Missed opportunities cost Garden City in three-point loss to No. 9 Snow

Ephraim, UT-It was a day full of missed opportunities 

Targhee Lambson rushed for two touchdowns, Deuce Roberson added six catches for 130 yards, and ninth-ranked Snow topped Garden City, 23-20 Saturday afternoon at Terry Foote Stadium. The loss snapped the Broncbusters three-game winning streak. 

"Our defense showed up, but our offense didn't," Head Coach, Tom Minnick said. 

That defense gift wrapped the Broncbusters two early scoring chances. The first came when Darshun Williams intercepted Daisean Cash's heave into double coverage at the Snow 38 on the Badgers opening possession. But Garden City managed to gain just one yard on three plays before Angel Islas punted the ball away. Moments later though Cash was picked off again; this time by Johnny Harris, who returned it 25 yards to the Snow 5. Four plays later, after a false start and a holding penalty backed the Broncbusters up, Ty Perry connected with Travis Dixon on a wheel route for a 16-yard touchdown and a 7-0 advantage with eight minutes to go in the first. 

"We should have had 14 points out of that," Minnick said. "That's what is so frustrating. And it's not fair to the defense."

Even more frustrating was the field position battle, which Snow dominated over the first 15 minutes. Twice, the Broncbusters were backed up inside their own 5. However, Ryan Felker's offense managed to march 96 yards to the Snow 3 early in the second period. That drive included a sensational 44-yard catch by Martiel Singleton, who climbed over Autjoe Soe at the Snow 12. But after reaching the 3, Minnick rolled the dice and kept his offense on the field only to see Perry get stonewalled by by Zach Nowatzke for no gain. 

"You have to score when you have the ball inside the 5," Minnick said. "There is no excuse for that."

That decision proved costly after Snow drove 97 yards in just four plays on their ensuing possession. Cash hit Dionte Davis for a 35-yard gain on first down before locating Roberson, who sprinted past BJ Blake for a 52-yard touchdown. Snow converted the two-point conversion, and the Badgers had an 8-7 lead going into the locker room. 

"We should have scored and we didn't; then they go down and score," Minnick explained. "That's a two-touchdown swing."

Meantime, the offense held the ball for just four minutes in the third. That put the onus on Chenelle Jones' defense, which watched as Snow drove 79 yards in 18 plays to the Garden City 2. This time though Raymond Cutts was in prime position, crushing Cash for no gain on fourth-and-goal at the end of the quarter. It was a momentary victory, one that was unfortunately lost on the second play of the final period when Kini Vunipola stripped Travis Dixon on a second-down run. The Badgers recovered, and on the very next play, Lambsonbson blasted in from two yards out. Dallin Bentley ran in the two-point conversion, and the Badgers had a 16-7 cushion with 14:34 remaining. 

"We just had too many mental lapses on offense," Minnick said. 

Lambsonbson added his second touchdown run midway through the fourth when he capped off a seven-play, 52-yard drive with a one-yard scoring plunge to make it 23-7. 

Needing two scores, Garden City responded the next time they had the ball after Perry found tight end Dawson Otto for a 26-yard touchdown. But Dixon was stuffed on the two-point conversion. Then, on the ensuing kickoff, the Broncbusters were in prime position to recover the onside, but the ball rolled out of bounds. 

"Our guy was right there to grab it, and we just missed it," Minnick stated. 

Garden City still had a chance to make things interesting late. With three minutes to go, Perry directed a 12-play, 67-yard scoring drive that resulted in the sophomore's third touchdown pass of the day: a 26-yard strike to Singleton that made it a three-point game. But the Broncbusters failed to recover the onside kick, and Snow ran out the clock. 

"We put ourselves in position to win this game," Minnick said. "We just didn't capitalize on our opportunities."

Perry, who was benched for two quarters in favor of Gabe Friend, finished 13-of-26 for 182 yards and three scores for Garden City, which dropped to 0-2 lifetime vs. Snow. Manace Freeman, who left the game in the fourth quarter with an undisclosed injury, carried the ball four times for 51 yards, and (Darshun) Williams had 11 tackles and one interception. 

Cash finished 11-of-23 for 188 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions for Snow, which improved to 2-0 lifetime vs. the Broncbusters. Vunipola Had 12 tackles and half a sack.