Opening conference play this weekend, two Utah teams renewed a rivalry while another kept its perfect record intact.

Southern Utah vs. Utah Tech

In the first ‘Battle of the Ax’ matchup in nearly 60 years, it was SUU who continued its great start to the season as they beat Utah Tech at home.

Also serving as the WAC opener for both teams, the game was even early on.

The T-birds took an early 7-0 lead just under six minutes into the game courtesy of a 1-yard run by Elijah Burns.

Utah Tech battled back to even the score just about four minutes later, when Kobe Tracy found Rickie Johnson for an 18-yard strike.

While the game was tied 7-7 heading into the second quarter, it didn’t stay that way for long.

After forcing a Trailblazer punt, SUU looked to regain the lead on its first drive of the frame. On the first play, quarterback Justin Miller unloaded a 65-yard dime to Isaiah Wooden for the touchdown and a 14-7 lead.

Utah Tech responded with a field goal, but SUU countered with one of its own to make the score 17-10 at the six-minute mark of the second quarter.

With the game still very much in reach, the Trailblazers went three-and-out and punted the ball back to the T-birds with five minutes still left in the half.

SUU took full advantage, with Miller finding Ethan Bolingbroke from three yards out for the 24-10 advantage with just 19 seconds left on the clock.

Utah Tech wasn’t about to throw in the towel, however. While it was the only score of the third quarter, Tracy delivered a touchdown throw of 15 yards to Joey Hobert with  37 seconds left to cut the deficit to 24-17.

The Trailblazers defense held strong on multiple occasions against the SUU offense, but three fourth-quarter turnovers proved too much to overcome on the road.

SUU added another touchdown for good measure via a Bobby Cole 9-yard run to make the final score 31-17 as the T-birds improved to 3-1 on the season.

Justin Miller led the SUU offense, completing 29-of-37 passes for 352 yards and two touchdowns while Isaiah Miller hauled in five receptions for 129 yards and a score.

Kobe Tracy threw for 277 yards and two touchdowns for Utah Tech but also threw a pair of costly interceptions. Quali Conley led the Trailblazers’ rushing attack, tallying 113 yards on 13 carries. Joey Hobert added 105 yards and a score on six catches in the receiving game.

Up next: Southern Utah

The T-birds (3-1, 1-0 WAC) now hit the road for a non-conference matchup next. They’ll face Eastern Kentucky on Saturday, Oct. 1 at 4 p.m. MT.

Up next: Utah Tech

The Trailblazers (1-3, 0-1 WAC) will look to end a two-game skid when they return home next week. They’ll face Abilene Christian on Saturday, Oct. 1 at 7 p.m. The game can be seen on ESPN+.

No. 12 Weber State

Opening Big Sky Conference play on the road, Weber State continued its perfect start to the 2022 campaign.

Falling behind 3-0, the Wildcats responded by taking the lead for good with just under four minutes to go in the opening frame. Bronson Barron delivered a 16-yard scoring throw to Josh Davis for the 7-3 advantage.

Weber State extended the lead to 14-3 just moments into the second quarter. This time Dontae McMillian capped an 8-play, 80-yard drive with a six-yard rushing touchdown.

The two teams then traded field goals before a UC Davis touchdown cut the lead to 17-12, but the Aggies failed to convert the two-point attempt.

After Weber State failed to score in the fourth quarter, UC Davis had one last shot to win the game, but the Wildcats stopped them on a long fourth down to seal the win.

Up next

Weber State (4-0, 1-0 Big Sky) now looks forward to a bye week before facing Eastern Washington at home on Saturday, Oct. 8.

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Spencer Rodak
The founder of Stadium Sportzz and the Sportzz with Spencer podcast, Spencer hopes to one day achieve his dream of working in the world of sports media after completing his Bachelor's degree. Spencer first gained experience in the field of sports writing as a high school senior, where he became the first intern to have a published byline writing for The Spectrum & Daily News in St. George, Utah. Later in the fall of 2017, he was the sports editor for independent campus news source Thunderground and the public address announcer for the women's soccer team at Southern Utah University. Since then, Spencer has worked as a high school sports reporter in St. George, writing for both St. George News and Southern Utah Now. Spencer is also an avid freelancer and has had works appear in the Deseret News, Standard-Examiner, RSL Soapbox, and Fansided's Venom Strikes. Currently, he is a regular contributor to Fan-Insider.com and the UK-based Tottenham site, SpursWeb. When he isn't playing, watching, writing about, or discussing sports, Spencer enjoys working as a part-time athletics PA voice at Utah Tech University and spending time with his amazing wife.

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