GAME NOTES

• A landmark matchup awaits as the No. 6 Snow College football team takes on Cisco College Saturday at 11:00 a.m. at Chesley Field. This marks the first game the Badgers will play as a member of the Southwest Junior College Football Conference.

 

• Snow College is coming off a 31-17 victory against No. 10 Garden City Community College to begin the 2026 season. The Badgers forced three turnovers in the fourth quarter to secure the victory.

 

• The Badgers allowed just 26 rushing yards to the Broncbusters during the first game of the season. It's the fewest rushing yards the Badgers have allowed to a ranked opponent since allowing just 18 rushing yards to Tyler Junior College Sept. 4, 2025.

 

• Tied entering the fourth quarter against GCCC, the Badgers recovered two fumbles and used one interception to tip the scales in their favor. Jadyn Buckner scored both touchdowns in the fourth quarter. He finished the game with 63 yards on seven carries.

 

• Defensively, the Badgers recorded seven sacks against GCCC, it's the most sacks they have recorded against an NJCAA opponent since recording eight against Monroe College during the 2022 season.

 

• Snow College has been operating as an NJCAA independent since the 2019 season. Their last game in a conference was a 24-17 loss to Eastern Arizona College Nov. 10, 2018. The Badgers went 5-2 in the final year of the Western States Football League.

 

• The Badgers were 4-2 in road games during the 2025 season. Under Head Coach Zac Erekson, the Badgers are 22-6 in road games since 2020. The Badgers have never lost a road game to an unranked NJCAA opponent under Erekson.

 

• Snow College is 4-2 under Erekson in road openers since 2020. They score an average of 35.5 points per game while surrendering just over 27 points to opponents in those games. The last time the Badgers lost their first game of the season was a 31-24 defeat to No. 15 Trinity Valley Community College.

 

• Saturday's meeting between the Badgers and the Wranglers will be the first meeting between the two schools in program history.

 

• Cisco dropped its first game of the season to No. 2 Hutchinson Community College, 59-7. The Wranglers rushed for 101 yards against the Blue Dragons but gave up 555 yards of total offense.

 
BADGERS ON THE AIR: All Snow College home games this season will be broadcast by SnowTV. They will air on the SnowTV YouTube channel as well as on CentraCom channel 10. Home games will also be simulcast on the radio on KMTI 650 AM.
 
Tanner Wilkinson, who is in his second season as 'Voice of the Badgers,' will be providing the play-by-play for all games broadcast by SnowTV this season. Greg Sterner, who is entering his 6th season on the broadcast, will provide the color commentary for all home games. Snow College. Audio-only broadcasts will be available for select road games throughout the season.
 
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: 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.

CHASING A RECORD: Zac Erekson owns a 48-15 overall record and sits just six wins behind Bob Stoddard for the all-time wins record at Snow College.
 
Stoddard coached the Badgers for 15 seasons between 1954 and 1968. He accumulated 54 victories during his time on the sideline. Only two other head coaches have surpassed the 50-win mark with the Badgers. Steve Coburn went 53-7 between 2006-10, while Paul Tidwell compiled a 51-26-3 mark from 1987-94.
 
UP NEXT: Snow College will continue its two-game road swing against Kilgore College Saturday, Sept. 12. The Badgers won their lone game against the Rangers – a 43-21 result Oct. 23, 2021, in Kilgore, Texas.
 
The Rangers currently own a 1-1 overall record. They suffered a 34-20 loss to Blinn College to open the season before earning an 87-0 victory against Community Christian College last weekend. They'll face Trinity Valley Community College Saturday in Kilgore, Texas.
 
The Badgers' meeting with the Rangers is scheduled to kick off at 5:00 p.m. MST. For video streaming and live stats information, visit snowbadgers.com.