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EPHRAIM- No. 1 ranked Snow College kept its winning streak alive with a 55-21 thumping of No. 4 Eastern Arizona Saturday at Badger Stadium in Ephraim.
The Badger scoring started early with a 4-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jon Eastman to Reagan Buck less than two minutes into the game.
The Gila Monsters answered back with a rushing touchdown of their own before Snow opened up a big lead.
"We knew we had to jump out quick," said head coach Steve Coburn. "Eastern is a tough team and we wanted to make sure we had them on their heels from the start."
The Bagders kept the first quarter scoring rolling with a 65-yard Eastman pass to Kimball Burton, followed by a Joe Phillips 42-yard field goal. Running back Soni Sotele finished the first quarter with a 62-yard touchdown run with less than a minute remaining to make it a 24-7 game.
Phillips hit another field goal and Eastman found receiver Kyle Hatch for a 53-yard touchdown, giving the Badgers a 34-14 halftime lead.
Sotele ran for two more second half touchdowns and Eastman through another strike to receiver Troy Cummings in the second half as Snow coasted to a 55-21 victory.
"We knew they had a good offense so we would need to put a lot of points on the board," said Snow offensive coordinator Tyler Hughes. "We were moving the ball well on the ground and in the air."
Eastman threw for 304 yards and four touchdowns and Snow's running backs combined for 366 yards on the ground, including 203 yards and three touchdowns from Sotele, putting him over the 1,200 mark for the season.
In all the Badgers put up 670 yards total offense and held the Gila Monsters to 223 total yards, including only five passing yards. Safety Andrew Rich led Snow's defense with seven tackles - two for a loss - and an interception against the Eastern triple-option attack.
Snow's last loss came at the hands of Eastern in Oct. 2006, 25-20 in Thatcher, Ariz.
"We didn't have to tell our guys how big this game was," said Coburn. "They knew they had a chance to make a statement."
Snow (10-0, 7-0) finishes its regular season Saturday at home against New Mexico Military Institute. A victory will insure a conference championship for the Badgers and a shot at a national crown. Kick off is set for noon.
