Utah Tech could not recover from a second-half Bear barrage as the Trailblazers dropped a 37-13 Big Sky Conference road decision at Northern Colorado Saturday night at Nottingham Field.
The Trailblazers (0-5/0-2 Big Sky) quickly found themselves in an early 14-0 hole just four-plus minutes into play.
UNC (2-3/1-1 Big Sky) took the opening kick off and marched 75 yards on eight plays, and cashed in the drive with a Jordan Herron 19 yards scamper on the back-end of a bootleg reverse.
The Bears then went up two scores on Utah Tech's first play from scrimmage when safety Mikhail Benner jumped in front of a
Bronson Barben pass and returned it 11 yards for the pick-six.
The Trailblazers looked as if they shook off the early onslaught as they quicky went 63 yards in seven plays to the UNC 12-yard line. However consecutive penalties led to the drive stalling and Utah Tech came away without points as a missed field goal attempt gave the ball back to the Bears.
Utah Tech's defense limited UNC to just 12 yards on the Bears' next two possessions, and the Blazer offense responded with 10-unaswered points to claw back into the game.
Asa Chatman got Utah Tech on the scoreboard in the early moments of the second quarter when he bounced off one would-be tackler at the line of scrimmage and dove two yards to pay dirt.
Then after a Bear three-and-out,
Dax Iverson nailed a 45-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 14-10 with 10:17 to play until halftime.
The two sides traded field goals later in the frame, with Iverson connecting from 34 yards out to make it a 17-13 game with 46 seconds on the clock. However the Bears answered with a Landon Richardson 38-yarder of his own as time expired and Utah Tech retreated to the locker room down by a 20-13 count.
Utah Tech got the ball to start the second half, but another costly mistake deep in Blazer territory would lead to another quick Bear score, after a bad snap on a punt set up UNC with first and goal at the 1-yard line.
Bears' quarterback Brayten Silbor cashed in the mistake one play later with a dive over the goal line to extend the UNC lead back to double digits at 27-13.
UNC would tack on another field goal later in the stanza, and a dagger touchdown with just over 10 minutes to play in the fourth quarter to salt away the Homecoming victory.
Utah Tech lost despite outgaining Northern Colorado by a 384-355 count, however the two costly miscues that led to easy Bear touchdowns proved too be much to overcome.
Barben threw for 227 yards on 20-for-35 passing, while
Darnell O'Quinn posted collegiate career highs of five receptions for 84 yards.
Chatman finished with 45 yards on 12 carries, all of which came in the first half before he left the game due to injury.
On defense, defensive back
Braden Cervello led the Blazers with eight total tackles, while linebacker
Moe Passi made six stops (5 solo) and recorded Utah Tech's lone tackle for loss on the night.
Utah Tech returns home for a "Battle for the Ax" showdown with in-state rival Southern Utah. Kickoff inside Greater Zion Stadium is set for 6 p.m. (MT).
