SNOW WINS BOWL GAME
by Gary Chidester

Badgers Near Perfect Season - Beat Coffeyville 26-21

The Snow College Badgers jumped out to a 20-7 halftime lead, but had to come from behind to claim their third straight Top of the Mountains Bowl 26-21 over Coffeyville Community College.

It wasn't easy and it required a lot of help. First team All-American quarterback Cade Cooper went out of the game on a late hit out of bounds and the Badgers trailing 21-20. Stephen Vincent stepped in and continued the drive and the eventual game winning score on a nine yard pass to offensive MVP Devin Frischknecht.

"It was good to see the positive reaction from the team," said Head Coach Steve Coburn. "That was a scary situation to have any player go down like that, but especially when it's your quarterback. Stephen came in and did a great job of moving the offense and making the necessary plays for us to win."

The Badgers dodged a lot of bullets in this game to hold on for the win. Four fumbles early in the game kept the fans on the edge of their seats, but only one of the four fumbles resulted in a turnover.

Frischknecht led the team with three touchdowns. Matt Asiata, a second team All-American led the Badger rushing attack with 126 yards. Colt Mund added a touchdown in handling much of the rushing load of the first half before leaving with a sprained ankle.

The Badger defense gave up one long play for a touchdown and two scoring drives to start the second half, but other than that were stellar in stopping the much heralded rushing attack of Coffeyville. Sean Matagi led the defense from his defensive end position and was rewarded for his efforts with the defensive MVP award.

Coburn said he was proud of his players for overcoming a deficit and fighting through adversity and there was plenty of challenges.

"We recruit players with character," Coburn said. "We recruit the right kids, not the best kids. It's a part of our program to have players develop within the system."

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