Utah Tech Football Falls To Eastern Kentucky In Contested Matchup
Oct 28, 2023, 9:24 PM | Updated: Oct 31, 2023, 10:54 am
SAINT GEORGE, Utah – The Utah Tech Trailblazers fell to the Eastern Kentucky Colonels in a back-and-forth matchup on Saturday.
The Blazers came back from down 12 but ultimately ended up losing 34-30.
UTU QB Kobe Tracy threw three touchdowns against EKU.
First Half
The Colonels got the ball first and QB Parker McKinney threw an interception on the first play of the game.
Utah Tech’s Fasito-Otai Sagapolu reeled in the first interception of his career.
1Q: Fasito-Otai Sagapolu with his first career interception on the Trailblazers’ first defensive play of the night! #UtahTechBlazers | #UACFootball pic.twitter.com/3AmnyWlTKD
— Utah Tech Football (@UtahTechFB) October 29, 2023
The Trailblazers got down to fourth & goal on the goalline but were stuffed by the EKU defense.
The Colonels then went on a 15-play drive that ended in a field goal attempt.
EKU kicker Patrick Nations lined up but the ball sailed outside the uprights.
1Q: @MaximusBane with big sack on 3rd down! EKU misses the 37-yard FG try and the Trailblazers take over at the UT 20! #UtahTechBlazers | #UACFootball pic.twitter.com/DeV7ruHRuk
— Utah Tech Football (@UtahTechFB) October 29, 2023
Utah Tech responded with a 55-yard field goal to get on the board first in Greater Zion Stadium.
The first quarter came to an end with the Trailblazers leading the Colonels, 3-0.
End of the 1st Quarter at the GZS!#UtahTechBlazers | #UACFootball pic.twitter.com/hc25RcEVDp
— Utah Tech Football (@UtahTechFB) October 29, 2023
Eastern Kentucky started the second quarter with the ball and found the end zone on the back of RB Joshua Carter.
Carter got the ball on seven of EKU’s 11 plays on the scoring drive. He capped it off with a 9-yard TD rush.
.@joshua_carter4 to the HOUSE! 💨#E2W | #MatterOfPride pic.twitter.com/oONzjwtouW
— EKU Football (@EKUFootball) October 29, 2023
Utah Tech made it all the way into the red zone again but was forced to settle for another field goal.
Connor Brooksby lined up from 31 yards and nailed it to make it a one-point game.
EKU kept rolling on their next possession with a 40-yard bomb to Hunter Brown to take a 14-6 lead.
💣💣💣@Parker_Mckinney finds @HunterBrown84 for a 40-yard touchdown!#E2W | #MatterOfPride pic.twitter.com/WHfMyhjjdA
— EKU Football (@EKUFootball) October 29, 2023
A 55-yard connection between Kobe Tracy and Keith Davis set the Trailblazers up in scoring position late in the second quarter.
With less than two minutes before the break, Keith Davis finished the drive with a touchdown.
2Q – …a Trailblazer TOUCHDOWN! Tracy hits Davis on the slant from 5-yards out to make a 14-13 game just before halftime!#UtahTechBlazers | #UACFootball pic.twitter.com/4yrpd1ozB5
— Utah Tech Football (@UtahTechFB) October 29, 2023
UTU forced a stop and got the ball back with 17 seconds. They were able to move into field goal range to take the lead.
Utah Tech went into the break up by two over Eastern Kentucky, 16-14.
Halftime at the GZS!#UtahTechBlazers | #UACFootball pic.twitter.com/hDk1CVQ6CP
— Utah Tech Football (@UtahTechFB) October 29, 2023
Second Half
The Trailblazers started the second half with the ball and quickly went three-and-out.
Following the punt, EKU looked deep and scored a 69-yard touchdown on their first play.
Come for the touchdown, stay for the celebration 🕸️#FCS x 🎥 ESPN+ / @EKUFootball pic.twitter.com/vwQ1erUcXA
— NCAA FCS Football (@NCAA_FCS) October 29, 2023
The Colonels regained the lead with the score.
Eastern Kentucky kept the defensive intensity high, forcing another three-and-out and getting the ball back to the offense.
They made the most of it by putting together a 7-play scoring drive.
.@Parker_Mckinney is 𝐂𝐎𝐎𝐊𝐈𝐍’ 🧑🍳
His third TD pass of the game, this time finding @jadoejumpman for six!#E2W | #MatterOfPride pic.twitter.com/I1YivXO4sC
— EKU Football (@EKUFootball) October 29, 2023
Utah Tech went down by 12 following the back-to-back EKU scores.
Needing a score to get back in it, Beau Sparks provided just that for the Blazers.
Sparks capped off a 75-yard drive with his sixth touchdown in the past four games.
3Q – TOUCHDOWN!! Kobe Tracy hooks up with Beau Sparks for his team-leading 7th TD catch of the season! Sparks has now caught a TD pass in 4-straight games! #UtahTechBlazers | #UACFootball pic.twitter.com/9kWYbysAFZ
— Utah Tech Football (@UtahTechFB) October 29, 2023
EKU made a field goal on their next drive to increase the lead to eight.
Utah Tech came back and scored another touchdown on a long-winded drive.
Keith Davis was the touchdown-scorer, recording his second of the game.
4Q – TOUCHDOWN!! Kobe Tracy finds Keith Davis in the corner of the end zone for his 2nd TD of the night. The TD toss also gives Tracy his 3rd-straight 3 TD game of the year. #UtahTechBlazers | #UACFootball pic.twitter.com/Be81FXurak
— Utah Tech Football (@UtahTechFB) October 29, 2023
The Trailblazers trailed by just one following Davis’ score.
After driving down the field for nearly seven minutes, the Colonels were forced to take a field goal on 4th & goal. They led 34-30 with seven minutes left in regulation.
The Blazers got the ball back with three minutes and needed a touchdown down four.
They made it into the red zone but ultimately couldn’t score.
Eastern Kentucky holds onto their late lead to beat the Utah Tech Trailblazers, 34-30.
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Chandler Holt is a co-host for the Jazz Notes podcast and a Digital Sports Producer for sports.ksl.com, specializing in all things basketball and football. Follow Chandler on Twitter @ChandlerHoltKSL or on Threads @chandlerho1t.
