Utah Tech fell to 0-2 in United Athletic Conference play after coming out on the wrong end of a tough 23-17 road decision at Central Arkansas on Saturday afternoon at Estes Stadium. 
 
After a scoreless first quarter, the Trailblazers (1-5/0-2 UAC) managed to draw first blood when on 1^st and 10 at the UCA 39, quarterback Bronson Barben took the shotgun snap, rolled right and fired back across the formation to his tight end Eric Olsen.
 
Olsen caught the ball on the run at the Bear 28 and won the sprint to the end zone for the game's first touchdown with just under nine minutes to play until halftime.
 
Central Arkansas (2-4/1-1 UAC) clapped right back on its ensuing possession with a touchdown of its own to tie the game at 7-7. 
 
The Bears used a 41-yard Austin Myers-to-Arlie Lee completion on 2^nd and 15 near midfield to the Blazer 7. UCA tailback Chapman McKown found paydirt one play later to draw his side even with 5:25 left in the second quarter.
 
UCA forced a Utah Tech three-and-out, and took a 10-7 lead on a Caleb Jones 28-yard field goal with 1:51 remaining. 
 
Utah Tech answered just before the half ended, and it was another Barben-to-Olsen connection, this one a 49-yard catch-and-run over the middle, that flipped the field from the Blazer 23 to the UCA 28.
 
However the Trailblazers had to settle for a 30-yard Ilya Uvaydov field goal as both sides went into the intermission tied at 10-10.
 
The Trailblazers wasted little time untying the game as needed only 91 seconds to reclaim the lead. 
 
On 2^nd and 6 from the UCA 46, Barben on play action found a streaking Josh Rillos over the middle to put Utah Tech back on top at 17-10. 
 
Utah Tech only needed four plays to cover 73 yards for the score, while for Rillos, it was his first collegiate touchdown reception. 
 
Unfortunately the Blazer lead did not last long as the Bears themselves went 73 yards on three plays in 47 seconds, and again drew even thanks to a 21-yard pass from Myers to Tyrell Pollard.
 
UCA came up with another stop on defense on Utah Tech's next offensive possession, stopping the Blazers on 4^th and 1 at the UT 43. 
 
Facing a short field on defense, the Trailblazers managed to hold the Bears to a 39-yard Jones field goal as UCA wrestled the lead back at 20-17 with 6:41 remaining in the third quarter.
 
Trailing 23-17 with under two minutes to play in regulation, and after the Utah Tech turned the ball over on downs, the Blazer defense forced its second turnover of the game to give the offense one more chance to drive for the game-winning touchdown.
 
Devyn Perkins picked off Myers on 3^rd and 10 at the Utah Tech 41 and returned it 14 yards to the UCA 45.
 
Facing 4^th and 20 after a crucial holding call on a second-down completion, Barben kept the Blazer drive alive with a 23-yard scramble down to the UCA 32 and a first down.
 
However the Bears' defense would bow up, sacking Barben on the next play, and then under pressure on second down, UCA forced an errant Barben throw that was picked off by Jacoby McQuillers at the Bear 27.
 
Central Arkansas would run out the clock from there to escape with the home victory. 

Utah Tech lost despite outgaining UCA by 332-316 count, while the Blazer defense held the Bears' potent running game (93 net yards) to 74 yards under its season average. 
 
Barben wound up passing for 199 yards on 15-for-28 passing to go with his two touchdowns. Barben also tallied 22 yards on five carries, while freshman running back Asa Chatman paced the Trailblazers with 69 yards on 15 carries, as Utah Tech finished with 88 total yards on the ground.
 
Meanwhile, Olsen posted Utah Tech's first 100-yard receiving game of the season as the junior caught five passes for a career-high 107 yards and a touchdown.
 
On defense, linebacker Dallin Havea racked up a team-high seven tackles, including his team-leading fourth sack of the season. Havea's sack was one of three the Trailblazer defense collected on the day as Daylen Love and RJ Jones II also got into the act solo sacks, while the Blazers combined tallied 6.0 total tackles for loss.
 
Myers finished with 223 yards on 20-for-31 passing and one touchdown, while Bear running back Landen Chambers ran for 108 yards on 25 carries. 
 
Utah Tech begins the second half of the 2025 season with a three-game homestand, which starts next Saturday, Oct. 11, with a showdown against UAC favorite No. 3/3 Tarleton State. 
 
Kickoff inside Greater Zion Stadium is set for 6 p.m. (MT).