Snow College Turned a 10-0 Hole Into a 39-10 Conference Debut

Snow College Football spent its first Southwest Junior College Football Conference game chasing Cisco College on September 5 in Cisco, Texas. The Badgers trailed 10-0 late in the first quarter. They left with a 39-10 win, 39 unanswered points, four interceptions and a 2-0 overall record in their new league's first season.

Snow College Athletics' official recap puts the turning point in the response, not the opening deficit. Cisco scored a nine-yard touchdown after a 71-yard run, then made a 41-yard field goal after a special-teams penalty gave the Wranglers field position at the Snow 38. With 1:58 left in the first quarter, the Badgers were down two scores on the road in their conference debut.

They needed two plays to change the shape of the game.

A 50-yard run lit the response

Jadyn Buckner opened Snow's next possession with a 50-yard run. Quarterback Dylan Story then found LaDainian Wall for a 25-yard touchdown, and Ian Sanches' extra point cut the Cisco lead to 10-7 with 1:58 remaining in the first quarter.

The official recap makes that short drive the first direct answer to Cisco's start. It also set up a second-quarter sequence that gave Snow its first lead. Caleb Darthard deflected a Cisco pass, Maxx Johnson intercepted it, and the Badgers took possession at the Cisco 38. Story connected with Lael Rhodes for 25 yards before Aquaylis Jordan scored on a 10-yard run on third-and-seven. The two-point try failed, but Snow led 13-10.

The Badgers added another score before halftime. After a Snow interception, Story completed passes to Rockwell Magleby, Rhodes and Kade Haroldsen to move the offense into the red zone. A pass-interference penalty placed the ball at the six-yard line, and Story found Grayden Dumas for a touchdown with 13 seconds left in the half. Sanches converted the point after, giving Snow a 20-10 halftime lead.

That 20-point run did more than erase the deficit. It made the next 30 minutes a defensive test for a team playing its first conference road game in Texas.

Four interceptions, then two defensive touchdowns

Cisco crossed midfield on its first possession of the second half, but Meeks Falatea intercepted a pass and returned it 17 yards to the Snow 44. The Badgers did not cash in a touchdown on the resulting drive; an interception at the two-yard line gave Cisco the ball back. The defense answered the setback itself.

Kaleb Miller and Kolter Stuart stopped a Cisco ball carrier in the end zone for a safety, extending the score to 22-10. Sanches followed with a 49-yard field goal after the next Snow possession stalled at the Cisco 32. The lead was 25-10 entering the fourth quarter.

The final margin came from two pick-sixes. Fale Atuaia intercepted a pass and returned it 32 yards for a touchdown with 9:20 remaining. Ninety-two seconds later, Will Warner jumped a slant route, intercepted another Cisco pass and returned it 34 yards for a touchdown. Sanches made both extra points.

Snow's release lists four interceptions for the Badgers: Johnson, Falatea, Atuaia and Warner each had one. Warner also finished with six tackles and a tackle for loss, while Jaden Manwaring led Snow with eight tackles. The two fourth-quarter interception returns turned a two-score game into the 39-10 final without asking the offense to manufacture one more scoring drive.

The numbers behind the final

Snow outgained Cisco 401-205 and led 24-8 in first downs, according to the official game statistics. The Badgers rushed for 229 yards on 46 carries while holding Cisco to 80 rushing yards. The defense also recorded 11 tackles for loss.

Buckner led the rushing line with 102 yards on 13 carries, including the 50-yard run that preceded Wall's first-quarter touchdown. Louie Hamilton added 61 yards on 12 attempts, and Tala Taulapapa ran seven times for 44 yards. Story finished 13-of-29 passing for 149 yards and two touchdowns. Rhodes had five catches for 66 yards, while Wall and Dumas each caught a touchdown pass.

Those totals give the comeback a clear shape: Snow rebuilt the game with its run game, controlled the down-to-down math, and then broke it open with takeaways. The result is not a national ranking or a forecast for October. It is a road conference result backed by a complete official stat line.

Kilgore is next on the new Texas route

The Badgers' schedule does not ease after the conference opener. Snow remains on the road for a September 12 game at Kilgore College in Kilgore, Texas, scheduled for 6 p.m. Mountain Time. It is the second of the back-to-back Texas trips that opened the Badgers' Southwest Junior College Football Conference slate.

The broader 2026 schedule gives the next date context. Snow joined the SWJCFC after seven seasons as an NJCAA independent, and the league has a postseason tournament on its calendar. The Cisco game was the first practical measure of what that transition looks like on the field: a road contest, a deficit, and a team that found enough explosive defense to turn the final three quarters into a statement.

For now, the verified record is simple. Snow College is 2-0 overall and 1-0 in SWJCFC play after its first league game. The next check comes at Kilgore, not in a projection made from one Saturday in Cisco.

Key facts: Snow College at Cisco College

• Final: Snow College 39, Cisco College 10 on September 5, 2026, in Cisco, Texas
• Conference context: Snow's first Southwest Junior College Football Conference game; the Badgers are 2-0 overall and 1-0 in league play
• Comeback: Cisco led 10-0 late in the first quarter; Snow scored 39 unanswered points
• Takeaways: Four Snow interceptions; Fale Atuaia and Will Warner returned fourth-quarter interceptions for touchdowns
• Team totals: Snow led 401-205 in total yards and 24-8 in first downs; the Badgers rushed for 229 yards and recorded 11 tackles for loss
• Leaders: Jadyn Buckner rushed for 102 yards; Dylan Story passed for 149 yards and two touchdowns; Lael Rhodes had five catches for 66 yards; Jaden Manwaring made eight tackles
• Next verified game: at Kilgore College on September 12 at 6 p.m. Mountain Time