Snow College Athletics

Three second-half turnovers forced by the Snow College defense proved to be the difference as the Badgers earned a 31-17 victory over No. 10 Garden City Community College Saturday in Ephraim.
 
Snow College officially kicked off its 2026 campaign, its first as a member of the Southwest Junior College Football Conference, with a ranked matchup against the Broncbusters. The Badgers had never lost to GCCC, and that trend would continue Saturday.
 
GCCC received the opening kickoff and, after a 14-yard pickup on the first play, the Broncbusters were set up inside Badger territory. They picked up two more first downs, but a third-down sack by Fale Atuaia forced the Broncbusters into a field-goal attempt. The 49-yard try was true, and GCCC led 3-0.
 
The Badgers picked up a pair of first downs on their opening drive of the season, but the drive stalled, and they were forced to punt. They got the ball right back as the defense came up with a stop on fourth and 1. It was Atuaia and Maxx Johnson who penetrated the backfield to force the turnover on downs.
 
Snow College used the momentum swing and capitalized immediately. Bryce Benson lofted a pass downfield, and LaDanian Wall jumped in between two defenders to haul in the pass at the 1-yard line. The first touchdown scored on the new turf inside Terry Foote Stadium was scored by Aquaylis Jordan, who punched it in on the next play. The PAT was good, and Snow College took a 7-3 lead.
 
The Badgers forced a punt on the subsequent possession. A roughing the passer penalty aided the Snow College drive to begin the second quarter, but a delay of game penalty set the Badgers behind the chains. Jordan broke a 16-yard rush on third and 15 to convert the first down.
 
Later in the drive, Snow College was faced with another third down. The Badgers ran a reverse flea flicker and Benson found Greyden Dumas wide open in the back of the end zone for the touchdown. Snow College took the 14-3 lead.
 
GCCC halted the momentum immediately as they got a 52-yard kickoff return and threw a 43-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the drive to trim the lead to four.
 
The Badgers responded with a field goal after putting together a 17-play drive that chewed up over eight minutes of game clock. It was the foot of Ian Sanches that connected on the 40-yard field goal, and the Badgers led 17-10.
 
Snow College got another stop on fourth down but could not muster any momentum on its final drive of the first half. The Badgers went into halftime leading 17-10.
 
The Badgers went 3-and-out on the opening possession of the third quarter. GCCC moved the ball and would eventually try a 49-yard field goal. The attempt came up short, and the Badgers took over at their own 32-yard line.
 
GCCC tied the game on the very next play on an interception that was returned 38 yards for a touchdown. The score remained tied at 17 for the remainder of the third quarter before the Badgers took the lead for good to begin the final period.
 
Jadyn Buckner scored the first of two fourth-quarter touchdowns on a 10-yard rush to find the end zone. The Badgers piled on as GCCC fumbled on the next possession to give the Badgers the ball back with 11:33 to go. They picked up two first downs before Bucker broke another rush – this time for 44-yards to give them a 31-17 lead.
 
The Badgers' defense continued to shine as Fuapauna Mama strip-sacked the GCCC quarterback. Dreysen Afuvai fell on the fumble, and Snow College took over. The Badgers were unable to capitalize on the turnover as a 51-yard field-goal attempt was wide left.
 
Snow College recorded one more turnover as Afuvai picked up a pass on the next possession. The Badgers salted away the final few minutes of the game to earn the victory 31-17.
 
Three different Snow College quarterbacks combined to go 15-32 for 171 yards and a touchdown. Bucker gained 63 yards and two touchdowns on seven carries. Wall caught five passes for 84 yards. Atuaia recorded three sacks and 4.5 tackles for loss to aid in the victory.
 
Snow College will now have a week off before playing in its first SWJCFC game. They'll head to Texas to take on Cisco College Saturday, Sept. 5 at 11:00 a.m. inside Chesley Field. For video streaming and live stats information, visit snowbadgers.com.