It was a quiet ride back to Ephraim this weekend for Tooele's Steve and Anne Pratt and their son Mark.

Mark, the starting offensive center for the Snow College Badgers, had just lost his first football game of the season Saturday, 56-27, to Butler Community College of El Dorado, Kan.

"Mark came up with the team on the bus, but we took him back. He was pretty disappointed. It was a quiet ride back," said Steve Pratt.

Despite the loss in the Zions Bank Top of the Mountains Bowl, which was also the National Junior College Athletic Association national championship game at Rice Eccles Stadium, Mark Pratt found his niche at Snow College this year. After playing on the second team for the first few games of the season, Pratt started at center the remainder of the year.

Teams don't usually look for excuses, but there were several circumstances that could have hindered the Badgers in the game. Snow was playing without its leading running back Soni Sotele, who was out with an injury. During the week three players were arrested on charges of burglary and arson, including a top defensive back and top receiver. Rumors also swirled that Snow coach Steve Coburn was a top candidate for the open head coaching job at Southern Utah University.

The main detriment to a successful showing in this year's Top of the Mountains Bowl, howwever, was the talent, size, speed and athleticism of Butler Community College which has now claimed five national championships compared to one for Snow College.

Sixteen Butler Community College football players are being recruited by top Division I programs including Florida State, Auburn Arkansas, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Texas Tech, Kansas State, etc.

A Saturday morning snowstorm blanketed the FieldTurf at Rice Eccles Stadium during the first half and Snow was able to hang with the Grizzlies trailing only 21-13 at intermission. Crews used snowplows to clear the field for the second half and Butler's offensive line started to clear huge holes for its talented running backs. Butler was also able to pick a part the Snow secondary in the second half en route to a convincing 29-point victory.

To add a little extra stress to the situation at hand, Mark Pratt needed to find another helmet during the game when his face mask became detached from his helmet.

"The face mask came off the helmet and they didn't have the pieces to repair it," Steve Pratt said. So the center borrowed a helmet from a teammate.

Mark Pratt will finish off this semester at Snow and then plans to go on a mission for the LDS Church. After the mission he plans to return and play at Snow.

Mark Watson: mwatson@tooeletranscript.com