Game Notes: UTAH TECH - PDF | CHADRON STATE - PDF
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FOR STARTERS 
• Saturday's game vs. Chadron State will be the fifth meeting between these two former RMAC rivals. The Trailblazers won the first two meetings in the series back in 2016 (UT 44, @CSC 27; 10/6) and 2017 (@UT 38, CSC 24), but the Eagles evened the overall series thanks to wins in 2018 (@CSC 30-18), and spoiled the Blazers' Homecoming Game in 2019 in St. George with a 40-27 road victory (10/26).
• Utah Tech is 2-0 vs. RMAC opponents since starting its transition to NCAA D-I FCS status, with both wins coming against Fort Lewis in the 2021 Spring (60-0; 3/27)and Fall (62-21; 11/13) seasons.
• UT is 6-10 all-time in home openers, which includes a 3-3 mark over its last six overall. However the Blazers will be looking to halt a current three-game slide in home debuts.
• Utah Tech fell to 3-14 all-time in season openers (1-3 in the Paul Peterson era; 1-9 on the road overall) in its NCAA era after its opening loss at No. 7 Sacramento State last Saturday.
• UT is now a combined 2-25 all-time vs. opponents (FCS and D-II) ranked in the AFCA top-25 Coaches' Poll, which included an 0-6 mark last fall.

QUICK HITTERS
• Utah Tech's "Spread-N-Shred" offense enters Saturday's game as the "unofficial" leader in both the FCS, AND FBS, subdivisions in passing at 506 ypg following its loss at No. 7 Sacramento State last Saturday. UT is currently in its third transition season to NCAA Division I status and is not eligible for national rankings.  
• Redshirt sophomore QB Kobe Tracy came off the bench at Sac State and threw for a career-high 339 yards on 23-of-40 passing and two touchdowns against the Hornets last Saturday. 
• Sophomore WR Joey Hobert had quite the Blazer debut as he hauled in 11 passes for 183 yards and a touchdown at Sacramento State, which is the third-highest single game yardage total in the FCS this season. 
• Sophomore running back Quali Conley scored his sixth career rushing (T-9th in UT's NCAA era) last Saturday at Sac State, and he moved into the top-10 in career rushing (733 yards - #10) after he recorded 48 yards on 13 carries against the Hornets. 
• Sophomore strong safety Tyrell Grayson picked up right where he left off from last season as he posted his sixth-career double digit tackle game with 14 stops (10 solo) at Sac State last Saturday. 

HI MY NAME IS...: This Saturday's game will be the program's first home college football game as Utah Tech University. 
        This past July 1, the institution rebranded to the new moniker, replacing "Dixie State University," while the "Trailblazers" nickname remained in place. 

NEW RADIO HOME OF UT ATHLETICS: Along with the new name, Utah Tech University Athletics announced in July a new five-year multimedia agreement with Canyon Media Corporation. 
        Beginning this fall through the 2026-27 season, all Trailblazer football and men's basketball games, including comprehensive pregame and postgame coverage, will be broadcast live on Fox Sports Southern Utah (99.5/95.3 FM in St. George; 93.1 FM/1400 AM in Cedar City), and streamed on STGNews.com.
        The agreement will also feature select coverage of several other Trailblazer Athletic events throughout the year.

AND A NEW VOICE: In conjunction of the new radio home announcement, longtime Utah sportscaster Rod Zundel was introduced as director of broadcasting and multimedia content for Trailblazer Athletics, and will serve as the new radio voice for football and men's basketball.
        Along with complete radio coverage, Zundel will host "The Paul Peterson Coaches Show" every Tuesday night on Fox Sports Southern Utah at 6 p.m. He will also oversee the production of several weekly Trailblazer student-athlete, coach and team online video feature stories, along with other digital content throughout the year. 
        Joining Zundel in the broadcast booth this season is former NFL and Super Bowl winning quarterback Jay Schroeder, who will provide color analysis, while former UT linebacker Steve Cook (2006-08) will serve as sideline reporter for select games.  

WELCOME TO THE WAC: Utah Tech kicked off the 2022 season as a full football member of the Western Athletic Conference.
        Utah Tech will play five conference games this year, beginning with a road date at in-state rival and new WAC member Southern Utah up the road in Cedar City on Saturday, Sept. 24. 
        Due to previous game contract agreements last season, the Blazers were only able to play a limited three-game  WAC schedule.

HITTING THE TRAIL: After traveling nearly 13,300 miles for five road dates last season, Utah Tech will "only" have to navigate a grand total of 7,424 miles to-and-from its six road dates this season.
        Three of the Blazers' six road games will be played in the Beehive State, with the first coming next Saturday, Sept. 17, at Weber State in Ogden (676 total miles), followed a week later by a 102-mile round trip on I-15 to Cedar City to open WAC play at SUU. 
        Utah Tech will also stay in-state for its season finale at FBS member BYU, which will be played in Provo (516 miles) on Saturday, Nov. 19.
        Including last week's round trip to Sacramento (912 miles), the Blazers will fly to and from Cedar Falls, Iowa (2,544 miles) for their game at Northern Iowa (Oct. 15), and will make their longest trip of the season to Nacogdoches, Texas (2,674 miles) to play at Stephen F. Austin on Oct. 29.
        Last season, UT covered 4,697 round trip miles to play at Delaware (10/30/21), which was the longest trip to play a football game in the program's NCAA era.

LAST TIME OUT: Utah Tech opened the 2022 campaign on the wrong end of a 56-33 decision at current No. 6/7 Sacramento State last Saturday night in California's state capital.
        Despite racking up 579 yards of total offense, including a national FCS season-high 506 yards in the air, the Trailblazers could not stop a high-powered Hornet offense, which countered with 378 rushing yards and 589 total yards on the night.
        UT fell into an early 21-0 first quarter hole and trailed 35-10 at the half. The Trailblazers managed to keep it a three-possession game for most of the second half, but were not able to draw any closer. 

UTAH TECH VS. RANKED OPPONENTS: After playing six top-25 teams in arguably the toughest schedule in the entire FCS subdivision last fall, Utah Tech has "only" three top-25 opponents on its 2022 docket heading into the season opener.
        Including last Saturday's game at No. 6/7 Sacramento State, UT is slated to face four top-25 teams - ALL ON THE ROAD - including dates at No. 17/16 Weber State (9/17), at No. 24/24 Northern Iowa (Oct. 15), and at No. 12/18 SFA (10/29). 
        Utah Tech is 3-25 all-time (2-25 AFCA) against ranked opponents in its NCAA era, which includes 14 years as a Division-II program, and two-plus years at the D-I FCS subdivision. 
        The Trailblazers' 2021 gauntlet was rated as the second-toughest schedule at the FCS level (.640) behind only Northern Iowa (.651) by the folks at WarrenNolan.com. 
        UT's 2021 slate featured seven 2021 FCS Fall playoff teams, and the 10 FCS teams the Blazers played combined to post 82-39 (.677) overall record.  
        Utah Tech did split a pair of games against ranked opponents during the Spring 2021 season, highlighted by its third-ever triumph over a ranked foe in the opener at then-No. 22 Tarleton (Stat Perform ranking, 26-14; 2/27/21). UT also dropped a hard-fought 37-27 decision at then-No. 9 Kennesaw State (AFCA and Stat Perform; 3/20/21). 
        Prior to the Tarleton road result, the last UT win vs. a ranked opponent came on Nov. 3, 2018, in a 52-45 thriller at home against then-No. 6 Colorado School of Mines (D-II/RMAC). DSU claimed its first win over a ranked opponent in a 38-31 victory at then-No. 23 Colorado Mesa in Grand Junction (D-II) in 2016.

O CAPTAINS! MY CAPTAINS!: Utah Tech will take the field in 2022 with four team captains leading the charge. As selected by their teammates, this season's captains are senior offensive lineman Nathen Aceves, redshirt freshman quarterback Victor Gabalis, senior linebacker Malaki Malaki, and senior safety Darrius Nash.

BLAZING TRAILS
• Kobe Tracy's two TDs at Sac State also tied his career high and it was his third multi-TD game of his career, and in the process, extended his streak with at least on TD pass to six-straight games.
• Redshirt freshman QB Victor Gabalis started under center at Sac State, but his Blazer debut got off to a rocky start as the Hornets forced him into three early interceptions.
• Gabalis did finish with 127 yard passing, which included a 3-yard TD pass to junior receiver Michael Moten in the fourth quarter. 
• Fellow redshirt freshman QB Boone Abbott also saw time in the fourth quarter on Saturday night and accounted for 49 total yards in six plays, including 2-of-4 passing for 40 yards, and nine yards rushing on two carries during UT's final possession.
• Utah Tech's 506 yards passing on Saturday night was the highest total since the program began its NCAA FCS transition in 2020-21, and is the third-highest single-game total in the program's NCAA era.
• - UT's offense went "Big Play" at Sac State, completing eight passes of at least 25 yards, highlighted by a Victor Gabalis-to-David Fisher 72-yard strike in the first quarter ... four of those eight connections were north of 45 yard, including a pair of 46-yard pitch-and-catches, and a 47-yarder. 
• Meanwhile, UT's 579 total yards gained last Saturday are the program's most during the FCS transition and marked the second time UT has gained 500-plus yards in a game as a D-I (538 vs. Fort Lewis; 11/13/21). 
• In addition, the 579 yards gained are the third most in Paul Peterson's tenure as head coach (677 vs. Black Hills State - 10/5/19; 591 vs. Colorado Mesa - 11/2/19).
• Redshirt sophomore WR Joey Hobert's 183 receiving yards last Saturday night are the eighth-most in a single game in the program's NCAA era, while his 11 catches are tied for sixth-most. 
• Hobert's 183-yard day was also the third-highest single game total in the FCS subdivision after one full week, behind only Samford's Kendall Watson (187 yards at Kennesaw State; 9/1) and Mercer's Ty James (192 vs. Morehead State; 8/27). 
• While Hobert was doing his thing, fifth-year WR Deven Osborne caught six balls for 113 yards and a TD, which was his third-career 100-yard receiving game.
• Osborne notched a pair of 100-plus yard games during the 2021 Spring season, highlighted a 147-yard effort with a pair of TDs vs. Fort Lewis (3/27/21) ... he also hauled in a career-best nine balls for 127 yards and a score at Kennesaw State (3/20/21). 
• Hobert and Osborne's combined effort marked the first time since the 2019 season that Utah Tech had two 100-yard receivers in one game (Kasey Allison – 126/Chase Hess – 107, vs. Black Hills State; 10/5/19).
• In fact, Utah Tech's receiving corps just missed making history on Saturday night as sophomore WR David Fisher tallied 96 yards on three catches, including the 72-yard first quarter connection with Gabalis.
• Utah Tech has never had three receivers go for 100 or more yards in a single game in the program's NCAA era, with last Saturday's effort marking the closest UT has come to achieving that feat.  
• Utah Tech has only had two 100-yard receivers in one game just 11 times in 169 games during its NCAA era. 
• In all, nine different receivers caught at least one pass in the season opener at Sacramento State.
• Since moving to NCAA competition in 2006, the program has had 10 or more receivers catch at least one pass in 14 of 169 total games in the four-year era. 
• Utah Tech has reached double figures in total receivers three times since the FCS transition began, including two instances last season (11 at UC Davis - 9/18/21; 10 at South Dakota State - 10/2/21) ... UT also had 11 different pass catchers in a home win over Fort Lewis during the 2021 Spring season (3/27/21).
• Unfortunately all the news is not all good in the Blazers' receiving corps as junior WR Keith Davis suffered a season-ending injury during practice ahead of the Sac State game.
• Sophomore RB Quali Conley recorded his fifth career game with a TD run in last Saturday's opener at Sac State.
• Conley has six career TD runs, four of which have come on the road. In addition, Conley has three career TD receptions, and two of those three have also come away from home. 
• Sophomore strong safety Tyrell Grayson's 10 solo tackles at Sac State last Saturday was his third double-digit solo stop game in his two-plus standout seasons in the Blazer defensive backfield.
• Grayson also had 12 solo tackles (13 total) in last year's home match-up against the Hornets, and posted a career-high 15 solo stops at UC Davis (9/18/21) in a game where he tied the program's NCAA-era record for total tackles with 19.
• Grayson led all of FCS, albeit unofficially, in solo tackles with 79 and led the WAC with 103 total tackles last season on his way to freshman All-America honors. 
• Sophomore DL Syrus Webster recorded the Blazer defense's first sack of 2022 when he strip-sacked Hornet QB Jake Dunniway in the third quarter, which later led to Conley's 5-yard TD run.  
• Webster finished with six tackles (5 solo) and two TFLs ... the sophomore now has 3.0 sacks and 7.0 TFLs in 12 career games.
• Freshman DL Justin Kirkland made the most of his collegiate debut as he got the start, recorded one assisted tackle, and recovered the fumble on the Webster sack.
• After missing the final two games of the season due to injury, senior DB Darrius Nash returned to the starting lineup and responded with six solo tackles and 1.0 TFL.
• Sophomore punter Andrew Day punted five times for 236 yards (47.2 ypp), with one punt fair caught inside the 20, at Sac State on Saturday night.
• Prior to last Saturday's loss at Sacramento State, the Trailblazers were 7-0 in the Paul Peterson tenure when they scored 30 or more points, and were 4-0 when gaining 500 or more yards ... Overall, UT is 24-12 in its NCAA era when scoring 30 or more points, and 15-6 when gaining 500-plus yards on offense. 

#AB3FOREVER: Linebacker Malaki Malaki has once again been awarded the No. 3 jersey for the 2022 season. The senior captain is the second Trailblazer player to wear the coveted number since the 2021 spring season. 
        The awarding of the No. 3 jersey has become an annual tradition honoring the memory of former Trailblazer football player Abraham Reinhardt, who passed away unexpectedly on March 22, 2019. UT Head Football Coach Paul Peterson noted that the No. 3 jersey would be awarded to a student-athlete who best exemplified Reinhardt's leadership, both on and off the field. 
        "When we lost a great young man in Abraham [in 2019], we wanted to honor him and his legacy the best we possibly could," Coach Peterson said. "Abe was a perfect representative of our team culture which focuses on toughness, hard work, trust and accountability.
        "Malaki exemplifies everything that we are trying to build here at Utah Tech. He is tough, works tremendously hard, is a great student and leader. Malaki will continue to wear AB3's jersey this season in honor of his legacy."

WE'RE GOING STREAKING: Heading into Saturday's home opener, seven Trailblazers enter the game with some impressive streaks on the line.
        On offense, Tracy will look to extend his streak of throwing at least one touchdown pass to seven-straight games, while Conley (11-straight games) and junior WR Rickie Johnson (10-straight games) will look to extend their collective pass reception streaks.
        Meanwhile on defense, Malaki and Nash have recorded at least one tackle in 28-straight games, while Colby Williams (15-straight), Grayson (12-straight) and sophomore DB Kyle Floyd (10-straight) will seek to continue their impressive double-digit game tackle streaks. 

RECORDS WATCH: We are on "Records Watch 2022" as several Blazers look to continue to move up the career charts this season.    
        On offense, Conley moved into a tie for ninth in rushing TDs (6) and 10th in rush yards (711 yards) after last Saturday's performance at Sac State. Meanwhile, Tracy (2,158 yards/102 TDs) needs only 31 passing yards and three TD passes to move into solo sixth on both of those lists. Tracy (2,156 total yards) also stands 132 shy of moving into sixth place on the total offense list. 
        On defense, Malaki (231) needs 45 more total tackles to become UT's career leader in that category, and is 3.0 TFLs shy of vaulting to second (22.0 TFL) on that list.
        In addition, senior DL Dylan Hendrickson (11.0) enters his final season just 3.0 sacks shy of becoming UT's career sacks leader. 
        Brooksby (12 FG/22 PATs) vaulted into fourth and ninth place, respectively, on UT's career field goal and PAT lists after he hit on all five kick attempts last Saturday in Sacramento (2-of-2 FG/3-of-3 PAT). 

ABOUT THE CHADRON STATE "EAGLES": Chadron State travels to St. George after opening its season with a 35-0 road loss at No. 7 (D-II) Angelo State this past Sept. 1 in San Angelo, Texas.
        The Eagles are coming off a 6-5 season in 2021, which included a stretch run that saw them win four of their last five games. Senior RB Jeydon Cox is Chadron's top returning offensive threat, having rushed for 648 yards and nine touchdowns a season ago. Junior quarterback Heath Beemiller, who transferred to Chadron from Big Sky member Northern Arizona, did rush for 99 yards and passed for 60 more in his Chadron debut at Angelo State.

NEXT UP FOR THE TRAILBLAZERS: Utah Tech will head out for two-straight, in-state road games, beginning in Ogden with a showdown against Weber State next Saturday, Sept. 17. Kick-off inside Stewart Stadium is set for 6 p.m.