Snow Badgers stomp Gila Monsters,

must now choke down Artichokes

By Max Higbee

Staff writer

Nov. 2, 2017

EPHRAIM—Snow College Badger Football won their last home game of the season 40-18 over the Eastern Arizona Gila Monsters at Ephraim’s Robert Stoddard Field.

“It was a great team effort overall that bought us that win,” said Paul Peterson, Snow College head coach. “The defense really got it going early with those turnovers, and the offense kept the pressure on.”

Snow got off to a rocky start, trailing 6-0 at the end of the first quarter after struggling to stop a long drive from the Gila Monsters’ offense. Eastern Arizona scored in the 7th minute of play.

The Badgers were unable to come back until almost halfway through the second quarter, when a long run by quarterback Shane Johnson put Snow within firing distance of the end zone. After two brutal tries at scoring, the Badgers overtook the Gila Monsters’ defensive line and scored their first touchdown.

The scoreboard sat unchanged until the last minute of the first half, when defensive back Colton Bennion recovered a fumble at Snow’s own 62-yard line, summarily running it in for a touchdown.

Going into the second half a full score ahead of their opponents, the Badgers turned their confidence into another touchdown in the first few minutes of the half, when team captain and linebacker Connor Taylor echoed Bennion’s fumble recovery, picking up a fumble and pulling it into the end zone, bringing the score to 20-6.

Just a few minutes later, however, the Gila Monsters answered that when Snow allowed Gila Monster running back Wilber Cooper through and he scored.

Before the third quarter was out, though, Snow wide receiver Anthony Turner caught a pass from Johnson and ran it over 65 yards to score Snow’s fourth touchdown.

In the last stretch of the game, Snow was able to put two more touchdowns on the scoreboard before Eastern Arizona rallied for one last touchdown with nine minutes left to go, but it was too late: Snow won.

Coach Peterson believes that “it was in that second half that we really won the game, we really wore them out. The team’s been working out really hard this year, and the hard work’s paying off.”

Nationally ranked 10th, with this win Snow College Football stands second in the Western States Football League with a record of four wins and one loss, one game behind the 5-0 Arizona Western Matadors. Overall, the Badgers have a season record of 7-1.

The team will hit the road next Saturday, No. 4 to face the Scottsdale Community College Artichokes. Kickoff will be at 8 p.m. It will be the second-to last game of the season before closing against the Phoenix College Bears.

When asked how the team will keep their momentum going into the last two games of the season, Coach Peterson said “we have to remember that Scottsdale’s a good team. They’re 6-2 and I think they’re still ranked. But we just need to keep doing what we’re doing, going one game at a time.”

The Snow vs. Scottsdale game will be carried live in Sanpete County on KMTI AM 650/95.1 FM and CentraCom Channel 10.