Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

Utah Tech University Athletics

FB - Barney vs. ASU
Stan Plewe/Utah Tech Athletics
28
Adams State ASFB 3-6 , 3-5
54
Winner Dixie State DSFB 4-5 , 4-4
Adams State ASFB
3-6 , 3-5
28
Final
54
Dixie State DSFB
4-5 , 4-4
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
ASFB Adams State 0 14 7 7 28
DSFB Dixie State 14 13 7 20 54

Game Recap: Football | | By DSU Athletics Media Relations

Football rolls past Adams State Saturday, 54-28

Trailblazers explode for 620 yards and 54 points; Blake Barney accounts for 350 yards and five touchdowns

The Dixie State football team snapped a two-game losing skid Saturday with a 54-28 Homecoming victory over Adams State at Legend Solar Stadium.

The Trailblazers (4-5, 4-4 RMAC) exploded for a season-high 620 yards of total offense, including a season-best 378 yards rushing, and a season-high 54 points. Redshirt sophomore Blake Barney (St. George, Utah/Dixie HS) (146 yards, 2 TD) and sophomore Sei-J Lauago (Paramount, Calif./La Mirada HS) (career-high 187 yards, TD) each eclipsed the century mark on the ground, while Barney added a career-best 204 yards passing and three touchdowns. In all, Barney accounted for 350 yards of total offense and five touchdowns.

Dixie State opened the scoring at the midway point of the first quarter when Barney capped a nine-play, 81-yard drive with a 32-yard touchdown run. Barney faked a screen pass to senior running back Jeffrey Coprich (Watts, Calif./West Ranch HS), then sprinted up the middle, juking a defender in the process, for the score at the 7:07 mark. Barney also found Lauago for a 28-yard catch-and-run two plays earlier to set up the scoring play.

The Trailblazers forced an ASU three-and-out on the ensuing possession, then jump started another scoring drive on first down. Barney tossed a screen pass to Lauago at the DSU 33-yard line, who stopped and fired a half-back pass to redshirt sophomore receiver Kasey Allison (Moreno Valley, Calif./Canyon Springs HS) for a 38-yard gain to the ASU 29-yard line. Lauago broke free for a 14-yard scamper on the next play, and three plays later, Barney scored his second touchdown from six yards out to push the lead to 14-0 with 4:18 remaining in the first quarter.

Adams State answered early in the second quarter, and turned a DSU interception into a 17-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 14-7 with 14:55 remaining until halftime.

Dixie State countered with its third scoring drive of the game as Barney, Lauago, and Coprich combined for 58 yards rushing on the next possession before the drive stalled inside the red zone. Redshirt freshman kicker A.J. Yergensen (St. George, Utah/Desert Hills HS) made sure the Trailblazers did not go without points on the drive, and nailed a 30-yard field goal to push the lead to 17-7.

The Grizzlies pulled within three points at 17-14 on the next possession, marching 75 yards in eight plays in just over two minutes. ASU capped the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run with 7:39 remaining in the second quarter.

The Trailblazers seemed poised to answer with another touchdown on the next drive. Lauago opened the possession with a highlight-reel 67-yard run to the ASU 8-yard line, breaking multiple tackles to set DSU up inside the red zone. But like the previous DSU possession, the drive stalled, and Yergensen nailed a 22-yard field goal to extend the lead to 20-14 with 5:08 to go before the halftime break.

Adams State picked up where it left off on its next drive and threatened to take the lead before halftime. The Grizzlies marched 56 yards to the DSU 19-yard in eight plays and looked to score on the ninth play. But senior defensive back Tyneil Cooper (Providence, R.I./Hope HS) had other plans. Cooper jumped in front of an ASU pass at the 3-yard line and raced 65 yards the other way to the set up the Trailblazers at the ASU 32-yard line.

Dixie State wasted no time turning the turnover into points as Barney found Allison for a 31-yard touchdown pass two plays later to stake the Trailblazers to a 27-14 halftime lead.

The Grizzlies opened another promising drive on their first possession of the second half, but the drive was halted by another DSU interception, as sophomore defensive back Jaylen Moore (Murrieta, Calif./Murrieta Valley HS) made a spectacular catch in the end zone for his third interception of the season. And again, the Trailblazers took advantage of the ASU turnover.

Lauago opened the ensuing DSU drive with three consecutive carries, including a 30-yard scamper on first down, to set up a 46-yard touchdown strike from Barney to junior receiver Orlando Wallace (Cathedral City, Calif./Cathedral City HS). With less than four minutes gone by in the third quarter, the Trailblazers held a 34-14 lead.  

Adams State responded with a 12-play, 75-yard drive, capped by a 13-yard touchdown pass on third down to cut the lead back to 34-21 with 6:53 remaining in the third quarter.

Dixie State pushed the lead back to a three-score advantage at 41-21 midway through the fourth quarter on the second Barney-to-Wallace touchdown connection of the day, this time from 18 yards out. The play capped a five-play, 63-yard drive, highlighted by a 22-yard run by Barney.

The Grizzlies matched the DSU scoring drive with one of their own, marching 75 yards in less than one minute to set up a halfback-pass touchdown to cut the lead back to 41-28 with 6:48 remaining in the final frame.

The Trailblazers mounted their final offensive scoring drive on the ensuing possession, marching 39 yards in six plays to set up a 4-yard Lauago touchdown run on the seventh play of the drive to push the lead to 47-28 with 3:56 remaining.

Dixie State closed the scoring on the ensuing ASU possession when junior defensive lineman Donovan Williams (San Diego, Calif./Mater Dei HS) sacked ASU quarterback Nick Rooney, jarring the ball loose in the process. Junior defensive lineman Remington Kelly (Bountiful, Utah/Bountiful HS) scooped up the fumble and rumbled 46 yards for his first collegiate touchdown to push the lead to the final tally of 54-28.

The Trailblazers' 620 yards of total offense marked the third-most yards in a single-game during the program's NCAA Division II era. Barney and Lauago led the offensive onslaught on the ground, while Wallace finished with four catches for 83 yards and two touchdowns, and Allison added two catches for 69 yards and a touchdown.

Dixie State conceded 478 yards of total offense (311 pass, 167 rush), but won the turnover battle for the first time this season. The Trailblazers finished with four takeaways (three interceptions, one fumble), and turned the turnovers into 21 points. Williams and sophomore linebacker Alex Lilliard (San Diego, Calif./Grossmont HS) finished with eight tackles each, while Cooper added six tackles and an interception to go with two pass breakups. Junior safety Trayvon Watson (Los Angeles, Calif./West Adams Prep HS) finished with five tackles and his third interception of the season.

The Trailblazers host No. 24 Colorado State-Pueblo next Saturday at 1 p.m. in the 2017 home finale. The game will serve as the team's Senior Day, as well as Military Appreciation Day.
 
Print Friendly Version