Dixie State put a wrap on the 2021 football season with a 55-24 loss to No. 14 Missouri State on Saturday night at Greater Zion Stadium. The Trailblazers navigated through arguably the toughest schedule at the NCAA FCS level, having played at least seven teams which were ranked, or are currently ranked, in the AFCA Coaches Top-25 poll, and came away with a 1-10 overall record.
 
After surrendering a field goal on the Bears' (8-3) opening possession, the Trailblazers put together a sustained 12-play, 47-yard drive. However the drive stalled at the MSU 23, and after a 5-yard DSU penalty, Connor Brooksby knocked through a 45-yard field goal to knot the score at 3-3.
 
The game remained tied through the end of the first quarter, but Missouri State would strike for 24-unanswered points over a near six-minute span of the second on its way to a commanding 27-3 halftime lead.
 
The Bears would tack on two more touchdowns in the third to make a 41-3 game until DSU finally found the end zone with 1:41 to play in the stanza when freshman quarterback Kobe Tracy scrambled out of the pocket and scored from 4-yards out.
 
Dixie State would find the end zone two more times in the fourth, the first coming on a Tracy-to-Cade Veach 13-yard connection with 6:32 remaining.
 
However the highlight of the night for the Blazers came with under four minutes to play when freshman corner back Devyn Perkins picked off a Jake VanDyne pass at the DSU 5 and returned it a school record 95 yards for his first collegiate pick-six.

Tracy finished threw for 307 yards on 24-49-1 passing to go with his two combined touchdowns.  Meanwhile, sophomore receiver Keith Davis had himself a night as he posted career highs of seven receptions for 146 yards, including a 41-yard catch that set up the Tracy TD run.
 
Senior Drew Kannely-Robles, in his final game in a Trailblazer uniform, became the eighth running back in the program's NCAA era to rush for 1,000 career yards (1,025 yds) as he finished with 78 yards on 22 carries.
 
Dixie State tallied 382 yards on offense, with 75 of those yards coming on the ground to go with Tracy's passing total.
 
Defensively, freshman safety Tyrell Grayson recorded his team-high fifth double-digit tackle game of the season as he racked up 12 total tackles, including nine solo stops. In addition, senior defensive linemen Isaac Fotu and Livingston Paogofie accounted for both Trailblazer sacks in their final collegiate games.
 
MSU running back Kevon Latulas led the Bears with 162 yards on just eight carries and two touchdowns, including a back breaking 68-yard scamper in the second quarter following a DSU punt. Bear QB Jason Shelley, who played two seasons at Utah and another at Utah State before transferring to MSU, threw for 251 yards and one touchdown, and ran for another score.  

Dixie State is slated to open the 2022 season on the road at Big Sky member Sacramento State on Saturday, Sept. 3.