Hosting Southern Utah for the first time in 60 years, the Utah Tech Trailblazers rode its high-powered offense to a big rivalry game win on Saturday.

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Facing each other for the second time this season, Utah Tech was eager to reclaim “The Ax” trophy while also looking to put on a show in this season’s homecoming game.

First half

The Trailblazers took the lead early, driving 72 yards in just over three minutes to set up a 29-yard field goal for the 3-0 lead.

Southern Utah responded with a field goal of its own to tie the score before Utah Tech traveled 68 yards in just four plays to score the game’s first touchdown. Quarterback Victor Gabalis found Joey Hobert for the 6-yard score with just over four minutes remaining in the opening frame.

After forcing a punt on SUU’s next drive, the Trailblazers found the endzone in just three plays. On third down, Gabalis dialed up a 79-yard pass to Ricky Johnson for the 17-3 lead with 19 seconds left on the first quarter clock.

With Utah Tech seemingly having all the momentum, the T-birds battled back. SUU scored a touchdown just after the second quarter began when Isaiah Williams found the endzone from three yards out.

After the T-birds forced a safety, Elijah Burns tallied a 5-yard touchdown run that gave the visitors the 19-17 lead.

Utah Tech countered with a school-record 55-yard field goal by Connor Brooksby on the next drive before SUU converted a field goal of their own to retake the lead, 22-20.

Starting the next drive with just over a minute remaining in the half, the Trailblazers went straight down the field. Moving 75 yards in seven plays, Gabalis found Johnson for a 6-yard touchdown, restoring the home team’s lead heading into halftime, 27-22.

Second half

The offensive fireworks slowed down for both teams in the second half, but there were still plenty of highlights.

Utah Tech scored the first points of the second half, when Gabalis connected with Hobert for a 39-yard touchdown at the 6:00 minute mark, extending the lead to 34-22.

Looking to keep the game close, Southern Utah answered with a touchdown at the 1:22 mark of the third quarter. Quarterback Justin Miller broke into the endzone on a 4-yard run to cut the deficit to 34-29.

On the very first play of the next drive, Utah Tech responded in a big way. Gabalis again found Johnson, unloading a short screen pass. Johnson then eluded the entire SUU defense while running down the field for a 75-yard touchdown, making the score 41-29 just a mere 15 seconds after the T-birds had scored.

Southern Utah refused to let the game turn into a blowout, taking seven plays to drive 66 yards and score the opening touchdown of the fourth quarter. The drive was capped by a 2-yard rush by Isaiah Williams, making the score 41-36.

Utah Tech put the final touches on the offensive shootout just a minute and a half later, when a Quali Conley 27-yard rushing score made the score 48-36.

The Trailblazers stepped up over the final nine minutes, shutting down the T-birds’ offense to seal the team’s second straight win.

Utah Tech finished the game with a season-high 603 yards of offense, compared to 419 for Southern Utah.

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Utah Tech’s offense shatters records

Victor Gabalis led the record-breaking offense for the Trailblazers in the game, throwing for a career-high 463 yards. He also tallied five touchdown passes, tying a single-game school record that he also matched last week.

Ricky Johnson was the leading receiver in the game, hauling in nine catches – including 3 touchdowns – for a program-record 277 yards. The three touchdowns also tied a school single-game record.

Quali Conley racked up a career-high 155 yards on 22 carries to lead the Trailblazers’ ground attack, his fifth 100-yard game of the season.  Conley also surpassed 1,400 career rushing yards in the game, becoming just the third player in the program’s NCAA era to reach the mark. Conley also moved into the top five all-time in single-season and career rushing scores.

Joey Hobert also reached a milestone in the game, becoming just the second player to reach 1,000 receiving yards in the NCAA era, racking up 144 yards on eight receptions. Hobert also moved into second place on Utah Tech’s single-season touchdown chart thanks to his pair of scores in the game.

Even the kicking game got in on the record-breaking for Utah Tech in the game. Along with converting a school-record 55-yard field goal, sophomore Connor Brooksby became the program’s all-time field goals leader (20).

Up next

Utah Tech

The Trailblazers (3-6, 1-2 WAC) will face Tarleton State in the final home game of the season next.

The game will take place on Saturday, Nov. 12 at 1 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN+.

Southern Utah

Currently on a five-game losing streak, the T-birds (3-6, 1-3 WAC) will look to bounce back in their home finale next week.

SUU will host Lincoln University on Saturday, Nov. 12 at 1 p.m. The game can be seen on ESPN+.

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Spencer Rodak
Spencer has always been passionate about sports, growing up playing and following various sports. He ran cross country in high school and began his journey in sports media in 2017 as a journalism intern at The Spectrum & Daily News. Since then, his work has been published in numerous outlets including Deseret News, Standard-Examiner, St. George News, Southern Utah Now, SUU's Thunderground, SB Nation's RSL Soapbox, FanSided's Venom Strikes, fan-insider.com, The Spurs Web, and Iron County Today. Spencer is the founder of Stadium Sportzz and both the Sportzz with Spencer and Mountain States Sports Report podcasts. His experience extends to public address announcing, having first served as the PA announcer for Southern Utah University soccer in 2017 and as a high school sports PA announcer. He is now entering his fourth year as a PA announcer at Utah Tech University, where he also occasionally takes on the role of in-game emcee. Spencer's versatility also extends to radio, where at The Fan Sports Network he produced high school and Utah Tech athletics broadcasts, hosted the weekly Region 9 Football Tailgate Show, and appeared daily on The Drive. Now working towards completing his Bachelor's degree in Media Studies, Spencer was recently named the Sports Director at Utah Tech University's 91.3 The Blaze for the 2024-25 year. He will host a weekly show and serve as a play-by-play broadcaster, continuing his dedication to sports journalism and broadcasting. When he isn’t talking, writing about, or watching sports, Spencer enjoys traveling and spending time with his amazing wife.

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