OPENING KICKOFF: The Snow College football team will begin its 2023 regular season campaign Thursday against Trinity Valley Community College inside Tiger Stadium in Malakoff, Texas. Kickoff is slated for 6:00 p.m. MST.  For video streaming and live stat information, visit snowbadgers.com.
 
These two teams kicked off the 2022 season as well in the first-ever National Junior College Athletics Association Game of the Week to be featured on ESPN+.  The Badgers were victorious in that matchup 36-14.
 
Snow College is coming off an 8-2 season a year ago including victories over three ranked opponents.  While the Cardinals weren't ranked in the week-one matchup, TVCC would eventually climb as high as three on the NJCAA DI Football Poll by week 11.
 
The Badgers defeated No. 8 Butler Community College in a thrilling 50-49 overtime road victory.  They also defeated No. 10 Georgia Military College 41-18 in Ephraim before finishing the season with a 30-7 victory over No. 7 Lackawanna College in Scranton, Pennsylvania.  
 
Snow College sported an unblemished 5-0 record within the friendly confines of Terry Foote Stadium a year ago.  What's more, the Badgers have only lost one home game under current head coach Zac Erekson, a 17-14 loss at the hands of Iowa Western Community College Oct. 9, 2021.
 
Despite having one of the toughest schedules in all of Division I Football a season ago, the Badgers were the odd team left out of the NJCAA DI Playoffs.  Needing to finish within the top four of the football poll, Snow College came in ranked fifth in the final regular season poll.  This was the first time the Badgers were left out of the playoff since its creation before the 2021 season.
 
BADGERS BY THE NUMBERS: As a team last season, Snow College sported the sixth-ranked offense in the nation averaging 34.8 points per game. The Badgers also boasted one of the best rushing attacks in all of Division I as they averaged 201.5 ground yards per game, which was just 1.3 yards per game behind Kilgore College for the top spot in the country.  As a whole, the Badgers ranked eighth in total offense averaging 388.3 yards per game.
 
Snow College was deadly inside the red zone last season as it paced the country in red zone touchdowns. The Badgers punched in 33 touchdowns from inside the 20 last year, more than any other team, while also scoring touchdowns on 73 percent of their red-zone trips, good for third in the country.
 
The Badgers defensive front also caused havoc for opponent's backfields during the 2022 season.  They ranked sixth in the country in both sacks and rush yards allowed per game.  The Badgers tallied a total of 40 sacks and allowed just 80.1 rush yards per game.
 
Snow College also landed in the top 10 in 3^rd-down conversions converting on 43 percent of attempts last season placing them in eighth overall.  
 
ABOUT THE RED BIRDS: Following the week-one loss to the Badgers, the Cardinals rattled off eight straight victories before finishing their season with an 8-3 overall record.  Back-to-back losses to Kilgore and Iowa Central kept them out of the NJCAA DI Football Playoffs after they had climbed to No. 3 in the week-11 poll.  
 
TVCC is coached by Sherard Poteete who is in his sixth season at the helm for the Red Birds.  He sports a 30-18 overall record.  He helped lead the team to a perfect 7-0 record within the Southwest Junior College Football Conference last season.
 
The Cardinals were the nation's 13th-best offense in 2022 averaging 30.6 points per game.  Defensively, TVCC came in just behind Snow College allowing 20.9 points per game, good for 19^th overall. 
 
The Cardinals were at their best in the passing game as they finished fourth overall in passing yards per game and second in passing touchdowns and total passing yards.  TVCC was fourth in the nation in total offense gaining 423.1 yards per game, including 267 yards through the air.
 
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.
 
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), Defensive Backs Coach Bryce Hampton (Purdue University; first season), Tight Ends Coach Lanny Owens (McMurray; first season), and Wide Receivers Coach Neil Pau'u (Brigham Young University; first season).
 
UP NEXT: Snow College will kick off its home schedule and take on the 2021 National Champion NMMI. 
 
NMMI finished last season with a 9-3 overall record and a 5-2 mark within SWJCFC play.  The Broncos were the top-ranked team in the nation when they defeated Snow College 38-7 in week two last season.  NMMI fell outside of the 2023 NJCAA DI Preseason Poll despite being ranked each week last season.  The game is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. inside Terry Foote Stadium.  For video streaming and live stat information visit snowbadgers.com.