BADGERS WIN 24-22 MIRACLE
by Gary Chidester

On February 22, 1980 as the United States was beating the Soviets 4-3 to advance in the Olympics and win the eventual gold medal, Al Michaels exclaimed "Do you believe in miracles? Yes!"

Badger fans must be feeling the same emotion after a miraculous come-from-behind victory over Scottsdale Community College 24-22 on Saturday night.

Snow College had led much of the game and only fallen behind in the fourth quarter after the Artichokes drove the ball 62-yards to score the touchdown and the lead at 22-18. With just 1:13 left in the fourth quarter Scottsdale was looking to ice the game with a field goal. That's when the Badger special teams stepped in. Josh Crittenden blocked the field goal attempt and returned the ball 65-yards for the game winning touchdown.

More than half (4) of the Snow College wins this season have been by seven points or less. Call it good luck, call it fate or call it Karma, after four losses last year that were by eight points or less, the Badgers are glad to see a change.

Snow took the lead to start the game after engineering a 90-yard drive that was capped off by a 1-yard run by quarterback James Pritchard. Scottsdale answered with a 62-yard drive of their own and the game was tied at seven.

North Sanpete standout Bret Madsen caused a fumble that went out the back of the Artichole endzone for a safety to put the Badgers up 9-7. Snow College got another score after the defense caused a turnover and Pritchard capped off a short drive with a 5-yard run to put the Badgers up 15-7 at the half.

The second half started with the Artichokes driving 80-yards to score the touchdown and two-point conversion to tie the game at 15. An Adrian Vera 42-yard field goal made it 18-15, but Scottsdale came right back to score a touchdown and took a 22-18 lead.

After the Crittenden touchdown Derrick Brown came up with a big interception to stop a Scottsdale drive in the waning seconds to seal the win for the Badgers.

In a statistic anomaly the Badgers gained more yards on the ground than through the air. Snow College gained less than 100 yards passing, but thanks to the 65 yards by Matt Asiata and 54 yards by Pritchard on the ground, the Badgers picked up the win to secure second place in the WSFL. With one of their remaining games coming against the leader of the WSFL, Glendale Community College the Badgers could win the conference.

This week Snow College will play their final home game of the season against New Mexico Military Institute. The game against Pima Community College in November has been cancelled by Pima due to a lack of players on the active roster. This week is also homecoming for the Badgers.

The Snow College games can be heard locally on KMTI-Am 650 and right here on SnowBadgers.com