Snow comes from behind for exciting homecoming win
Bob Bahlmann
Staff writer
10-20-2016
EPHRAIM—The Snow College Badgers got back on the winning track with an impressive late-game surge to defeat Pima 43-37 during their homecoming game on Saturday.
The win moves Snow into a tie with Eastern Arizona for third place in the Western States Football League.
In a pre-game interview, Badger coach Britt Maughn felt like his players needed to own the line of scrimmage.
“We need to control their speed and make them pass,” Maughn said.
The Badgers held Pima to 173 yards rushing but failed to establish their own running game. Snow netted only 46 yards running. As a result, the game turned into a fast paced aerial shoot-out with nearly 700 passing yards from the two teams combined.
Snow found themselves in a hole early when the Aztecs scored on their first possession and then again late in the first quarter to go ahead 13-0.
The Badgers got on the board on the second extra-point attempt when Jantz Arbon blocked the kick and then scooped it up to run 98 yards for the two-point score.
Snow narrowed the lead to four points when Justin Miller connected with Brandon Jones on an 80-yard touchdown pass. Three minutes later, the Badgers took the lead on another long pass play, this one for 79 yards to Kiwa Mo’o.
With no time left on the clock, the Aztecs regained the lead on a one-yard run to go ahead 20-16 at the half.
The third quarter saw Pima score twice more with a field goal and then a touchdown to take a 30-16 lead, but the Badgers would not quit.
Starting from their 26-yard line, Miller completed back-to-back passes to Alex Croyle to move the ball to the Pima five-yard line, where Damon Murray ran it in to narrow the lead to seven points.
Next, it was another pass from Miller to Mo’o, this one a 41 yard touchdown completion to tie the game. The go-ahead score came on a 25-yard pass to Croyle for a touchdown and then the Badgers went ahead by 14 when Calief Samon blasted through a hole opened by his blockers on a 37-yard scoring run.
Samon led the Badger ground attack with 45 yards; Murray added 30. Miller completed 24 of 44 passes for 456 yards. Croyle had seven catches for 156 yards, Mo’o had three for 129 yards and Jones caught five for 102 yards.
The Badgers will have a bye this week before traveling to Eastern Arizona on Oct. 29.
