Snow has its hands full with Butler CC

Snow College christened its first-ever bowl game — the Zions Bank Top of the Mountains Bowl — last season by whipping Minnesota's Rochester College, which plays in a non-scholarship league.

The Badgers (9-2) won't be strolling through their bowl game this time.

No. 6 Butler Community College of Kansas turned down several offers before accepting an invitation to play Snow in the second-annual Top of the Mountains Bowl. The Grizzlies (9-1) have been the dominant NJCAA team over the last several seasons, piling up three national titles since 1998.

"It's a great opportunity for us," said Snow coach Titan Trimble. "Butler Community College has been one of the top programs since I've been at Snow the last five or six years. So it's obviously somebody you've always wanted to play against to see where your program's at."

No. 13 Snow will battle Butler at Rice-Eccles Stadium today at noon.

The Badgers' defense hopes to slow down Butler's talented offensive attack, which is the second-ranked offense in the NJCAA.

Running back Kenny Wilson, who leads the NJCAA with 1,229 yards, will rush behind a powerful and physical offensive line.

"He's very big and very strong," Butler coach Troy Morrell said of his star runner, who's being heavily pursued by Nebraska, Florida and Tennessee.

But Morrell quickly added that he's got another outstanding running back at his disposal — Ryan Torain. He's being recruited by Arizona State and TCU, among others.

"We have one of the best run defenses in the country and they have one of the best rush offenses," said Trimble. "It's going to be a matter of filling our assignments properly."

If practice is any indication, Snow might be OK.

Free safety Chase Palmer said his team's been focused and determined as they prepare for today's contest.

"Defensively, this is the best week of practice we've ever had," said Palmer.

On the other side of the ball, Trimble said the team hopes to use play action to set up talented running back Matt Asiata, who prepped at Hunter High.

"We need to throw the ball a little more than we have been (with quarterback James Pritchard)," said Trimble. "We're going to use some play-action passes early and give Asiata his runs in spots."