The Snow College football team claimed a thrilling 33-32 victory over Garden City Community College Saturday in Kansas.
Jared Wilson caught the go-ahead touchdown pass with 1:42 remaining to give the Badgers their fourth consecutive victory.
The Badgers entered the weekend following a convincing 50-21 victory over No. 12 Lackawanna College in their final home game of the season. Following the victory, the Badgers moved up to fourth in the NJCAA Division I Football Poll.
The first quarter went by without a score from either side as the Badgers forced the Broncbusters to punt on each of their first four possessions. The Badgers broke the scoreless tie early in the second quarter. It was an 18-yard pass from
Donovan Smith to Wilson that gave Snow College the 7-0 lead.
GCCC responded on its next possession, but the extra point was missed, and the Badgers maintained a 7-6 lead. Snow College needed just one play on the ensuing drive to score again.
AJ Tillman broke a 68-yard rush that went the distance to give the Badgers a 14-6 lead.
GCCC responded a few minutes later as they returned a Badger punt 74 yards for a touchdown to cut into the deficit. The Broncbusters would take the lead just over a minute later on a 60-yard passing touchdown, giving them an 18-14 lead.
Following the score, Snow College took over with 56 seconds left. They marched down the field and Smith found
Ayo Shotomide-King for a 24-yard touchdown with 19 seconds remaining in the half. The Badgers would take the 21-18 lead into the halftime break.
The Broncbusters opened the third quarter with a touchdown on its first possession. They used 13 plays and 75 yards to take a 26-21 lead following a successful 2-point conversion. GCCC got the ball back less than two minutes later following a Badger turnover.
GCCC scored again to take a 32-21 lead just three plays later. The Badgers punched back on their ensuing possession. They gobbled up 70 yards on 11 plays and used over five minutes of action to score a touchdown on a 20-yard rush from
Hyrum Boren. The PAT was blocked, however, and GCCC held a 32-27 lead.
No team was able to gain any traction throughout most of the fourth quarter until the Badgers took over at their own 38-yard line following a punt. On the second play of the drive, Smith was sacked setting up a 3
rd-and-14. Smith found Wilson on the next play for 20 yards to keep the drive alive.
Smith found Shotomide-King on the following play for a massive 39-yard completion, setting the Badgers up at the GCCC 12-yard line. Two plays later, Smith floated a ball into the back of the end zone where Wilson was able to reel in the pass despite being smothered by a defender to score a touchdown. Holding a 1-point lead, the Badgers went for two, but the attempt failed, and they kicked the ball to the Broncbusters leading 33-32.
The Broncbusters completed three consecutive passes to start their final drive. A 3-yard completion, an incomplete pass, and a 2-yard completion saw GCCC faced with a 4
th-and-5 near midfield with just under a minute to play. They gained just four yards on the 4
th-down play and turned the ball over on downs. The Badgers took over and were able to kneel the ball to run out the time, earning the 33-32 victory.
Smith went 24-39 for 317 yards and 3 touchdowns.
AJ Tillman rushed for 79 yards and a touchdown on nine attempts. Shotomide-King caught nine passes for 161 yards and a touchdown while Wilson caught seven passes for 92 yards and two touchdowns to aid in the victory.
The Badgers, now sitting at 8-2 overall, will play its final game of the regular season against Monroe College in New York. The Mustangs are coming off a 38-36 loss in double overtime to No. 14 Lackawanna College last weekend.
Monroe is 6-3 overall this season after losing to Georgia Military College and Lackawanna earlier in the season. The Badgers claimed a 34-14 victory over the Mustangs last season in Ephraim. Saturday's game is slated to begin at 11:00 a.m. MST. For video streaming and live stat information, visit snowbadgers.com.
