A10 Sanpete Messenger/Gunnison Valley Edition Thursday, November 8, 2007 Not ‘just another blowout’ Snow College’s 55-21 shellacking of Easrern Arizona clinches conference title and all but ensures shot at national championship By John Hales Managing editor EPHRAIM—To report that the Snow College Badgers had a huge victory is hardly news at this point in their so-far undefeated season. With an average margin of victory of 31 points over 10 games, the Badgers’ 55-21 pounding of the Gila Monsters last Saturday was, in the words of one observer, “just another ho-hum blowout.” But the Badgers’ defeat of the Gila Monsters was much more than that, due to a few facts surrounding the game. First, there were national-title hopes on the line for both Snow and Eastern Arizona. Second, it was the NJCAA’s game of the week and, by admission of both coaches, the game of the year for both teams. Third, the game featured an astounding performance by Badger quarterback Jon Eastman, who returned to the field after a sixweek absence due to a foot injury he suffered four games in the season. With only two games left in the season, including last Saturday’s, the match-up between No. 1 Snow and No. 4 Eastern Arizona was certain to have implications on the national championship. If Snow won, they would pretty much seal up the nation’s No. 1 spot, barring some kind of debacle in their final game against New Mexico Military. If the Gila Monsters won, they could conceivably move as far up as No. 2 and have a shot at the national title themselves. Not only was the game a No. 1 vs. No. 4 contest, but also it pitted the nation’s top rushing offense (Eastern Arizona) against the top COURTESY WWW.CHRISTENSENARMS.COM Rand Newby (front, with deer) poses with his once-in-alifetime buck. The deer has 13 points on each side and measures 42 inches. Once in a lifetime Rand Newby makes most of sportsman’s tag with trophy buck By Bob Bahlmann Staff writer defense (Snow). In the nine games prior to last Saturday, Eastern Arizona had put up 3,378 rushing yards; Snow had allowed only 157. “Something had to give,” said Snow head coach Steve Coburn, “and it was them that gave. We rushed for 360 yards against a team that was supposed to be the big rushing team.” Though Coburn is usually a one-game-at-a-time, focused on the here-and-now kind of guy, even he (See “Snow” on A11) WWW.CLICK4SPORTS.COM In his return performance after being sidelined due to injury, Snow quarterback Jon Eastman (top) threw for 304 yards and four touchdowns, including this pass to Kyle Hatch (inset) that went 53 yards for a score. It’s been said that your chances of being struck by lightning are better than the odds of drawing a Utah Sportsman tag, so when Rand Newby drew out for a 2007 mule deer tag, he knew it might be a oncein-a-lifetime opportunity to pursue a trophy buck. Knowing that the best time to harvest a trophy mulie is during the rut in early November, Newby wasn’t planning to get serious about hunting until that time, but a horseback riding trip by some friends changed his mind and he got serious in a hurry. Jeremy, Dillon and Rod Taylor were riding in a remote area of southeastern Utah when they spotted a buck they thought Newby would be interested in. One of the guys rode three hours to a spot where he could get cell phone service and called Newby while the others tried to keep an eye on the deer. Newby hooked up with the Taylors, and they managed to locate the buck with a spotting scope by moonlight. It was obvious that the deer was a big one, but the hunters had to wait about six hours for daylight and a chance to see just how big the buck was. The deer was bedded in some pretty rough country with a lot of ledges and scattered pinion and juniper trees. Newby was able to approach to within about 400 yards of the deer, close enough that he felt confident he could make the shot with the rifle he helped build as an employee of Christensen Arms in Fayette. One shot was all it took from the carbon wrapped barrel on his 7mm WSM, and the buck was his. The deer sports 13 points on each side and has a spread of 42 inches. For more information on the hunt and additional pictures log on to www.christensenarms.com, click on Adventure Logs and scroll down to 2007 Utah Sportsman Buck. Anyone inspired by Newby’s buck who wants to apply for a 2008 Sportsman tag had better get on the stick; the application period runs Nov. 1-15. DWR proposes return to nine-day hunt season By Bob Bahlmann Staff writer SALT LAKE CITY—A 1999 decision by the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources aimed at reducing hunting pressure on deer in portions of the state has backfired, a recent study reveals, so the division is looking at reversing the move that created five-day hunting seasons. In 1999, the DWR restricted the central and southeast regions of the state to a five-day season in hopes that fewer deer would be taken. But hunters made a point of hunting every available day since they wouldn’t be able to hunt two weekends like the rest of the state. Study results now back up what most hunters believed was the case for several years. According to statistics, over the past eight years, areas with a nine-day season have had an average of 285 deer per 1,000 hunters. By contrast the areas with a five-day season have had 364 deer harvested per 1,000 hunters. With this information, the DWR is proposing that the five-day season in the central and southeast regions be returned to the traditional nine days. Regional meetings will be held to discuss these and other possible changes over the next two weeks. The DWR is also recommending that the statewide general spike bull elk hunt return to a 13-day season. That would make the spike season the same length as the state’s general any bull elk season. Additional information regarding deer and elk management will also be discussed at a series of upcoming public meetings. These meeting will also give interested parties an opportunity to express their feelings about Utah’s big game management plans. Representatives from Utah’s five Regional Advisory councils will take public input to the Utah Wildlife Board on Nov. 29 prior to approving Utah’s 2008 Big Game Guidebook. Meeting dates, times and locations are as follows: Southern Region Tuesday, Nov. 6, 5 p.m. Hurricane High School, 345 W. Tiger Blvd., Hurricane Southeastern Region Wednesday, Nov. 7, 6:30 p.m. John Wesley Powell Museum, 1765 E. Main St., Green River Northeastern Region Thursday, Nov. 8, 6:30 p.m. Western Park, Room 2, 302 E. 200 South, Vernal Central Region Tuesday, Nov. 13, 6:30 p.m. Springville Junior High School, 165 S. 700 East, Springville Northern Region Nov. 19, 6 p.m. Brigham City Community Center, 24 N. 300 West, Brigham City Some of the other big game proposals the DWR will present include the following for southern Utah: • Change the Fillmore, Oak Creek South bull elk unit from a limited entry unit to a general any bull elk unit. • Change the Plateau, Fishlake-Thousand Lake buck deer unit from a limited entry unit to a general season unit. • Create a new general any bull elk unit in southeastern Utah. The unit would be on the east side of U.S. 191, just east of the San Juan limited entry bull elk unit.