Utah Tech football rode an overall strong defensive effort, but could not break through for its first victory of the 2024 season as the Trailblazers dropped a 13-7 home United Athletic Conference slugfest with Austin Peay on Saturday afternoon at Greater Zion Stadium. 

The game got off to an inauspicious start for the Trailblazers (0-8/0-4 UAC) when after Utah Tech was forced to punt on its opening possession, Austin Peay needed only two plays to strike for its lone touchdown of the game.

APSU wideout Romon Copeland Jr. took the direct snap on 2^nd and 3 and weaved his way 52 yards through the Trailblazer secondary to paydirt to put the Governors on the board just over four minutes into the game. 

Austin Peay (3-4/2-2 UAC) would add a Carson Smith 39-yard field nearly five minutes later, as the Governors enjoyed a 10-0 lead after one quarter of play.
 
Utah Tech's lone touchdown of the aftenoon came at the 10:37 mark of the second quarter, when redshirt junior running back Bretton Stone reached the end zone on a 1-yard dive.
 
Stone's second rushing touchdown of the season capped a 12-play, 73-yard drive that clocked a season-long 6:11 of possession time. 

The game remained a three-point affair as both sides headed to the fourth quarter. Austin Peay had a chance to extend back to a two-score lead on its first possession of the frame, thanks in large part to a 64-yard Austin Smith-to-Jaden Barnes pass completion, which flipped the field from the APSU 26 to first and goal at the Utah Tech 10.
 
Then on the ensuing play, Governors' tail back Corey Richardson took a Smith hand-off around the right side and raced for the goal line.
 
However defensive back Jayden Sheridan came up with the play of the game for the Trailblazer defense, stripping the ball away from Richardson. Fellow DB Gabriel Valenzuela then pounced on the loose ball at the Blazer 6-yard line to end the scoring threat.

Unfortunately the Trailblazers went three-and-out on that next possession, which was the first of four the offense recorded in the stanza.

Utah Tech's defense held Austin Peay to just two more first downs and 34 total yards the rest of the period, 15 of which came on a brief drive that resulted in a 51-yard Smith field goal that extended the Governors' lead to six points with 4:46 remaining.

The Trailblazers managed to get the ball back on offense three more times after that, but they could not find their way back to the end zone for a possible game-winning touchdown as APSU escaped with the road victory. 
 
Stone ran for a career-best 44 yards on nine carries to go with his second career rushing touchdown. Utah Tech wound up with 214 yards of total offense, with 104 of those yards coming on the ground. 
 
The Trailblazer defensive unit put together its best overall performance of the season, limiting Austin Peay to an opponent season-low 311 yards of total offense, and only 121 total yards in the second half. 
 
Sophomore safety Brevin Hamlin posted his third-straight double-digit tackle outing with a game and career-high 12 tackles, including seven solo stops. Meanwhile Jared Fotu racked up eight tackles with a career-best 1.5 tackles for loss, and Sheridan finished with six solo tackles to go with his fourth quarter forced fumble. 

Smith finished with 93 yards on 7-of-16 passing and carried the ball 18 times for a team-high 83 yards. 
 
Utah Tech heads out on its final out-of-state road trip of the 2024 season next Saturday, Oct. 26, when the Trailblazers travel to the "Blue Grass State" for a date at Eastern Kentucky. Kickoff inside Roy Kidd Stadium in Richmond is set for 1 p.m. (MT).