ST. GEORGE — They battled the wind, the rain and a good opponent Saturday night, but in the end, it was another loss for the Trailblazers.

A fourth-quarter rally by Utah Tech was not enough to defeat visiting Sam Houston at a soggy, windswept Greater Zion Stadium as the Bearkats held on to win 18-13.

It was the fifth consecutive loss in Utah Tech’s season and the Trailblazers are 1-6 overall.

A season’s worth of bad luck was reflected in the first quarter for the home team after starting quarterback Boone Abbott, the American Fork product hoping for a big game in St. George, was injured and had to be replaced by backup Victor Gabalis.

Gabalis promptly threw his eighth interception of the year, ending Utah Tech’s most promising scoring opportunity in the first half.

Sam Houston’s Seth Morgan and Utah Tech’s Connor Brooksby traded field goals and the teams went into halftime tied 3-3.

Bearkats quarterback Keegan Shoemaker found his favorite target Cody Chrest to set up Morgan’s second field goal and Sam Houston took a 6-3 lead early in the third quarter.

Chrest was the go-to man for the Bearkats, collecting 10 receptions for a game-high 154 yards in the win.

Morgan’s third boot made it 9-3, then Gabalis, under heavy pressure all night, fumbled out of the back of the end zone for a safety and Sam Houston lead 11-3 with under two minutes left in the third quarter.

The Bearkats kept pouring it on as Shoemaker found  Al’Vonte Woodard for an 8-yard touchdown pass 53 seconds later. Sam Houston would not score again but had all the points it would need, leading 18-3.

Utah Tech’s defense stepped up with a turnover after sophomore linebacker Will Leota snared a Shoemaker pass for his first interception of the season and second of his career.

But the Bearkats defense yielded only another Brooksby field goal, this one a 40-yard kick, and it was 18-6.

Again the Trailblazers held on defense, forcing a three-and-out. The ensuing Utah Tech drive ended with a Gabalis to Joey Hobert 10-yard touchdown pass that provided the final margin with 6:33 remaining in the contest.

The defense forced a Sam Houston punt, and David Fisher zigged and zagged his way across the field in a magnificent return that set up Utah Tech’s offense on the Bearkats 34-yard line with 5:21 left to play.

A roughing the passer penalty on the visitors moved the ball even closer, to the Bearkats 19-yard line.

But heavy Bearkats pass pressure forced Gabalis to suffer two intentional grounding infractions, then Gabalis was sacked to force the turnover on downs.

Sam Houston ran out the clock to end the frustrating night for the Trailblazers.

Gabalis finished with 193 passing yards after completing 16-of-36 attempts in the defeat.

Hobert continued his outstanding season, catching six passes for 55 yards to go with his touchdown. The sophomore has seven touchdown grabs on the season.

Senior linebacker Malaki Malaki racked up a season-high 12 tackles to lead a strong Trailblazer defensive effort, while Leota finished with seven stops to go with his interception and one pass breakup.

Shoemaker threw for 278 yards on 23-of-40 passing with the one touchdown, and he also rushed for 70 yards on eight carries. Sam Houston finished with 371 yards of total offense.

Utah Tech’s offense converted 2-of-15 third down attempts, and the Trailblazers converted twice out of five attempts on fourth down.

The Bearkats defense posted five sacks and Sam Houston’s offense was 4-for-4 in the red zone.

Utah Tech next travels to Nacogdoches, Texas, for a game at Western Athletic Conference co-leader and No. 20 Stephen F. Austin.

Kickoff inside Homer Bryce Stadium is set for 3 p.m. (MT) Saturday, Oct. 29.

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