ST. GEORGE — Utah Tech fell into an early hole and could not recover as the Trailblazers opened the 2022 season with a 56-33 loss at No. 7 Sacramento State on Saturday night at Hornet Stadium.
The Hornets bolted out to a quick 21-0 first quarter lead, which was aided by three UT turnovers.
Sac State (1-0) capitalized on the Blazers’ first miscue on their first possession with a six-play, 52-yard drive to open the scoring with a Jake Dunniway 7-yard scoring pass to Marshel Martin.
Utah Tech looked as if it would shake off the bad start when Victor Gabalis hooked up with David Fisher for a 72-yard completion to get the Blazers in the red zone at the Hornet 4-yardline.
However Sac State would deny the scoring chance when Hornet corner Caleb Nelson stepped in front of a Gabalis fourth-down pass at the two and returned it 98 yards for a pick-six to extend the lead to 14-0.
Utah Tech cracked the scoreboard with a Connor Brooksby chip shot 19-yard field to make it a 21-3 game at the 9:48 mark of the second quarter.
After Sacramento State pushed its lead to 28-3 with 2:27 to go in the half, the Trailblazers struck for their first touchdown of the season on the strength of two big plays in just 34 seconds.
Kobe Tracy connected with Joey Hobert for a 46-yard catch-and-run, which was followed one play later with Tracy throwing a 29-yard strike to a sliding Deven Osborne in the endzone to cut the deficit to 28-10.
However the Hornets quickly countered with another TD just before the halftime horn when Martin hauled in an Asher O’Hara pass from 11-yards out to take a commanding 35-10 lead into the intermission.
After both teams traded empty possessions to start the second half, the Utah Tech defense stepped up and forced its first turnover of the game when Syrus Webster strip-sacked Dunniway at the Blazer 47 yard line. Justin Kirkland then fell on the loose ball, which set up the UT offense with great field position.
Utah Tech took full advantage of the Hornet miscue by covering 53 yards on nine plays, culminating with a Quali Conley 5-yard touchdown run. UT went for two, but Tracy’s pass fell incomplete in the endzone, but the Blazer did manage to make it a 35-16 game midway through the period.
Sacramento State answered with a sustained 10-play, 72-yard scoring drive to extend to a 42-16 lead with 3:48 to play in the stanza.
UT would tack on a Brooksby 44-yard field goal with 57 seconds left in the period, but the Hornets would put an exclamation point on the night with a Cameron Skattebo 57-yard scamper as the clock hit 00:00 at the end of the third to make it a 49-19 game.
Utah Tech finished with 579 yard, including 506 yards in the air. Tracy finished with a career-high 339 yards on 23-of-40 passing with two touchdowns.
Hobert shined in his Trailblazer debut as he hauled in 11 catches for 183 yards and a fourth quarter touchdown, while Osborne caught six balls for 113 yards to go with his TD. The receiver duo’s combined effort marked the first time since the 2019 season that Utah Tech had two 100-yard receivers in one game.
Utah Tech just missed having three receivers eclipse the 100-yard plateau for the first time in the program’s NCAA era as David Fisher finished with 96 yards on three receptions. Meanwhile, Conley carried the ball 13 times for 48 yards.
Sacramento State racked up 589 yards on the night, with 378 of those yards coming on the ground. Skattebo rushed for a game-high 153 yards on 10 carries, while O’Hara had 12 rushes for 101 yards. Dunniway passed for 141 yards and two touchdowns.
Utah Tech opens its five-game home slate against former RMAC rival Chadron State next Saturday night, Sept. 10. Kickoff at Greater Zion Stadium is set for 7 p.m.
Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.