Badger football team garners conference, national awards
By Kirsten Reimschiissel and John Hales
12-26-07

EPHRAIM—A dozen Snow College Badgers have received individual awards for feats on the football field, and one has received an honor for his work on the sideline.
Head Coach Steve Coburn has been named the Western States Football League’s Coach of the Year for 2007, and 12 of his players received awards in the WSFL and the National Junior College Athletic Association.
Coburn guided the 2007 Badgers to an undefeated regular season and eight weeks as the NJCAA’s No. 1 team, falling to a season-ending No. 3 only after a defeat against Butler Community College in the national-championship game.
In Coburn’s two years as head Badger, he has built a 24-2 record and a team that this year contributes to nearly one-third of the All-WSFL First Team.
Eight Snow players are on that honor team, and three more placed on the all-league second team.
Of the 11, the most notable is Sanpete County native Coleby Clawson, who was named the WSFL’s 2007 Defensive Player of the Year.
Clawson ended the regular season with 20 tackles, 19 assisted tackles, 11 tackles for loss and eight sacks. During the season, Coburn referred to Clawson as “the heart of this team” because of Clawson’s character and work ethic.
Seven of Clawson’s teammates joined him on the All-WSFL’s First Team: Soni Sotele (running back), Jason Griswold (center), Andrew Mitchell (offensive line), Aarron Po’uha (offensive line), Tevita Hola (defensive line), Josh Sharp (linebacker) and Andrew Rich (defensive back).
The three Badgers on the All-WSFL’s Second Team are Jon Eastman (quarterback), Adam Frandsen (wide receiver) and Regan Buck (return specialist).
Six of those same players also made it onto post-season NJCAA All-American rosters.
On the All-American First Team were Clawson, Mitchell and Sharp; the All-American Second Team had Sotele and Rich; and Hola received Honorable Mention.
Frandsen and punter Jeff Wright received earlier recognition on the NJCAA’s preseason All-American teams.