The Snow College football team earned a 34-14 victory over Monroe College Saturday. The victory was the Badger's third straight win and improves them to 7-2 overall for the season.
Snow College entered Saturday's contest after a two-week hiatus following their last game against US Air Force Academy Preparatory School Oct. 21. The Badgers won that matchup 42-22 and were originally scheduled to play Community Christian College of Detroit the following week, but that game was canceled.
Monroe College held a record of 3-4 entering the matchup with the Badgers. The Mustangs boasted a preseason ranking of 14 but have had a tough season leading up to Saturday's game. They opened the season losing their first two games and had lost two of their last three.
The Badgers wasted no time getting out to an early lead. Carsen Manookin scored on an 11-yard rushing touchdown to cap off a 9-play, 62-yard drive that took just over three minutes to give the Badgers a 7-0 lead.
Snow College would score one more time before halftime. Daisean Cash dropped back to pass and as he faced the pressure from the Mustangs rush, he found an open Dionte Davis who scampered 30 yards down the sideline to find the end zone, giving the Badgers a 14-0 lead that they would take into halftime.
The Badger's defense was stout in the first half limiting the Mustangs to just 95 yards of total offense. Conversely, Snow College was able to rack up 229 yards of offense in the first 30 minutes of action.
Monroe cut the lead in half coming out of the break scoring a touchdown in just over three minutes to bring the score to 14-7.
The Badgers struggled to move the ball in the third quarter. They gained only 23 yards that netted just one first down the entire period. They also turned the ball over twice and punted twice before getting their mojo back to start the fourth quarter.
Snow College used a sustained 12-play 68-yard drive to march down the field and regain the two-score lead. Cash and Davis would hook up again, this time on a 25-yard pitch and catch, bringing the score to 20-7 after a failed 2-point conversion attempt.
Monroe responded two and a half minutes later on a 10-yard touchdown pass that cut the lead to 20-14. They used a Snow College fumble to get the ball back and scored two plays later.
The Badgers would not be denied in pursuit of victory. They scored quickly following the Monroe touchdown. The drive started with a 10-yard rush from Cash followed by a 6-yard catch from Duece Roberson that also netted the Badgers a 15-yard face mask penalty to set them up in Mustang territory.
Snow College scored three plays later on a 20-yard passing touchdown from Cash to Taylor Larsen, giving Snow College a 27-14 lead with just over eight minutes to go.
The Badgers would grit their teeth defensively as they would force the Mustangs to turn the ball over on downs in each of their final two possessions. The Mustangs possessed the ball for just over four minutes in the fourth quarter as a result of Snow College's defense.
The Badgers would add one more score before the final whistle. Manookin capped off the Badgers scoring as he found the end zone on a 14-yard run that extended the lead to 34-14, sealing the victory for Snow College.
Cash led the way offensively for the Badgers as he went 23-37 for 292 yards and three touchdowns. His 292 passing yards were tied for his highest output this season matching his total from the 50-49 overtime victory against Butler Community College Sept. 10.
Manookin had 87 rushing yards on 20 carries and two touchdowns. Dionte Davis led the way through the air, catching five passes for 96 yards and two touchdowns. Elijah Ervin had 77 yards on five catches while Larsen had 62 yards and a touchdown on six catches.
The No. 5 Badgers now stand a decent chance to move up in the NJCAA Division I Football Rankings as the second, third, and fourth-ranked teams all lost Saturday. The Badgers would need to finish the season within the top four teams in order to make the NJCAA Playoffs. If Snow College were able to finish in the top two of the rankings, they would host the first round of the playoffs.
The Badgers have one more matchup to finish the regular season. They will travel to Scranton, Pennsylvania to take on No. 11 Lackawanna College to wrap up the 2022 campaign. The match is slated to begin at 10 a.m. MST. For video streaming and live stat information, visit snowbadgers.com.
