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 3^rd-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 3^rd-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.
 
Snow College will return to Ephraim for its 2025 home opener and take on No. 8 Tyler Junior College Thursday. The Apaches will enter the matchup 1-0 after defeating Dodge City Community College Aug. 23. This will be the first meeting on the gridiron between the two teams. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. inside Terry Foote Stadium. For video streaming and live stats information, visit snowbadgers.com.