The dream season of Bayfield High School football continued Thursday when senior cornerback Cash Snooks officially signed a National Letter of Intent to play for Dakota College at Bottineau.
“I was pretty excited when I got the chance to do this,” said Snooks, son of Michael and Kristen Snooks. “I’ve been waiting for this opportunity for a while.”
Snooks was a part of the 2015 team that won the Colorado High School Activities Association Class 2A championship to complete a 12-0 season.
Dakota College of Bottineau is in North Dakota and is a part of the Manitoba Colleges Athletic Conference in the National Junior College Athletic Association.
The Lumberjacks will get a talented defensive back who recorded 29 tackles, four interceptions, two fumble recoveries and one defensive touchdown his senior season.
Snooks, who plans to study business management, had his marquee game when it mattered most by getting two crucial interceptions in Bayfield’s 28-14 win against Brush in the quarterfinals of the state playoffs to keep the season alive.
In his high school career, Snooks finished with 78 tackles and five interceptions.
“The special thing about football is there’s a level that anyone can play, and the exciting part is that there’s a spot for Cash,” Bayfield head coach Gary Heide said. “There’s a driving force to him wanting to play, so you get excited for the young man. I really look forward to him playing.
“I think he saw the opportunity to play football and he took it. He has a love for the game. The Lumberjacks are getting someone who’s committed on and off the field.”
The Lumberjacks went 5-3 last season before losing in the MCAC Playoff semifinal game against Rochester Community and Technical College.
Going from a small town in Colorado to a small town in North Dakota will be a smooth transition, Snooks said.
“I like that the school is a lot smaller,” Snooks said. “The coach runs his program the same way we run it here. He doesn’t really put up with any shenanigans. He’s kicked a few kids off the team because they didn’t show up to preseason meetings. I like the way he runs his team.”
Snooks’ experience on the defensive side of the ball is what ultimately drew him to be a Lumberjack. Newly-minted head coach Dan Davis will make the transition from defensive coordinator for the 2016 season.
Dakota College is a two-year school, so Snooks will look to compete right away as a freshman.
He’s unsure about whether he’ll play free safety or cornerback, but one thing is for sure, he hopes to wear his No. 23 jersey.
Prior to this season, Snooks wasn’t sure if college was in his future. With help from his parents, Snooks began to upload videos of his highlight reels to a recruiting site. Since then, Snooks all of a sudden had options ranging from schools in California, Minnesota, Wisconsin and even the greater Chicago area.
“This is pretty exciting,” said Michael Snooks, who coached on Bayfield’s 2012-13 state run. “I really enjoyed talking with (Davis). He was stressing one-on-one student-teacher atmosphere. We discussed some defense, which they ran a similar style to Bayfield. (Davis) had 10 or 15 conversations with Cash with the process, so they seemed excited.”
jmentzer@durangoherald.com
