GAME NOTES: The Snow College football team will finish off its four-game road trip in Kennewick, Washington as it takes on Pacific Northwest Christian College Saturday.  Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 MDT inside Neil F. Lampson Stadium.
 
The Badgers are coming off a 31-20 loss to No. 2 Iowa Western Community College two weeks ago.  Snow College now stands at 5-1 overall and is ranked 4^th in the NJCAA Division I Football Poll.
 
Saturday's game against the Gladiators will serve as the penultimate road game of the season for the Badgers.  Three of the Badgers' final four games of the season will take place in Ephraim.
 
Badgers' quarterback Donnie Smith threw a pair of touchdown passes against the Reivers.  He continues to pace the nation in touchdown passes with 20.  Smith is also third overall in passing yards with 1,370 and fourth with 228.3 passing yards per game.
 
Both of Smith's touchdown passes against the Reivers went to Reggie Frischknecht.  The freshman from Ephraim has hauled in a total of eight touchdown passes this season which leads the nation.
 
As a team, the Badgers are scoring an average of 45.3 points per game despite not recording more than 21 points in each of the last two games.  The 45.3 points per game lands them fourth among qualifying teams in the country.   
 
Defensively, the Badgers own the 7^th-ranked defense in points per game allowed.  They are also inside the top ten in yards per game, allowing just 230.8 yards, which slots them 8^th overall.
 
Snow College and PNWCC have only faced each other one time.  The Badgers earned a 55-0 victory over the Gladiators last season.  The Badgers allowed just 79 yards of total offense in the shutout victory.
 
LAST TIME OUT: The Snow College football team suffered its first loss of the 2024 season against the reigning national champion and No. 2 Iowa Western Community College Reivers Saturday in Council Bluffs, IA. With the loss, the Badgers were pushed back two spots in the NJCAA Division I Football Rankings. 
 
Snow College entered the matchup following a thrilling victory against No. 12 Butler Community College.  The Badgers scored the game-winning touchdown with just 5 seconds left in regulation to secure the 21-14 victory.
 
Saturday's match with the two-time defending national champions started out promising for the Badgers.  IWCC moved the ball down the field on the first possession and was set up inside the Snow College 10-yard line.  The Badgers' defense held strong and forced a turnover on downs after the Reivers went for it on fourth-and-goal from the 3-yard line.
 
The Badgers capitalized on the momentum shift.  They proceeded to march 97 yards down the field and score a touchdown to take a 7-0 lead.  A pair of passes from Donnie Smith to Kaden Eggett ate up 74 of the 97 yards, the second of which was a 50-yard connection to set up first-and-goal from the IWCC 4-yard line.  Adonis Tillman found the end zone a few plays later on a 1-yard rush.
 
The Reivers knotted the score just 2 and a half minutes later on a 41-yard completion that went the distance.  IWCC scored again following a 3-and-out from Snow College.  The Reivers used another 40+ yard pass play to enter the red zone.  They would score four plays later to take a 14-7 lead.
 
The Badgers gained a little momentum back when the defense intercepted a pass and took over near midfield.  The offense wasn't able to get any traction and was forced to punt.  The Reivers missed a 53-yard field goal at the end of the 2^nd quarter and the Badgers went into halftime trailing 14-7.
 
Snow College received the 2^nd half kickoff and was able to move into Reiver territory.  The drive stalled, and IWCC took over.  IWCC extended the lead with a 19-yard field goal midway through the third quarter.
 
The Badgers responded quickly as Smith connected with Reggie Frischknecht who shook a tackle and got a crucial block, which propelled him to a 71-yard touchdown to bring the Badgers within 3.
 
IWCC would go back up by two scores in the opening minutes of the 4^th quarter.  a 10-yard rushing touchdown gave the Reivers a 24-14 lead with just over 12 minutes to play.  Another 3-and-out gave the Reivers the ball back, and they used a 9-play, 74-yard drive which consumed over 4 minutes of game clock to score a touchdown and take a 31-14 lead.
 
With under seven minutes to play, Smith and Frischknecht connected for another long touchdown pass.  Frischknecht ran a deep route down the sideline as Smith dropped in a perfect pass and the true freshman from Manti High School did the rest, going 60 yards for the score.  It was not enough as the Badgers were unable to overcome the deficit and lost, 31-20.
 
Smith went 14 for 27 for 270 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.  Frischknecht hauled in five receptions for 173 yards and two touchdowns.  Frischknecht now owns the solo lead in the nation in touchdown receptions with eight.  He's also third in Division I in total receiving yards.  Matt Wilson led the charge on the ground as he tallied 76 yards on 12 carries.
 
ON THE SIDELINE: Zac Erekson will enter his fifth year as head coach of the Badgers.  He owns a 32-8 overall record with the team since taking over the position in the fall of 2020.  His nine wins from last season are the most he's recorded in any season for the club.
 
Erekson's team have been ranked inside the NJCAA Division I Football Poll every week he's been the head coach.  He has secured eight victories over his first four seasons against other ranked teams and has yet to lose to an unranked team.
 
Erekson has amassed a 19-2 overall record in games played inside Terry Foote Stadium. His teams are also 13-3 in road games and have never lost back-to-back games in his time at the helm.
 
He will be joined on the sideline by returning coaches Jordan Pulou (Missouri S&T; third season) as Defensive Coordinator, Trevor McFalls (Southern Utah University; third season) as Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Line Coordinator, Lanny Owens (McMurray; second season) as Tight Ends Coach, and Neil Pau'u (Brigham Young University; second season) as Wide Receivers Coach. 
 
Erekson will bring four new coaches onto his staff for the 2024 season including Linebackers Coach Jake Hill (Weber State University; 1st season) Defensive Backs Coach/Special Teams Coordinator/JV Team Head Coach Michael O'Neal (Norwich; 1st season), Defensive Line Coach Ricky Ali'ifua (Utah State University; 1st season), and Running Backs Coach Matt Beecher (Brigham Young University; 1st season).
 
UP NEXT: The Badgers will return home for the first time in six weeks and take on No. 3 Georgia Military College in Ephraim.
 
The Bulldogs own a 6-1 overall record and have won five consecutive matches.  They are coming off a 38-17 victory against Louisburg College two weeks ago.  The Badgers are 4-2 against GMC all time and have won each of the last three meetings with the Bulldogs.  Snow College earned a 33-30 victory last season in overtime.  Saturday's game is slated to kick off at 7:00 p.m. inside Terry Foote Stadium.  For video streaming and live stat information, visit snowbadgers.com.