ST. GEORGE, Utah – The Adams State Grizzlies football team dropped their season finale to Dixie State University Saturday on the road, 35-10. For the Grizzlies, they will finish their season at 4-7 for the third straight season, but this year's 2019 team showed a massive improvement internally from years past.
 
The Grizzlies went into the game missing their starting quarterback john Buksa as well as their key offensive playmaker Tariq Bitson, and they knew it would be a tough go up against the 7-3 Trailblazers. They would rely on gadget plays and unconventional formations and packages to try and slow the game down and shoulder the load that was brought upon by their injuries. This meant that they would run a series of Wildcat formations that mainly featured wide receiver Ziere Banner as the quarterback.
 
The Grizzlies started out in that Wildcat formation, and Banner trotted out to the field as the quarterback to start the first drive of the game. The Grizzlies got the ball quick as they forced a turnover early, with Brandin Obercht jumping on a fumble on the opening drive for Dixie. Banner and the offense went to work right around midfield. On a third and long, the Grizzlies went with a heavy formation that featured three tight ends and Banner faked a run up the middle, stopped, and threw a jump pass to the number three tight end Chris Ah Mook Sang who was wide open down the seam. Ah Mook Sang trotted down the field before finally being brought down deep into Trailblazer territory and set the Grizzlies up with first and goal from the Dixie 7-yard line. Unfortunately, the Grizzlies' threat stalled, and out came Erick Ruiz for a short field goal attempt. The field goal put the Grizzlies up 3-0 with 10:42 left in the first quarter.
 
The Grizzly defense came to play in their last performance of the year, as they knew they would have to have a good game to give their depleted offense a chance. They forced a missed field goal on Dixie State's following drive and a punt on the next, but the punt was muffed by returner Sha'corey Foster and jumped on by the Trailblazers. This was a big momentum change as the Grizzlies had shut the Dixie offense down to this point, but they were forced back onto the field to try and stop the Blazers again, this time in their own territory.
 
The Trailblazers made a quarterback change following the muff, and Kody Wilstead came on to replace starting quarterback Tanner Hammond. It did not take Wilstead long to find his rhythm upon entering the game, as he found tight end Chase Hess on a 42 yard strike for a touchdown on the first play of the drive, and following the Trailblazer extra point, the Grizzlies were down 7-3.
 
When Wilstead entered the game for Dixie, the Trailblazer offense really started to get rolling. They did not have a tough time stopping the Adams State game plan on offense and continued to give their offense the ball back. On Dixie's first drive of the second quarter, Wilstead hit speedy receiver Jalen Powell on a 45 yard touchdown bomb to extend the deficit that the Grizzlies had to face. The extra point missed, but the Grizzlies were down 13-3 in what seemed like a lot more because they were having a tough time on offense.
Dixie would add another touchdown before half, when Wilstead hit Hess again from six yards out. They Trailbazers elected to go for two and failed, but they were up 19-3 with 3:16 left in the half. The Grizzlies defense held strong on what looked like Dixie state's final possession of the half, and their offense appeard as though they would get an opportunity for points before the half ran out. Unfortunately for Adams State, this was not the case and Sha'corey Foster muffed his second punt of the half and again, the Trailblazers recovered. What had hoped to be points for the Grizzlies turned out to be points for the Trailblazers, as they were able to get a field goal as time ran out in the half to put them up 22-3 going into halftime.
 
The Trailblazers did not stop their offensive attack as Wilstead came out on what was Dixie's second offensive possession of the half, and proceeded to hit receiver Dejuan Dantzler on a 74 yard touchdown catch and run. Again, the Trailblazer point after attempt failed, but they held a 28-3 lead midway through the third quarter.
 
In came fourth quarterback Michael Morales for the Grizzlies, who provided a spark in last weeke's game late versus Mesa. Morales had done little up to that point in the game in limited opportunities, but he was able to engineer one final touchdown drive for the Grizzlies in their 2019 season. Morales, with the help of a 33-yard run from Jamarcus Federick that set the Grizzlies up at the Dixie 13 yard line, hit receiver Jordan Simon on a third down touchdown strike. The drive was a nicely done, 13-play 75 yard drive that showed the Grizzlies' fight despite being down and at a disadvantage with injuries.
 
Dixie would add one more touchdown on the game, as Wilstead hit Hess for a third time in what was his 5^th touchdown pass of the day. This time, the extra point was good, and the Blazers went up 35-10 which is how the contest would end.
 
It could be said that the Grizzlies were working in garbage time on their final possession, but the drive embodied the pride and passion that the Grizzlies had all year and the dedication to the team's culture which is what Coach Josh Blankenship said early in the year was what he was most proud of regarding his 2019 team. Another example of this was Alani Pututau's sack on Dixie State's final touchdown drive, where the pass rush could have quit in what at that point was a lost cause, but never did. Though the Grizzlies will finish 4-7 for the third consecutive year, this year's team improved from the inside out, and Adams State football hopes to go into 2020 with the now solidified culture, ready to win and compete with the RMAC's best.