Challenging Cody Jamison's size is like challenging his heart. Dixie College challenged it, and the Snow College running back responded with 129 yards and three touchdowns to lead the No. 7 Badgers to a 40-20 victory over Dixie in the 13th Rotary Bowl Saturday at Hansen Stadium.
"I had a great football coach when I was young (Terry Welti), he was like a father-figure to me," said Jamison, who was named Snow's MVP. "He told me that when someone makes fun of your size, tell them dynamite comes in small packages."Snow coach Keith Uperesa has never questioned Jamison's size.
"He's a little fireplug," he said of the 5-foot-7, 169-pound sophmore. "If you're around Cody Jamison like we are week in and week out, you know he's not afraid to stick his nose in like he did today. He really came through."
He came through, and he came through big, but Jamison expected nothing less from himself.
"Last night (Friday) my coach said to write down what you needed to do to make our team the best," he said. "I wrote, knowing this could be my last game, I wanted to play my heart out."
After the clubs traded two scores, Jamison powered in from three yards out, his second TD of the half, late in the second quarter to give the Badgers (8-2) the lead for good.
Snow scored one more time, a 70-yard pass from Josh Heupel (1-20, 208 yards, 3 TD's) to Mark Larsen to give the Badgers a 26-13 halftime lead.
That score, along with their two touchdowns to start the half, one after an onsides kick to start the half, increased the Badger lead to 33-13. Jamison, a Jordan High product, later added a 32-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter.
Dixie's scores came on an 1-ayrd run by Tony Neilsen to give the Rebels the early 6-0 lead; an 11-yard TD pass from Quinn Hampton to Chris Brinagh, Dixie's MVP, who had 11 catches for 208 yards, later in the second quarter, and a 1-yard run by Eric Lockhart with four minutes left in the game.
"It's the hardest thing in the world (to beat the same team twice," Dixie coach Greg Croshaw said. "I knew it was going to be very difficult, and that we were going to have to play a perfect game and we didn't . . . You have to give Snow a lot of credit -- they came out and executed."
"It was really disappointing losing our last two cames of they year," Heupel said. "To get a chance to to come he and redeem ourselves against Dixie was a great opportunity, and for us to go out with a win is an excellent capper on the season."