MALAD CITY — Usually, championship seasons can be traced back to one game, one performance that pushed the team toward its title. And more often than not, that singular performance, be it form an individual or the team as a whole, is a resoundingly positive one.

But this year’s 3A baseball state championship-winning Malad Dragons can trace their success to back-to-back losses in early April, according to head coach Jeff Snow.

After falling, first 8-0 to Clearfield (UT) then 8-1 to Marsh Valley, Malad’s record stood at a mediocre 4-4. It was the second of those defeats, an April 8 loss to the Eagles, though, that broke Snow. The first-year head coach said his team played scared.

“Marsh Valley thinks we’re weak,” the coach recalls telling his team, “and we were.”

Snow saw Malad play for

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