Game Notes: DIXIE STATE - PDF | SHSU - PDF
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OPENING KICK: Dixie State (0-8/0-2 WAC) closes out its 2021 road slate this Saturday when the Trailblazers head to the Lone Star State to face defending 2020-21 FCS champion and No. 1-ranked Sam Houston (7-0/3-0 WAC). Kick-off on Saturday is scheduled for 12 noon (CT) at Bowers Stadium (14,000) in Huntsville.
  
DIXIE STATE ON THE AIR: All Dixie State home and away games this season are broadcast live on ESPN Radio 97.7 FM, with Devin Dixon calling the play-by-play action and Andy Thompson providing color commentary. A live stream of the radio broadcast will be available at sportsradio977.com.
    Along with the radio coverage, all Dixie State home games will be streamed live on ESPN+.
     In August, the Western Athletic Conference announced a new multi-year, multi-platform media rights agreement with the "The Worldwide Leader" that will see over 500 annual events on ESPN+ and the ESPN app. This will include all Dixie State football, men's basketball, and women's basketball home games and WAC road games.

DIXIE STATE/SHSU SERIES HISTORY: Saturday's game at Sam Houston will be the first-ever meeting between the Trailblazers and Bearkats on the football field.

THE BEST OF THE BEST: When the Trailblazers take the field on Saturday at Sam Houston, it will mark the first time in Dixie State's NCAA era that it will face the overall No. 1-ranked team in any division on the gridiron.
    In addition, Saturday's game will be the first of a top-ranked "doubleheader," so to speak, as the Trailblazer men's basketball team will open its 2021-22 season at preseason No. 1 Gonzaga this upcoming Tuesday night in Spokane, Wash.   

LAST TIME OUT: Despite putting up its best overall performance of the 2021 season, Dixie State fell just short of its first win in a hard-fought 17-10 loss at Delaware last Saturday afternoon in Newark.
    After spotting the Blue Hens a 17-7 halftime lead and just over 300 yards of offense, the Trailblazer defense played lights outs in the second 30 minutes, holding Delaware scoreless while surrendering just 38 total yards in the third quarter and 68 yards overall after halftime.
    The DSU offense had its chances, especially with a pair of late drives in the fourth quarter, but could only muster three points of its own, which came on its opening drive of the second half.     

HITTING THE TRAIL: Last spring, Dixie State traveled over 7,500 miles for its three road games at Tarleton State (Stephenville, Texas - 2,220 miles), at New Mexico State (played in El Paso, Texas - 1,458 miles), and at Kennesaw State (Kennesaw, Ga.)
    This season, the Blazers will have traveled over 12,000 miles for their five road dates, which includes last weekend's record road trip (4,664 miles round trip) to Delaware.
    DSU also traveled nearly 2,700 to play at South Dakota State (10/2), and will cover just over 2,000 miles this weekend to play at No. 1 Sam Houston.

NEW YEAR-NEW HOME: After making its D-I debut as one of three FCS independents last spring, Dixie State is in its first season as a football playing member of the WAC, joining the other 14 Trailblazer Athletic programs under the conference umbrella.
    Due to previous game contract agreements for 2021, the Trailblazers were not eligible to be listed in the preseason WAC Coaches' Poll, and will face only three of the five football playing conference members.
    Starting in 2022, Dixie State, Tarleton State, Stephen F. Austin, Sam Houston, Lamar and Abilene Christian, and current Big Sky member and in-state foe Southern Utah, will make up the seven-team WAC FCS conference.

SO ABOUT THAT SCHEDULE: To paraphrase the legendary Ric Flair - "To be the best, you gotta beat the best!!!" And judging by who is on the Trailblazers' 2021 schedule, they will have plenty of opportunities to do just that.
    Dixie State's 2021 fall slate is arguably the toughest schedule in the country at the FCS subdivision, a schedule that features seven FCS Spring playoff teams, and an 11-team list that posted a combined .714 overall winning percentage (record based on last completed season).   
    To date, nine of the 11 teams on DSU's slate are listed in the current 2021 AFCA FCS Coaches' top-25 poll, including seven ranked opponents, five of which the Blazers' have already played.
    Defending NCAA FCS champion and WAC newcomer Sam Houston tops both the AFCA and Stat Perform FCS polls, and the Blazers will close out the year at home against current No. 20 Missouri State on Nov. 20.

DIXIE STATE AGAINST RANKED OPPONENTS: Dixie State's 2021 schedule has given the Blazers a chance to improve on their record against ranked opponents, which currently stands at 3-22 all-time, and includes an 0-4 mark so far this season against teams ranked when DSU faced them.
    DSU did split a pair of games against ranked opponents last spring, highlighted by its third-ever triumph over a ranked foe in last spring's season opener at then No. 22 Tarleton (Stat Perform ranking, 26-14; 2/27/21). Dixie State also dropped a hard-fought 37-27 decision at then-No. 9 Kennesaw State (AFCA and Stat Perform; 3/20/21).
    Prior to the Tarleton road result, the last DSU win vs. a ranked opponent came on Nov. 3, 2018, in a 52-45 thriller at home against then-No. 6 Colorado School of Mines. DSU claimed its first win over a ranked opponent in a 38-31 victory at then-No. 23 Colorado Mesa in Grand Junction in 2016.

TRAILBLAZER QUICK HITS:
• A week after posting his first career 100-yard rushing night, senior RB Drew Kannely-Robles one-upped that effort with his first 100-yard receiving game last Saturday at Delaware.
• Kannely-Robles co-led the team with six receptions for a career-high 112 yards, highlighted by a 58-yard catch-and-run on the first play of the second half, which set up the Blazers' field goal.
• Kannely-Robles' 58-yard play is Dixie State's longest play from scrimmage this season, while his 112-yard receiving day is a DSU team season-high and the second 100-yard receiving game on the year overall (Jalen Powell 107 yards at UC Davis - 9/18).
• Kannely-Robles, who was averaging 106.7 yards rushing with three TDs over his last three starts prior to the Delaware game, was held to just 10 net rushing yards on 14 attempts by the Blue Hen defense.
• Kannely-Robles saved his best for his final Homecoming start as the senior rushed for a career-high 183 yards on 24 carries with his third touchdown of the year vs. Stephen F. Austin (10/23).
• Kannely-Robles tallied 141 of those yards after halftime, highlighted a 47-yard sprint up the middle untouched to the end zone in the third quarter, which was the longest run of his collegiate career, and was both DSU's longest run from scrimmage and scoring play of the season.
• Kannely-Robles' career night also served not only has his first collegiate 100-yard outing, it was also the first 100-yard rushing game of DSU's new FCS era ... Meanwhile, his 183 rush yards were the ninth-most in a single game in the program's NCAA era.
• Kannely-Robles finished that night with a career-best 196 all-purpose yards as he caught three passes out of the backfield for 13 yards.
• Kannely-Robles' career night came on the heels of an 81-yard performance on 20 carries and two touchdowns vs. Tarleton State (10/16).
• Kannely-Robles' two rushing touchdowns tied a career-high ... the senior first achieved that feat nearly two years to the day in a road win at Western Colorado (28-20; 10/19/19).
• Kannely-Robles has racked up a team-high 749 all-purpose yards on the year, with 507 of those yards coming over his last four games.
• Freshman RB Quali Conley rushed for a season-high 66 yards on seven carries vs. Tarleton (10/16), which included a 39-yard second quarter scamper that got the Blazers into the red zone.
• Conley's first (and lone) touchdown of the year came at UC Davis (9/18) on a first quarter 8-yard screen pass that got the Blazers on the board.
• Conley has scored at least one touchdown in five of his first 13 collegiate games overall, including four of five starts last spring ... four of Conley's seven career TDs have come on the ground, while his catch at UCD was his third TD reception.
• Conley was DSU's leading rusher in all five spring games, highlighted by a 97-yard night vs. Tarleton (3/13), and a pair of 81-yard outings at both New Mexico State (3/7) and at Kennesaw State (3/20) ... the freshman also tallied a team-high 20 yards on four carries at Delaware last Saturday.
• RS-Freshman QB Kobe Tracy threw for a career-high 314 yard on 25-39-1 passing and one TD in his second collegiate start last Saturday at Delaware ... Tracy's 64.1 percent completion percentage at UDel was the highest percentage posted by any DSU starting QB this season.
• Tracy made his first collegiate start vs. SFA (10/23) and responded with 243 yards on 22-38-1 passing, highlighted by a 35-yard TD toss to sophomore WR Michael Moten late in the fourth quarter.
• Tracy came off the bench and went 11-15-1 for 111 in the fourth quarter vs. Tarleton (10/16), including a big 41-yard hookup with sophomore WR Keith Davis, which set up the second Kannely-Robles TD run.
• Sophomore QB Kenyon Oblad threw for 108 yards on 15-30-1 passing vs. Tarleton (10/16) ... Oblad has thrown for 878 yards and five touchdowns in five games this season.
• Oblad made his first Trailblazer start at UC Davis (9/18), against which he threw for 342 yards and a collegiate career-high four touchdowns in the loss.
• Oblad's four TD passes eclipsed his previous career-high total of three, which he recorded twice, also on the road, during his freshman year at UNLV in 2019 (at Fresno State 10/18/19; at Nevada 11/30/19).
• Moten just missed reaching the century mark in his own right last Saturday at Delaware as the sophomore finished with career highs of six catches and 99 receiving yards, including a 20-yard TD catch right before halftime.
• Moten bettered his previous career highs, which were set a week prior vs. SFA (10/23) when he caught four balls for 73 yards to go with his 35-yard TD catch, which tied for the longest scoring pass play for DSU this season (Malcolm Ross-Turner at UC Davis; 9/18) ... Moten and Tracy also hooked up for a 31-yard connection early in the second quarter vs. SFA.
• Davis posted career-highs of five receptions and 77 yards in the Tarleton loss (10/16), while his 41-yard catch-and-run was the longest reception of his collegiate career.
• Sophomore WR Rickie Johnson tied a career high with five catches vs. SFA (10/23) for 56 yards ... Johnson also led DSU's receiving corps with five receptions and 92 yards at Montana (10/9), including a highlight reel 47-yard diving grab in the fourth quarter, and racked up 41 receiving yards on four catches at Delaware last Saturday.
• Well it took seven games, but senior WR Deven Osborne finally got into the catch column with two receptions for 34 yards vs. SFA (10/23), including a big 23-yard grab on 3rd-and-4 that set up the Kannely-Robles TD run.
• Osborne, who DNP at Delaware, has played in only three games this season due to injury ... the senior wideout recorded career highs in receptions (30), yards (441) and touchdowns (3) in five games last spring.
• Freshman DB Tyrell Grayson earned WAC Defensive Player of the Week honors on Oct. 11, after he racked up 14 total tackles (eight solo) and forced a fumble at Montana (10/9).
• Grayson's forced fumble came on his first collegiate sack inside the DSU red zone that thwarted a possible Grizzlies scoring drive ... the sack was one of two TFLs the freshman had on the day to go with a pair of PBUs.
• Grayson struck again with his third forced fumble of the year at Delaware last Saturday, which also came in the red zone in the second quarter that stopped a possible Blue Hen scoring drive ... the freshman finished with a game-high 12 tackles (7 solo) - his fourth double-digit tackle game of the year.  
• Grayson tied a DSU single-game record with 19 total tackles (15 solo) in the UC Davis loss (9/25) ... Grayson joined junior LB Malaki Malaki (at New Mexico State, 3/7/21) and former LB Robert Metz (at Central Washington, 11/14/15) atop the single-game list.
• Grayson had himself a night in the season-opener against Sacramento State (9/4) when he collected a then-career high 13 tackles, including 12 solo stops, and registered one TFL.
• Grayson's team-leading 82 total tackles would rank him 12th nationally at the FCS level, while his team-high 64 solo stops would tie him for the FCS national lead, however Dixie State is not eligible to be ranked statistically during its NCAA D-I transition period.
• Freshman DB Jayden Sheridan also got into the act with his first collegiate forced fumble at UDel last Saturday ... it was the first of two highlight plays made by the freshman as he teamed with Grayson to stop Blue Hen RB Anthony Paoletti on 4th-and-1 late in the fourth quarter to give the ball back to the Blazer offense for one last chance at a game-tying TD.
• Junior LB Bradley Brown has come up big defensively with three TFLs and two sacks over his last three games ... Brown picked up his team co-leading third sack of the year vs. SFA (10/23), this after he recorded two TFLs, including DSU's lone sack a week earlier vs. Tarleton (10/16).
• Freshman DL Syrus Webster racked up his second collegiate sack and tallied two TFLs vs. SFA (10/23) ... Webster had himself a day at Montana (10/9) as well with a career-high nine tackles and 1.5 TFLs, including his first collegiate sack and forced fumble ... Webster also recovered the fumble on the Grayson strip-sack in the first quarter.
• Junior CB Devin Chandler scored DSU's first defensive touchdown of the season at Montana (10/9) when he returned the Webster forced fumble 38 yards in the fourth quarter to get the Blazers on the scoreboard ... Chandler finished the day with six total tackles and a PBU to go with his TD.
• Chandler's fumble return was the DSU's first in nearly four years, with the last instance coming during the 2017 season when Remington Kelly (46 yards) took one back to the house at home against Adams State (10/28/17).
• Junior DB/LB Kaejin Smith-Bejgrowicz registered his first career sack in the first quarter at SDSU (10/2) ... it was also the first sack the Jackrabbit o-line gave up this season (one of two on the night), and it came on a big 3rd-and-13 stop midway through the stanza.
• Malaki recorded his fifth-career double digit tackle outing with 11 stops at UDel last Saturday ... the junior LB also posted a season and game-high 17 tackles (eight solo) three weeks earlier at Montana (10/9).
• Malaki opened the season 11 stops (1 TFL) in the opener vs. Sacramento State (9/4) ... the junior also led the DSU defense with nine total tackles (6 solo) and a sack at South Dakota State (10/2), this after he recorded nine tackles (3 TFLs) a week earlier at UC Davis (9/25).  
• Malaki reached double figures in tackles twice last spring, highlighted by his record day at NMSU (3/7), which came on the heels of a 10-tackle effort in DSU's D-I debut win at Tarleton (2/27).
• Freshman LB Will Leota posted his first collegiate double-digit tackle game with 11 stops at Montana (10/9) ... Leota also registered 1.0 TFL and picked off his first collegiate pass in the second quarter ... Leota led the Blazer defense with eight tackles (7 solo) vs. SFA (10/23) and had six total tackles and 1.5 TFLs at UDel last Saturday.  
• Freshman PK/punter Andrew Day punted six times for 222 yards (37.0 ypp) at UDel, and recorded touchbacks on all three of his kickoffs.
• Freshman PK Connor Brooksby has hit on his last five FG attempts, including a 33-yarder last week at Delaware, and a career-long 43-yard first quarter make to open the scoring vs. Tarleton (10/16), which tied for the seventh-longest FG make in the program's NCAA era.

TEAM NOTES:
• Bolstered by Kannely-Robles' career night vs. SFA (10/23), Dixie State gained a season-high 228 yards on the ground vs. the Lumberjacks ... however if you take into account seven SFA sacks, the Blazers were left with 167 net yards rushing, which tied DSU's season-high for net yards set a week earlier vs. Tarleton (10/16).
• DSU also out-rushed SFA by a 167-134 count, which marked the first time this season that the Blazers out-gained an opponent on the ground.
• The 167 yards gained against both SFA and Tarleton eclipsed the previous high of 92 yards set at home against Weber State (9/11).
• DSU wound up with 410 yards of total offense against SFA (10/23), which was season-high at home and the second-best total to this point of the year.
• Dixie State tallied a season-high 442 yards (90 plays) of total offense in the UC Davis loss on Sept. 18, including a season-best 389 yards passing.
• Dixie State racked up 400-plus yards of offense in two of five games this past spring, including a season-high 483 yards at New Mexico State (3/7).  
• DSU eclipsed the 400-yard plateau offensively nine times in Paul Peterson's first year at the helm in 2019, highlighted by a 677-yard day (#2 all-time at DSU) vs. Black Hills State (10/5/19).
• Dixie State was limited to a season-low minus-4 rush yards at Delaware (10/2), thanks in large part to two QB sacks (23 yards) and 20 more yards lost on a bad snap in the fourth quarter.
• The minus-4 yards gained rushing (-0.2 ypc - #3 all-time low) was the third-lowest total in DSU's NCAA era, and were the fewest yards since DSU was held to minus-1 yard at home vs. Western Colorado (10/13/18) in a game that DSU actually won, coincidentally, 17-10 ... DSU QBs were sacked six times in that game, though the DSU defense racked up seven sacks of its own in the win.  
• DSU was held to just 209 yards (season low) in the season opener against Sacramento State, which broke a string of 15-straight games that the DSU offense had gained 300-plus yards.
• Dixie State began the Tarleton game (10/16) by doing something it had only done one other time this season - score points on its opening possession ... the Trailblazers took the opening kickoff and methodically marched down the field, covering 46 yards over their first six offensive plays, and cashed in the drive the first of Brooksby's two field goals.
• Last spring Dixie State averaged 31.4 ppg, and scored at a 34.4 ppg clip in Paul Peterson's first year as head coach in 2019.
• Despite the loss at then-No. 3 South Dakota State (10/2), Dixie State's defense hung a pair of "firsts" on SDSU - including being the first team hold the Jackrabbits scoreless in the first quarter.
• DSU also became the first team to register a sack against the SDSU offensive line and finished with two sacks and five total TFLs on the night overall.
• Speaking of sacks, the DSU offensive line surrendered a season-low one sack vs. Tarleton (10/16), however SFA (10/23) got to Tracy seven times for minus-49 yards rushing ... DSU has allowed 31 total sacks (minus-213 yards) over its first eight games of the 2021 fall season, this after giving up only five total sacks in five 2021 spring games.
• The Trailblazers only had one accepted penalty charged to them for five yards in the SFA loss (10/23), which is a season-low for both.
• The last time that happened was in the 2012 season on the road at Central Washington (11/10/12) ... meanwhile the Trailblazers have recorded one rare penalty-less game in the program's NCAA era, which also came against CWU at home during the 2014 campaign (11/8/14).  

YOU'RE IN GOOD HANDS: Allstate and the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) announced on Sept. 24, that Dixie State post-graduate student wide receiver Deven Osborne has been named to the 30th-Anniversary 2021 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team.
    Osborne is among 22 football student-athletes and one honorary coach selected to the 30th-Anniversary team. The final 22-member team and honorary coach, were selected by a committee made up of former Allstate AFCA Good Works Team members and journalists.
    Osborne is the fifth college football student-athlete from the state of Utah to be selected to the Good Works Team, joining former Utah defensive backs Morgan Scalley (2004) and Eric Weddle (2006), former BYU quarterback Riley Nelson (2010) and former Utah State quarterback Chuckie Keaton (2014). In addition, Osborne is one of two Trailblazer football players to have earned the honor as former DSU transfer running back Jeffrey Coprich (2017) was named to the 2014 Good Works Team while at California.
    Fans will have the opportunity to help Osborne become the 2021 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team captain through online voting by visiting ESPN.com/Allstate. Voting is open now through Nov. 22, 2021.

#AB3FOREVER: Junior linebacker Malaki Malaki has been awarded the No. 3 jersey for the 2021 season.
    The awarding of the No. 3 jersey is the second instance in what has become an annual tradition honoring the memory of former Dixie State football player Abraham Reinhardt, who passed away unexpectedly on March 22, 2019. DSU Head Football Coach Paul Peterson noted that the No. 3 jersey would be awarded to a student-athlete who best exemplified Reinhardt's leadership, both on and off the field.
    "When we lost a great young man in Abraham [in 2019], we wanted to honor him and his legacy the best we possibly could," Coach Peterson said. "Abe was a perfect representative of our team culture which focuses on toughness, hard work, trust and accountability.
    "Malaki exemplifies everything that we are trying to build here at Dixie State. He is tough, works tremendously hard, is a great student and leader. Malaki will wear AB3's jersey this season in honor of his legacy."

ABOUT THE SAM HOUSTON "BEARKATS": No. 1 Sam Houston enters Saturday's game riding the nation's second-longest winning streak - at any four-year collegiate level - which reached 18-straight games overall (D-III North Central [IL] 19-straight) after a 45-27 road WAC win at Tarleton last Saturday.
    Junior QB Eric Schmid has thrown for 1,499 yards and 19 touchdowns, and has run for two more scores and 204 yards, to this point of the season.
    Junior running back Ramon Jefferson has rushed for 772 yards (107.1 ypg) and seven touchdowns, while graduate WR Cody Chrest is Schmid's favorite target with 33 receptions for 479 yards and four TDs.  
    Sam Houston is averaging 41.1 ppg and 481.0 ypg of total offense, while allowing 18.0 ppg and 323.6 ypg in seven games.  
    
NEXT UP FOR THE TRAILBLAZERS: Dixie State begins its final homestand of the 2021 season next Saturday when the Trailblazers welcome former RMAC foe Fort Lewis to Greater Zion Stadium. Kick-off is slated for 7 p.m.