Inspired Ptarmigans rally, beat Polars in annual Sno-Bowl game
The Ptarmigans’ Alex Smisek (white jersey) tried to tackle Polars’ running back Gaige Giles (black jersey) as he tried to rumble his way into the end zone during the second half of the Sno-Bowl Saturday in Memorial Park. Smisek and company won the annual game, 12-8. (John Mueller photo)
On an unseasonably warm day Saturday, Dec. 28, with temperatures in the 40s, New Prague High School alums returned to the gridiron for the 65th anniversary of the Sno-Bowl, a spirited friendly tackle football contest between the Polars and Ptarmigans within the friendly confines of Memorial Park.
This year’s edition saw the Ptarmigans defeat the Polars, 12-8. Despite the Ptarmigans’ win, the Polars still lead the overall series with 32 wins to the Ptarmigans 20. There have been 13 ties. The Ptarmigans have enjoyed the better of the series recently. The Polars’ last victory came in 2017. Since then, the Ptarmigans have won three times and endured three ties.
The Polars dominated the opening half against an undermanned group of Ptarmigans which bent but wouldn’t break. On the opening drive, Polars quarterback Ryan Haugen marched his team down the field. Haugen connected on several passes to receivers Zack Shetka, Dylan Eaton, Nate Zweber and Kyle Zweber. With first down inside the 5-yard line, the Ptarmigans stood their ground with a goal-line stand to keep the Polars out of the end zone.
The Ptarmigans moved the ball on their first drive. After narrowly escaping a safety on the first down from their own 1-yard line, the Ptarmigans moved the ball out to midfield with a long run from Kevin Korbel. The Ptarmigans lost yards when quarterback Chad Skluzacek was sacked by Gaige Giles and Zack Dubanoski on consecutive plays.
The Polars quickly scored their only touchdown of the game with strong runs from Haugen and Giles. On third-and-goal, Haugen ran a run-pass-option play, hitting Giles with a pass for the game's first touchdown. A two-point conversion was successful with a catch in the back of the endzone by Kyle Zweber.
Spirited motivation
At halftime, Sno-Bowl Hall-of-Famer Paul Frykman gave an inspiring speech to the Ptarmigans that would end up resulting in 12 unanswered points. On the opening drive of the second half, Skluzacek connected for a...
To see more on this story pick up the January 2, 2025 print edition of The New Prague Times.
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