Déjà vu struck the Snow College football team as, for the second game in a row, it scored the game-winning touchdown with under 10 seconds to play to claim a 21-14 victory against No. 12 Butler Community College Saturday in El Dorado, Kansas.
 
The Badgers put together an 11-play, 80-yard drive to march down the field, gobbling up the majority of the final three minutes of the game.  The drive culminated with a seven-yard touchdown pass from Snow College quarterback Donnie Smith to Adonis Tillman to give the Badgers the victory.
 
The Badgers entered the top-15 matchup off their first of two bye weeks during the season.  Snow College was last in action against Lackawanna College during which the Badgers claimed a 43-40 victory in the final seconds as well.
 
The No. 3 Badgers found themselves in an early hole to begin the game. They were able to gain one first down on the opening drive of the game but were eventually forced to punt the ball to the Grizzlies.  Butler capitalized and marched the ball 79 yards down the field, using 11 plays to take a 7-0 lead on a 1-yard rushing touchdown.
 
The Grizzlies continued the momentum in a big way to begin the second quarter.  Butler linebacker Jaylen Lawrence picked off a pass from Smith and was able to return it 53 yards for a touchdown.  This is the first time an opposing team has returned an interception for a touchdown since Oct. 8, 2022.
 
The Badgers had an opportunity to get on the scoreboard following the interception.  They sustained a drive into the Grizzlies' red zone.  The drive stalled and Snow College attempted its first field goal of the season.  The kick caromed off the right upright, and the Badgers remained in a 14-0 hole.
 
Snow College was able to regain a little momentum before the halftime break.  After the defense forced a pair of punts, the offense put together a quick drive to find the end zone.  Smith found De'yhare Overstreet over the middle.  Overstreet streaked down the field and put the Badgers on the board, cutting the deficit in half.
 
The third quarter saw little action as each team punted three times.  The fourth quarter started out similarly as each team exchanged a pair of punts before the Badgers took over near midfield with under 10 minutes remaining in the game.
 
The Badgers struck quickly as Smith and Overstreet connected again.  Overstreet hauled in the pass near the sideline and shook off a would-be tackler.  He then turned on the jets and outrun the Butler pursuers for the touchdown, tying the game at 14.
 
Butler responded on the subsequent drive as a quarterback keeper on a read option play saw the Grizzlies' signal caller gain 42 yards on the ground to enter the red zone. The Badgers' defense was able to stop the drive in its tracks and force a field goal attempt.  Junior Kaufusi kept the game tied as he was able to block the 39-yard field goal attempt to keep the game tied.
 
Snow College took the field with 3:01 remaining in regulation. A 10-yard completion to Reggie Frischknecht preceded a 19-yard pass to Tillman which was aided by a roughing the passer penalty.  The 15-yard flag set the Badgers up at the Butler 35-yard line with just over a minute to go.
 
Four consecutive rushing plays, which gained a total of 24 yards and forced the Grizzlies to use all three of their timeouts saw the Badgers faced with a 2^nd and 8 from the 11-yard line.  Tillman rushed for four yards to drain the clock even further. 
 
With the clock waning, Smith found Tillman in the flat, and he scampered into the end zone with just five seconds remaining to give the Badgers their first lead of the game.  The Grizzlies attempted to run a hook and ladder, but the Snow College defense shut it down to claim the 21-14 victory.
 
Smith finished the game going 19-28 with 229 yards and three touchdowns.  He leads all of NJCAA Division I quarterbacks with 18 touchdown passes this season.  Tillman gained 52 yards on 21 carries while also catching four passes for 51 yards.  Overstreet tallied five receptions for 112 yards and a pair of touchdowns to aid in the victory. 
 
The Badgers' schedule will not get any easier as they will head to Council Bluffs, Iowa and take on the two-time defending national champion Iowa Western Community College next Saturday.  The No. 2 Reivers are 4-1 overall with their lone loss coming against No. 1 Hutchinson Community College earlier in the season.
Snow College has lost four consecutive matches against IWCC, including a 20-13 loss last season in Ephraim.  Kickoff is slated for 12:00 p.m. MDT inside Titan Stadium in Council Bluffs.  For video streaming and live stat information, visit snowbadgers.com.