GAME NOTES:

• No. 5 Snow College will host its 2025 home opener against No. 8 Tyler Junior College Thursday at 7:00 p.m. inside Terry Foote Stadium in Ephraim.

• The Badgers are coming off a 37-6 victory against Highland Community College last weekend in Kansas. Snow College gained 402 yards of total offense, including 207 rushing yards.

• Since 2015, the Badgers have won all 10 of their home openers. The last time the Badgers lost their home opener was a 35-17 loss to Georgia Military College in 2013.

• Thursday's meeting with the Apaches will be the first meeting between the two programs.

• Over the past three years, the Badgers have recorded eight victories against ranked opponents. Under head coach Zac Erekson, the Badgers 10-10 against ranked opponents.

• Including TJC, Snow College is scheduled to play a total of four teams currently ranked in the NJCAA Division I Polls. They will also play Lackawanna College, Iowa Western Community College, and GMC.

• Snow College's last victory over a ranked team was a 21-14 victory against Butler Community College Sept. 28, 2024.

• The Badgers went 5-1 during the 2024 season in night games. They won their first night game this season against the Utah Islanders and are 19-5 in night games under Erekson.

• Tyler suffered a 31-28 loss to Navarro College in the Southwest Junior College Football Conference championship game last season. This cam following a 28-17 victory against Kilgore College in the semifinal round.

• Snow College has only ever played three of the eight members of the SWJCFC. They are 10-2 all time against members of the conference, which also makes up the entirety of Region 14.

• Thursday's home opener will be the first of only four home games for the Badgers during the 2025 season.
 

BADGERS ON THE AIR: All Snow College home games this season will be broadcast by SnowTV. They will air on the WATCHit Snow College YouTube channel as well as on CentraCom channel 10. Home games will also be simulcast on the radio on KMTI 650 AM.

Tanner Wilkinson will be providing the play by play for all games broadcast by SnowTV this season. He is entering his first year as the 'Voice of the Badgers' after taking over for Gary Chidester, who retired over the summer. Greg Sterner, who is entering his 5th season on the broadcast, will provide the color commentary.

All broadcasts will begin with a pregame show approximately 20-30 minutes before kickoff and will include exclusive coverage of the game and an interview with head coach Zac Erekson. Post-game shows will begin immediately following the conclusion of the game and will last approximately 15 minutes.

Live stats will be provided for all home games as well as a number of road games during the season. The link to live stats will always be provided at snowbadgers.com.

LAST TIME OUT: The Snow College men's football team earned its second victory of the season in a 37-6 win against Highland Community College Saturday in Kansas. The Badgers racked up 402 yards of total offense en route to the comfortable victory.

Snow College entered the game after defeating the Utah Islanders 59-7. The Badgers forced five turnovers, including an interception that was returned for a touchdown. Snow College also returned a punt for a touchdown and recorded a safety in the win.

The Badgers opened the game by kicking off to the Scotties, who muffed the kick, which went out of bounds at their own 2-yard line. Snow College forced a 3-and-out and took over at the HCC 26-yard line.

After going backwards on their first two plays, the Badgers completed a 22-yard pass and were aided by a personal foul penalty that set them up with a first down at the 11-yard line. They couldn't punch it in, however, and were forced to settle for a field goal, which was made by Joseph Brandt.

The Scotties gained three first downs on the subsequent possession before the Badgers' defense stopped them on fourth down to regain the ball. The drive was quickly stymied as HCC intercepted a pass to take over at the Badgers' 32-yard line.

Both teams exchanged punts before Snow College got the ball back with under 12 minutes to play in the second quarter. The Badgers converted a 3rd-and-eight with a 19-yard completion from Jace Welsch to Makel Paiva to get back into HCC territory.

Welsch did it with his feet a few plays later to convert a 3rd-and-nine as he picked up 12 yards to put the Badgers in the red zone. Seth Rigtrup finished off the drive with a touchdown from four yards out, giving the Badgers the 9-0 lead after the PAT was missed.

The Badgers would score one more time just before the end of the first half. The drive started on the Snow College 19-yard line. Welsch completed six of his first seven passes on the drive, moving the Badgers well into HCC territory.

The drive was capped off by a 26-yard pitch and catch from Welsch to Freddie Dubose for the touchdown. The PAT was true, and the Badgers took a 16-0 lead into the halftime break.

The Badgers opened up the second half with a touchdown as well. They gained the first 35 yards of the drive on the ground and finished it off as Welsch found Paiva for a 19-yard touchdown to give the Badgers a 23-0 edge.

The rest of the third quarter went scoreless before HCC struck for its first and only score of the game. The Badgers would eventually get the ball back and begin their largest drive of the game.

Backed up inside their own 20, Snow College put together a 10-play, 84-yard drive resulting in a 25-yard carry from Lamana Tapusoa that found the end zone. The Badgers got the ball right back after Jayden Robertson intercepted a pass from the Scotties' quarterback.

Snow College put an exclamation point on the game and scored just two plays following the interception. The score propelled the Badgers to the 37-6 victory in the first-ever meeting against HCC.

Welsch went 17-25 for 195 yards through the air. He recorded a pair of passing touchdowns while also rushing for 90 yards throughout the game. Matt Wilson and Seth Rigtrup carried the ball a combined 25 times for a total of 91 yards and two touchdowns. Paiva caught six passes for 66 yards and a touchdown to aid in the victory.

The Badgers gained 402 yards of total offense, including 207 ground yards, against the Scotties. Their defense limited HCC to just 272 yards of total offense and allowed just the one score for the second straight week. 

ON THE SIDELINE: Zac Erekson returns for his sixth season at the helm for the Badgers. He is 41-10 all time as head coach for the team and has won nine games in each of the previous two seasons. 

The Badgers have been ranked inside the top 15 every week during his five seasons and have won 10 games against ranked opponents under Erekson. Additionally, Erekson has not lost a game to an unranked opponent over his first five seasons, going a perfect 30-0 in such matchups.

Snow College went 5-1 in home games last year while sporting a 4-1 road record. Erekson is 23-3 all time within the friendly confines of Terry Foote Stadium. His teams have also amassed an impressive 18-4 mark in road games since 2020.

Three coaches from the 2024 staff will return to the program for the 2025 season, including Trever McFalls (Southern Utah University), who will serve as the offensive coordinator and the offensive line coach in his fourth season with the program. Michael O'Neal (Norwich University) will serve as the defensive backs coach/special teams coordinator and JV head coach in his second season. Matt Beecher (Brigham Young University), also in his second season with the team, will serve as the running backs coach.

Erekson will welcome four new coaches to the staff, including Mark Wilson (Abilene Christian University), who will take over the defensive coordinator responsibilities. Michael Dixon (Doane University) will serve as the wide receivers coach, while Colby Hyder (Southern Virginia University) will coach the linebackers, and Stevie Tu'ikolovatu (University of Southern California) will serve as the defensive line coach.

UP NEXT: The Badgers will head back out onto the road and take on the Army West Point junior varsity team. This will be the first of three separate east-coast road trips for the Badgers during the 2025 season. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. inside Michie Stadium in West Point, New York. For video streaming and live stats information, visit snowbadgers.com.