EPHRAIM—The new No. 1team in the NJCAA battled the elements and the Gila River Hawks before coming away with a 63-0 victory Saturday night at Terry Foote Stadium.
The Badgers scored on six of their first seven possessions and Taylor Larsen returned a punt 72-yards for a touchdown to lead the Badgers to a 40-0 halftime lead.
“It was good to get the starters a full half before we went deeper into the bench,” said Head Coach Zac Erekson. “It’s nice to get into the bench and get those players ready for if and when they need to step up, but we need some reps for the starters to get comfortable in their role as well.”
Targhee Lambson led the Badgers ground attack with 168 yards on 18 carries and four touchdowns. Sione Molisi finished with 108 yards and a touchdown as Snow College amassed over 400 yards rushing.
“We need to continue to dominate the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball,” said Erekson. “I think we are doing that on defense and we are pretty good on offense, but we just need a little more consistency.”
Snow College didn’t need much from the passing game but was able to put up 127 yards on Tommy McGraths 10 of 17 passing and one 19-yard touchdown to Dionte Davis. Larsen led the receiving with three catches for 62 yards.
The defense was outstanding once again not allowing any positive rushing yards and no score as they held the Hawks to minus one-yard total rushing and just 138 yards passing.
“Coach Jorgensen has done a great job preparing the defense,” said Erekson. “He and his staff have put in some new things each week and they are getting a lot of pressure on the opposing offense. They are making things happen with allows the offense to be a little more aggressive.”
The Badger offense went for two separate fourth-down opportunities and came up empty, but the defense was able to hold each time.
“We need to repeat our possessions and when we go for it on fourth down we just need to make better decisions and execute,” said Erekson. “I believe we are getting better each week and that’s what we have to focus on. There are things we need to do better and if we can do that, get better each week and work on specific areas, we will be in good shape.”
The Badgers have a big target on them as long as they remain number one in the nation. Their next test will be against McDougal Technical Institute from Pompano Beach, Florida. Game time is 7 p.m. in Terry Foote Stadium. The game can also be seen on the SnowBadgerTV YouTube channel, https://youtu.be/ZTKNCzPquFI
