PROVO — Utah Tech saw its three-game win streak, and the 2022 season come to an end with a 52-26 loss at in-state foe BYU on Saturday afternoon at LaVell Edwards Stadium.
The Trailblazers finished their second full season of NCAA Division I FCS competition with a 4-7 overall record, which included a 2-2 mark and a third-place showing in Western Athletic Conference play, according to a news release from Utah Tech Athletics.
Utah Tech gave the home-standing FBS-member Cougars all they wanted and more in the first half and enjoyed a 6-0 lead after one quarter of play.
After forcing a BYU punt on the game’s first possession, the Blazers marched 60 yards in six plays, highlighted by a 54-yard pass from Victor Gabalis to Deven Osborne to move into Cougar territory. The drive culminated with a 47-yard Connor Brooksby field goal
The Blazer defense responded on BYU’s next possession when running back Lopini Katoa fumbled at the Cougar 31, which was recovered by defensive lineman Sam Kanongata’sa at the 34-yard line.
Utah Tech would advance down to the BYU four, but the drive stalled and the Trailblazers had to settle for a 21-yard Brooksby chip shot.
BYU broke through early in the second quarter when quarterback Jaren Hall threw the first of three touchdown passes to receiver Keanu Hill in the frame, this one a 30-yard connection.
UT quickly wrestled the lead right back at 13-7, and only needed three plays to do it. Gabalis found a wide open Osborne, who got behind the BYU secondary, for an 80-yard touchdown strike with just over 10 minutes to play in the half.
The Cougars counter-punched just three plays later when Hill found Chase Roberts for a 59-yard catch-and-run touchdown that was actually tipped by a Blazer defender before the grab was made, according to the UT press release.
The Trailblazers would answer on their next possession with a 10-play 75-yard drive that resulted in a Gabalis-to-Joey Hobert 9-yard touchdown pass to give UT a 20-14 advantage with 5:17 left in the period. For Hobert it was his FCS-leading 15th touchdown grab of the season.
BYU clawed back with a 45-yard Hall-to-Hill touchdown, then after a Trailblazer turnover, Hall found Hill on a 4-yard toss just before halftime to put the Cougars up 28-20.
BYU would tack on a Hall 10-yard scamper with under six minutes to play in the third, and the junior quarterback would throw his fifth TD pass of the day early in the fourth, as the Cougars pulled away in the second half to secure their sixth win of the season.
Gabalis threw for 340 yards on 25-of-50 passing and three touchdowns on the day, marking the third time in his last four starts that the redshirt freshman recorded 300 or more yards in the air, the news release said.
Meanwhile, Hobert finished with a career-high tying 11 receptions for an even 100 yards and two touchdowns, which included an 18-yard score from Gabalis late in the fourth quarter.
Hobert, who came into Saturday’s game as the NCAA FCS leader in receiving yards and TDs, finished the year with 90 catches for 1,258 yards and 16 touchdowns, all of which are Utah Tech single-season records. Hobert also became the UT single-season leader for all-purpose yards (1,474) after he collected 31 more yards on two kick-off returns.
Sophomore running back Quali Conley rushed 61 yards on 18 carries in his final start of the year to finish with 1,095 yards on the season.
On defense, senior Kaejin Smith-Bejgrowicz collected a season-high 10 tackles in his final start, while sophomore linebacker Will Leota had nine stops.
Hall finished with 456 yards on 23-of-35 passing to go with his five passing TDs.
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