GAME NOTES
 

• The Snow College football team will play its final home game of the season against No. 12 Lackawanna College Saturday in Ephraim.  The game will be featured as the NJCAA Game of the Week and will be broadcast nationally on ESPN+

 

• The Badgers are coming off a 55-0 victory against Pacific Northwest Christian College last weekend.  They allowed just 79 yards of total offense to the Gladiators.  This comes following their matchup against St. George Junior College the week prior where they allowed just 72 yards of total offense.

 

• Snow College secured its second consecutive shutout of the season.  This is the first time the Badgers have had back-to-back shutout wins since they defeated Gordon's Fine Arts and Sports Academy (85-0) and Gila River Junior College (63-0) Sept. 4 and 11, 2021.

 

• Donovan Smith threw for 206 yards and four touchdowns in the Badgers victory over the Gladiators.  The four touchdown passes are a career-high for the Freshman.

 

• On paper, Saturday's matchup against the Falcons is poised to be one of the most interesting matchups of the season.  Both teams are ranked inside the top 10 both offensively and defensively.  Lackawanna sports the No. 4 offense and the No. 3 defense while the Badgers hold the nation's No. 8 offense and No. 4 defense.

 

• The Badgers pace the nation in total first downs with 197.  They are also tied for first in total 3^rd and 4^th-down conversions.  With their two interceptions on Saturday, the Badgers move into the top five in defensive interceptions in the country.

 

• Lackawanna enters the weekend matchup with a 6-1 overall record.  The Falcons have won their last four games in a row following their lone loss of the season against Georgia Military College Sept. 16. 

 

• The Badgers are 3-1 all-time against the Falcons and have won each of the last three meetings including a 30-7 victory in the final game of the regular season last year.  The Badger's only loss came in a 17-6 defeat Sept. 14, 2019, in Ephraim.

 
LAST TIME OUT: The Snow College football team collected a convincing 55-0 win over Pacific Northwestern Christian College Saturday in Ephraim.  With the victory, Zac Erekson secured his fourth consecutive winning season as head coach of the Badgers.
 
Snow College was coming off a 58-0 victory over St. George Junior College last weekend in which AJ Tillman rushed for 124 yards and scored four touchdowns in the victory.  Saturday's matchup with the Gladiators was the first meeting between the two teams as PNCC is a new member of the NJCAA Division I ranks.
 
The two teams exchanged punts to begin the game.  The Badgers would score on their second possession using 10 plays and nearly four minutes of action.  Donovan Smith connected with Tyrique Carter for an 11-yard pitch and catch to give the Badgers a 7-0 lead.
 
Snow College scored again on its next possession in less than a minute.  All it took was a pair of passes from Smith to DJ Overstreet, the second of which was a 53-yard connection that went the distance, giving the Badgers a 14-0 lead.  
 
The Badgers would score again on another long completion.  The drive started on a trio of rushes from Tillman, who accumulated 25 yards.  The drive ended on a 41-yard completion from Smith to Amir McGruder.  The PAT failed and Snow College took a 20-0 lead.
 
Jared Wilson would electrify Terry Foote Stadium less than two minutes later.  After the Badgers forced a 3-and-out, Wilson returned the punt 79 yards to the endzone to extend the Badgers lead to 27-0.  This was the Badger's first punt return touchdown since Taylor Larsen did it against Gila River Junior College Sept. 11, 2021.
 
Snow College would score twice more before the end of the half.  The first of which came following an errant snap that resulted in a turnover on downs and the Badgers took over at the PNCC 2-yard line.  Spencer Lambert punched it in two plays later.
 
The final score of the first half was another long touchdown pass.  The drive started on a 19-yard completion from Smith to Wilson.  It culminated with a 52-yard bomb to Carter for his second touchdown of the night.  The Badgers took a 41-0 lead into the halftime break.
 
The Badger's defense was stout in the first half.  They held the Gladiators to just 10 yards of total offense in the first 30 minutes.  What's more, PNCC had negative 14 yards of offense until the last play of the 2^nd quarter in which they gained 24 yards on a rushing play as time expired.  
 
Snow College kept its foot down in the second half scoring a touchdown on its first possession.  Kamen Best ran a quarterback keeper up the middle.  The defense parted and Best streaked down the middle of the field.  As best veered toward the sideline, he stiff-armed a would-be tackler, which allowed him to dive for the end zone to complete the impressive run.
 
Snow scored one final time near the end of the third quarter.  Lambert carried the load on each of the three plays on the drive and eventually scored on a 27-yard rush to give the Badgers a 55-0 lead.  The defense maintained the shutout throughout the fourth quarter and Snow College collected its sixth victory of the season.
 
Smith finished the game going 10-15 for 206 yards and four passing touchdowns.  Lambert compiled 83 yards on the ground and two touchdowns.  Carter caught two touchdown passes totaling 63 receiving yards to aid in the victory. 
 
The Badgers gained 408 yards of total offense including 177 yards rushing.  The defense allowed just 79 yards of total offense and hasn't surrendered a single point in more than eight quarters of action.
 
BREAKING DOWN THE SCHEDULE: Snow College will face a total of 11 opponents during the 2023 season including the defending champion IWCC.  The Badgers are scheduled to face five NJCAA preseason top-15 opponents including No. 15 TVCC, No. 13 GMC, No. 1 IWCC, No. 14 Lackawanna, and No. 9 Garden City Community College.
 
Following the matchup with the Cardinals, the Badgers will return to Ephraim to begin their home schedule against the 2021 National Champion New Mexico Military Institute Sept. 2 at 7:00 p.m.
 
The Badgers will welcome a new opponent to Terry Foote Stadium in the newly formed Junior College partner St. George Eagles.  The St. George Eagles are the first private Junior College and "Post Graduate" team in the state of Utah.  They were formed from the USA Collegiate and The Coaches Team Foundation, and 2023 will serve as their first season as a program.  The Badgers will host the Eagles Sept. 9.
 
Snow College will play back-to-back road games Sept. 23 and 30 against Dodge City Community College and GMC.  The Badgers were victorious in their lone meeting against DCCC earning a 38-14 victory Dec. 5, 2015, in Hutchinson Kansas. 
 
The Badgers will begin a four-game home stretch that will span the entire month of October beginning with the reigning National Champion and NJCAA preseason No. 1-ranked IWCC Oct. 7.  Snow College will host the US Air Force Academy Preparatory School the following week.  The first-ever meeting between Snow College and Pacific Northwest Christian College will take place Oct. 21 in Ephraim.  The Badgers will wrap up their home slate of games against Lackawanna College Oct. 29.
 
Snow College will take on GCCC Nov. 4 in Garden City, Kansas before heading out on its longest trip of the season with a matchup against Monroe College in New Rochelle, New York to conclude its season Nov. 11.
 
ON THE SIDELINE: Erekson will once again be on the sideline for the Badgers as he enters his fourth season as the head coach.  Erekson has compiled a 24-5 record for Snow College in his tenure including a remarkable 14-1 record at home.  In Erekson's first season as head coach, he led the Badgers to an 8-0 regular season finish and a trip to the National Championship game.  In 2021, the Badgers returned to the NJCAA DI Football Playoffs following an 8-2 overall record.  Before coming to Snow College, Erekson served as the Athletic 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 eight years.  Erekson coached at 5A Abilene Cooper in Abilene, Texas where his team went 12-2 in 2011. 
 
Erekson will be joined on the sideline by Defensive Coordinator Jordan Pulou (Missouri S&T; second season), Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Line Coordinator Trevor McFalls (Southern Utah University; second season), Defensive Line Coach Kyle Murray (Utah Tech University; second season), Running Backs Coach Hunter Batten (Lamar; first season), Tight Ends Coach Lanny Owens (McMurray; first season), and Wide Receivers Coach Neil Pau'u (Brigham Young University; first season).
 
UP NEXT: The Badgers will head out onto the road to take on Garden City Community College next Saturday at 10:00 a.m. MDT.  This will serve as Snow College's penultimate road trip of the season.
 
The Broncbusters are 3-5 overall this season but have played a tough schedule.  Five of their eight games this season have come against opponents currently ranked within the NJCAA Division I Football Poll.  They have gone 1-4 in those matchups with their only victory coming in the season opener against Butler Community College.  The Badgers have won both matchups with the Broncbusters including a 23-20 victory last season.  For video streaming and live stat information, visit snowbadgers.com.