BADGERS FINISH ON A HIGH NOTE
by Brad Barton

Convincing Victory in Zions Bank Top of Mountains Bowl Classic

Salt Lake City, UT—Saturday at the Zions Bank Top of the Mountains Bowl Classic, the Snow College Badgers defeated the eleventh-ranked Rochester (Minnesota) Yellow Jackets 45-7.

The bowl game was full of events for both teams as Friday night they were treated to a banquet and a hilarious speech by former Utah Jazz coach Frank Layden that entertained and inspired both squads.

Once the game started, it was the Badgers who entertained on the field. The Badgers’ success came early and often, commencing with Landon Beus’ 59-yard touchdown run that gave Snow a 7-0 lead. Later on, Deondrick Nunez blocked a punt that cornerback Jason Strieff returned 31 yards for a touchdown giving the Badgers a 14-0 lead after 1 period of play.

Throughout the 2nd Quarter, Snow’s vaunted defense continually stifled Rochester’s attempts at getting anything going offensively while Todd Daniels and sparingly used tight end Brett Sandall each scored touchdowns.

Just moments before intermission, the Yellow Jackets scored when cornerback Anthony Kunza returned an interception 32 yards for a score, making it 28-7 at the break.

Rochester maintained the momentum in the third quarter driving into field goal range but Nunez blocked the field goal attempt and Cole Hall recovered the ball and raced into the end zone. Snow’s lead was insurmountable at 35-7.

Joey Mack added a field goal and wideout Aaron Straiten hauled in a 6-yard touchdown pass for the final 45-7 margin.

After time had expired, the winning trophy was presented to the Badgers while head coach Jeff Kilts received a chilly Gatorade shower from his players, culminating a successful season.