Utah Tech Holds Off Tarleton State For Big Senior Day Victory
Nov 12, 2022, 6:03 PM | Updated: 6:05 pm
(Courtesy of Utah Tech Athletics)
(Courtesy of Utah Tech Athletics)
ST. GEORGE, Utah – The Utah Tech Trailblazers held off a late rally to pick up a 34-28 win over Tarleton State on Saturday afternoon on Senior Day.
After holding a 31-14 lead entering the fourth quarter, Utah Tech scored just three points in the final period with Tarleton State putting up two touchdowns.
Victor Gabalis completed 22 of his 36 pass attempts for 272 yards and two touchdowns. Quali Conley had a terrific game, rushing for 215 yards on 25 carries to go with one touchdown. Joey Hobert caught 10 passes for 140 yards and two touchdowns.
TRAILBLAZERS WIN!!#UtahTechBlazers | #WACfb pic.twitter.com/hD4iHoZqzw
— Utah Tech Football (@UtahTechFB) November 12, 2022
Hobert broke the Utah Tech single-season receiving yards record with 1,049 and tied the single-season receiving touchdowns record with 13.
HISTORY MADE!! Joey Hobert breaks the UT single-season receiving yards record (1,049) and ties the single-season TD receptions record (13) with this first quarter 19-yard strike from QB Victor Gabalis!#UtahTechBlazers | #WACfb pic.twitter.com/Dkg3FJME9l
— Utah Tech Football (@UtahTechFB) November 12, 2022
Derrell Kelley III ran in a one-yard touchdown to give Tarleton State a 7-0 lead with 9:04 remaining in the first quarter. The Trailblazers answered with a 19-yard touchdown pass from Gabalis to Hobert. Kelley III gave TSU the lead back with a 14-yard TD to put Tarleton State ahead 14-7 with 10:58 remaining in the second quarter.
Utah Tech scored 27 unanswered points after the last TSU TD, starting with a 21-yard field goal by Connor Brooksby to trim the deficit to 14-10 with one minute left in the second quarter. Just before halftime, Darrius Nash had a 95-yard pick-six to give Utah Tech a 17-14 lead at the break.
Coming out of the halftime break, Gabalis and Hobert connected on a 16-yard touchdown, putting the Trailblazers ahead 24-14 with 12:20 left in the third. Quali Conley ran in a 35-yard touchdown to extend Utah Tech’s lead to 31-14 with 2:10 to go in the third quarter.
The final points scored for the Trailblazers was a 22-yard field goal by Brooksby to put Utah Tech ahead 34-14 with 11:09 left in the fourth quarter. Tarleton State made their run after that with a 50-yard touchdown pass from Beau Allen to Darius Cooper to trim the Utah Tech lead to 34-21 with 10:50 remaining in the game.
With 1:11 left in the game, Ontario Douglas ran in a two-yard touchdown to trim the deficit to 34-28.
Utah Tech improved their record to 4-6 overall and 2-2 in WAC play. They will wrap up their season on Saturday, November 19 on the road against BYU. Kickoff is at 1:30 p.m. MT on BYUtv, 99.5 FM The Fan Sports Network in St. George, and KSL Newsradio.
