCAA runner up after losing to New Mexico Military Institute 31-13. The loss to the Broncos was the only loss for the Reivers as they finished the season with a 10-1 overall record.
LAST TIME OUT: Snow College captured its third consecutive victory and second victory against a top-10 opponent as it defeated Georgia Military College 41-18 Saturday.
The No. 6 Badgers came into the matchup riding back-to-back victories against No. 8 Butler Community College (50-49, OT) and Gila River Junior College (85-0). Snow College was fresh off a bye week and welcomed the No. 10 Bulldogs to town for the NJCAA Game of the Week.
This was the third game of the season Snow College has played against a team ranked within the NJCAA Division I Football Top-15. This top-10 matchup pitted the nation's No. 1 offense against the No. 1 defense. Snow entered averaging 44.5 points per game while the Bulldogs defense was holding opponents to 4.8 points per game.
Snow College came out firing and scored on each of its first two drives to take a 13-0 lead. First, it was a 21-yard pass from Daisean Cash to Marquis Montgomery. Dionte Davis followed a few minutes later with a 6-yard rushing touchdown on a jet sweep to give the Badgers the edge.
On the following GMC drive, Autjoe Soe intercepted Bulldog quarterback Colin Hogan and took it 77 yards the other way. Soe was thought to be tackled moments after the interception but was able to keep his feet under him and give the Badgers a 19-0 lead after a failed 2-point conversion.
GMC would add a field goal near the end of the first quarter. Snow College would respond as Rahsul Faison punched one in on the ground from five yards out. Cash would find Duece Roberson on a 5-yard pitch and catch to give the Badgers a 33-3 first half lead.
The Badgers were able to move the ball effectively throughout the first half despite committing four turnovers – two interceptions, a fumble, and a turnover on downs. They put up nearly 300 yards of total offense while limiting the Bulldogs wo just 65 yards of offense through the first 30 minutes.
The Bulldogs would strike right away to open the third quarter on a 99-yard kickoff return to cut into the lead 33-10. This would be the only touchdown the Bulldogs would score in the quarter as Snow College's defense would bear its teeth. The next three drives for the Bulldogs would end in a punt, and interception, and a turnover on downs.
Snow College would go scoreless in the third quarter before scoring a safety early in the fourth quarter. The Badgers had backed the Bulldogs up near their own goal line and forced a punt attempt. The ensuing snap went awry and extended the Badger lead 35-10.
GMC and Snow College would exchange touchdowns near the end of the game. Snow College's came on a 9-yard pass from cash to Russell Wilkerson to give the Badgers a 41-18 lead that they would salt away for their fourth win of the season.
Snow College was dominant defensively for much of the game only allowing zero net rushing yards on 35 attempts. Conversely, the Badgers gained 182 yards on the ground and 211 yards through the air, totaling 393 yards of total offense.
It wasn't all perfect for the Badgers, however. Snow College committed five turnovers – two interceptions, two fumbles and a turnover on downs. The Badgers only gained 29 yards in the third quarter. They were aided by good defense that forced five turnovers and a safety to help in the victory.
Cash went 17-29 for 211 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. He also rushed for 64 yards. Targhee Lambson added 49 yards on the ground. Dionte Davis had 65 receiving yards on two catches. Montgomery added 47 yards through the air and a touchdown.
With the victory, Snow College now improves to 4-1 overall and have won three straight.
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 (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 will also face 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: Snow College will return home to celebrate Homecoming week as the Badgers will welcome Garden City Community College to town.
GCCC currently holds a record of 2-3 with victories over Highland Community College (14-6) and Dodge City Community College (40-7). 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 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.
