Epic finish, goal-line stand preserves win for Pack.

By CSU-Pueblo Athletics Media Relations

PUEBLO, Colo. (GoThunderWolves.com - Oct. 2, 2010) - Kyle Major (Jr., Littleton, Colo.) doesn't take react well to failure.

When the ThunderWolves' junior placekicker went 0-for-3 last week in a 49-14 win over Fort Lewis, he knew he had to get better, because he never knew when his team would need him.

Saturday, the kicker was needed by his team, and he delivered.

After an epic goal line stop by the ThunderWolf defense, in which three consecutive Chadron State quarterback sneak attempts were stuffed at the goal line, Major knew he'd have to deliver the kick that would lift his team to a win in an triple-overtime masterpiece of a game.

To close out the third overtime, Major nailed a 34-yarder, upholding the Pack's valiant defensive stand and sending the ThunderWolves to a 33-30 nail-biter of a win over Chadron State.

The win lifts the ThunderWolves to an RMAC-best 5-0 and 3-0 in conference play.

"I stayed after practice all week long to practice some technique stuff to stay accurate, Major said of his four field goal day, in which he took over the Pack's career lead in field goals and broke a school record for most three-pointers in a single game.  "On that final kick, I knew it was going to go right down the middle."

The kicker may be the hero on the stat sheet, but this win was signed, sealed and notarized by the Pack's defensive front. 

Facing a Chadron State 2nd-and-goal from the two, CSU-Pueblo halted a quarterback sneak attempt by Jonn McLain at the 1-yard-line.  Then facing 3rd-and-an-inch, the Pack front rejected McLain again, then held for a third time as the Eagles tried to go for it all on 4th-and-goal.

The biggest thing that stands out to me in the first half was when we held them to a field goal. We turned over the ball and they punched them in. We didn't panic and stayed the course, kept it within 10, and from there we had a chance to keep it close.

"How about that stop?" CSU-Pueblo head coach John Wristen beamed after the game.  "Three downs within a yard and they didn't get in.  I credit those defensive linemen.  It was an amazing effort by them."

"[The defensive line] is tough," freshman defensive end Beau Martin (Fr., Littleton, Colo.) said.  "Every day in practice, we bring it.  Our coaches teach us to be phsyical, and that's what you have to do going up against a tough offensive line like Chadron's."

The game-ending fireworks were the dessert for a game that seemed to be all Eagles from the beginning.  Chadron State jumped out to a 10-0 lead by the end of the first quarter, using a field goal and a turnover inside the 10-yard-line to jump to the early advantage.

The Pack was able to put up one field goal, but Major missed his second attempt from 23 yards out, leaving the game in the Eagles' hands, 10-3, at halftime.

The second half started off with a big Pack play, as Marquise Enoch (Sr., Denver, Colo.) returned the opening kickoff 57 yards to set up the tying score, a three-yard burst by Jesse Lewis (Jr., Loveland, Colo.) to knot the game at 10.

After that, it was a brawl, as each team traded scores.  But a risky play helped put momentum in the Pack's hands.

Down 20-17 with just five minutes remaining and a four-and-out situation staring the Pack down, the ThunderWolves opted for a fake punt, sending punter Brandon Kliesen (RFr., Pueblo, Colo.) on a sprint for the first-down marker, which eventually led to the game-tying boot by Major from 39 yards out with 2:23 remaining.

After trading field goals to open up the first overtime, CSU-Pueblo went ahead 30-23 on a pretty bootleg throw to Koby Wittek (Jr., Golden, Colo.), who had to fully extend to bring in the hopeful winning score.  But a Chadron score tied the game at 30, setting up the defensive stand that won the game for the Pack.

With one game down in a season-defining four-game trek for the ThunderWolves, CSU-Pueblo will travel to Golden to face Colorado School of Mines next Saturday in a battle of the RMAC's undefeateds.