KILGORE, TEXAS— As road warriors for the month of October, the Snow College football team travelled to Kilgore, Texas to take on the Rangers in a first ever meeting between the two teams. The Badgers fell behind early, but scored 16 straight points to take the lead and the win, 43-21.
With 4:31 remaining in the first quarter, the Rangers scored after a long pass completion, a fumble recovery and a touchdown. It looked like the Badgers had stopped the Ranger’s offense with a hard hit that caused a fumble, but Cassius Allen picked up the ball and advanced it into the end zone for the first score of the game.
Snow College answered quickly with a Tommy McGrath 56 yard pass to Dionte Davis who never broke stride on his way to Badger pay dirt. The point after failed and Snow College trailed 6-7.
“It was important for us to answer quickly,” said Snow Coach Zac Erekson. “Our offense took some time to adjust to what they were doing defensively, but once we did I think we were effective moving the ball.”
Snow College went on to score 10 more points before the end of the half to lead 16-7. The Badgers scored on a 26 yard field goal by Stockton Lund, who was 3-3 on field goals and 5-5 on extra points for the game, and Austin Francis added a 50 yard pick six with just 34.6 seconds remaining in the half.
“The defense and special teams really made a difference this afternoon.” said Erekson. “I can’t say enough about our coaches that prepared this team and made the right calls for the big plays. They are the unsung heroes that deserve the credit.”
The Rangers came back strong to start the second half as they took their first possession 68 yards for the score, highlighted by a 54 yard run by Kenneth Lacy. But the Badger defense held on the Ranger’s next five offensive possessions and the Snow College special teams blocked three of the next four punts. The first was returned 35 yards by Marquis Montgomery for a touchdown. The second turned into a 38-yard field goal by Lund and the third turned into a 25-yard touchdown pass from McGrath to Caden Leggett as the Badgers rattled off 17 unanswered points.
“Huge. It was huge to answer the call like that,” said Erekson. “Coach Kerns tells me when he thinks he can get the block and he said they could do it, so I gave them the green light. It’s great to get points from the offense, defense and special teams.”
Kelton Bertagnini got his hands on all three blocks that produced 17 points for the Badgers. Lund added a 27 yard field goal and McGrath also ran for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to round out the scoring.
The Badgers have a bye week this week and host Lackawanna College on Nov. 6 at 1 p.m. at Terry Foote Stadium.
