ST. GEORGE -- For the first time in the 12-year history of the Dixie Rotary Bowl, two colleges from Utah will face each other -- Dixie College and Snow College -- and gauging from the last time these schools met four weeks ago, today's contest should be a thriller.
Dixie erased a 10-point third-quarter deficit on Nov. 9 and posted a 46-45 overtime victory over the then 7-1 Badgers.Dixie kicked the extra point in OT, but following a penalty, Dixie Coach Greg Croshaw elected to take the point off the board and go for two and the victory. The Rebels were successful.
Now the Rebels (7-4) have the tough task of beating the No. 7 Badgers two times in a row.
"It's about impossible," Croshaw said. "But that's all right. Still it's something special and the kids will be ready to play."
For the Badgers (7-2), the Dixie game was the second time the Snow defense had allowed more than 20 points.
"Sure it does (concern me)," Snow Coach Keith Uperesa said of his team's defense. "It concerned me from the beginning (of the year). Our last two games were against two of the better teams in the conference."
However, the Badgers have a potent offensive attack led by the quarterback tandem of Weber State transfer Josh Heupel (first-team All-Region 18) and Fred Salanoa. That twosome has guided the Badgers to an average of 45 points per game with games of 75, 52, and 51 points.
That doesn't bode well for Croshaw and his young defense of eight freshman starters.
"We have a lot of freshmen, but we're getting better and better," Croshaw said. "Our key to finishing strong (three straight wins) was that we got better and better, especially on defense."
Offensively the Rebels are led by QB Quinn Hampton (Spanish Fork High), who threw for nearly 1,500 yards, and running back Tony Neilson (first-team All-Region 18), who rushed for 748 yards.
A pair of All-Region 18 receivers are the favorite targets of their respective QBs. Snow's Derrick Williams hauled in 37 catches for 772 yards, and that was second only to Dixie's Chris Brinagh, who had 48 catches for 937 yards.
The game kicks off today at noon at Hansen Stadium. Dixie is 9-2 in Rotary Bowls, while Snow is 0-1.