THATCHER, Ariz. — No. 2 ranked Snow Junior College remained perfect on the season with a hard-fought 30-23 win over No. 17 Eastern Arizona on Saturday.

The Badgers' only conference loss in the pass three years came in Thatcher in 2006, and Snow head coach Steve Coburn said he was glad to come away with the win.

"This is one of the most difficult places we play," said Coburn. "Our guys knew this would be a dogfight, and it definitely was."

Snow and Eastern were back and forth throughout the first half until freshman quarterback Quinn Mecham (Timpview High School) hit fullback Mike Meifu (West Jordan High School) for a five-yard touchdown to give the Badgers a 20-14 lead less than a minute before the break.

In the second half, Eastern and Snow traded drives until late in the third quarter when running back Tyson Church (North Sanpete High School) broke a few tackles and rumbled 46 yards for the touchdown to give Snow a short-lived 27-14 lead.

Eastern Arizona answered in the third quarter with a touchdown to narrow the lead to 27-21.

The Badger special teams was the next to score — but for Eastern Arizona. Deep in Gila Monster territory, Snow was set to punt when the snap went over punter Chris Van Orden's head and out of the end zone for a safety.

With two minutes left in the game, placekicker Joe Phillips (Lone Peak High School) hit a 20-yard field goal to put Snow up 30-23.

Sophomore defensive back Trent Barney (Orem High School) picked off a Gila Monster pass with less than a minute remaining to seal the victory for the Badgers.

"Trent made a huge play for us," said defensive coordinator Justin DeCol. "We needed a big stop and Trent came up huge."

Mecham finished the game with two touchdown passes on 10-of-19 passing for 168 yards. Church led the rushing attack with 111 yards and a touchdown.

Snow continues on the road against No. 9 Phoenix Saturday. The game will be aired live at snowbadgers.com.