PUEBLO, Colo. (Oct. 7, 2021) - The (RV) Colorado State University Pueblo football team (3-2, 3-0) is coming off of a thrilling double overtime victory over Colorado Mesa from Saturday and now look ahead to this Saturday, as the ThunderWolves head to Chadron, Neb. to take on Chadron State College (2-3, 2-2) in another Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) showdown.

The Pack enter the game on a three-game win streak after the thrilling overtime win. CSU Pueblo's 3-0 run is the second-best in the RMAC, only topped by No. 5 Colorado School of Mines' undefeated start.

THE GAME 

The ThunderWolves head into week six after  the team edged out a high-powered Colorado Mesa offense in a thrilling 19-13 double overtime victory at the CSU Pueblo ThunderBowl.

The Pack are 11-1 against Chadron State all-time with CSU Pueblo defeating the Eagles for 11 straight match-ups.

Since 2008, the Pack have accumulated a 55-17 record on the road. The team is 1-1 on the road this year with a tough loss to now-No. 7 Grand Valley State and a dominating 49-7 win over South Dakota Mines.

CSU Pueblo is currently tied for first in the RMAC standings with a 3-0 record while Chadron State is 2-2 in the conference with losses to Western Colorado (24-10) and Colorado Mesa (24-17).

This is the seventh time the Pack and Eagles have met in Chadron, Neb. 

Despite the 2-3 start, Chadron State has faced formidable opponents that feature two teams receiving votes and, at the time, No. 22 Angelo State.  

CSU Pueblo is on a three-game win streak for the first time since 2019 when they went on a 6-0 spurt following a loss to Colorado School of Mines.

Chadron State owns the 20th-best red zone defense in the nation with a .611 efficiency rate.

Head Coach Jay Long is now in his 10th full season at the helm for the Eagles. Long is 47-40 during his tenure at Chadron and is 62-55 all-time through his 13 years as a collegiate head coach.
 

SERIES NOTES

The ThunderWolves and Eagles are meeting for the 12th time since the reboot of the Pack program in 2008. The Pack enter the week six match-up 11-1 all-time and 11-0 since 2009. 

CSU Pueblo took the last match-up between the two teams 42-21 in Chadron. 

The Pack have only lost once to the Eagles since 2008 when CSU Pueblo fell 32-0 to Chadron State in Pueblo. 

The 32-0 loss was also the last time the Pack were shut out and was the sole instance of a CSU Pueblo shut out since the reboot of the program.

LAST TIME OUT 

CSU Pueblo clinched its third straight win of the season over old RMAC rival Colorado Mesa in Pueblo where the Pack edged out the Mavericks 19-13 in a hard-fought double overtime contest.

In the win over Colorado Mesa, the Pack were led by a strong defensive performance that saw a five sack game.

LB Trevor Philio led the way for the CSU Pueblo defense as he racked up career-highs of 2.5 sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss while breaking up three passes and making three QB hurries.

LB Max Gonzales tallied a career-high 13 tackles on the day to wreak havoc on the Mavericks offense.

The defense held strong throughout the game and made crucial stops in the fourth quarter to preserve the tie and push the game into overtime.

S Tanner Draper made the final stop of the game as the ball-hawk swatted the potential game-tying touchdown pass away from the Colorado Mesa receiver to ice the game for the Pack on fourth down.

On the offensive side of the ball, the Pack struggled to get many yards and gain momentum, but they took advantage of the opportunities the team was given.

WR Nick Williams headlined for the CSU Pueblo offense. Williams was a part of a perfectly executed double-pass where the senior receiver completed a touchdown pass to WR Nigel Mitchell. 

Williams stepped up once more for the Pack later on in double overtime. Williams fought for yardage after a short reception from QB Steven Croell and dove into the end zone for his first touchdown of the season.

The WR Williams racked up a season-high 68 yards in the double overtime victory to mark a team-high on the day

RB Michael Roots could not find his way into the end zone but was able to establish a strong run game on the day as the senior transfer totaled 80 yards on 19 carries.

K Dean Faithfull was able to put together a perfect day from the field as the senior kicker put two 35-yard field goals thru the uprights.

Faithfull's second field goal sent the game into the second overtime to eventually put the Pack over-the-top.

P Justin Dwinell excelled in his seven punt attempts and clinched his first RMAC Player of the Week honor of the 2021 season.

Dwinell ranks fifth in the nation with an average net punt of 39.84 yards per punt as the sophomore leads the RMAC in the same category.

The ThunderWolves kicked off their season with a defensively dominated 12-6 loss to No. 8 Texas A&M-Commerce.

Week two featured a hostile road trip to No. 14 Grand Valley State where the Pack fell to the Lakers 34-14 in front of a rambunctious crowd of 11,000 strong.

Week three featured the Pack's first victory of the season over with a 19-16 win over RMAC foe, Black Hills State. The Yellow Jackets nearly completed a 16-point comeback, but the Pack staved off the attempt by controlling the final five minutes of the game.

In week four the Pack offense came alive and put up 474 total yards of offense. The 474 yards were the most gained since the 2019 season and were capped off by a 49-7 domineering win.

Finally, last week, the Pack completed a minor seven-point comeback over Colorado Mesa while compiling a defensively dominated second half.

SCOUTING chadron state

This is the 13th time the Eagles and the ThunderWolves have met since the reboot of the CSU Pueblo program in 2008. The Pack currently lead the match-up 11-1  after winning 11 straight games against Chadron State.

Chadron State kicked off their season with a 23-10 loss to (RV) Western Colorado in Gunnison. Before winning their first game in week three, the Eagles fell in a close 28-24 contest against No. 22 Angelo State.

The Eagles have three RMAC contests under their belts after taking a home victory over South Dakota Mines, 31-20 followed by a 24-17 loss to Colorado Mesa and a 46-16 win at New Mexico Highlands.

Chadron State owns the 20th-best red zone defense in the nation with a .611 efficiency rate.

The tough opening slate for Chadron dropped the Eagles to 1-3 early on in the fresh season.

The CSC team's last 1-3 start came in 2019, with its third loss coming against Colorado Mesa. That same year, the Eagles also lost to Western Colorado that season and defeated South Dakota Mines. 

The Eagles have scored 60 points on the season in the first quarter alone. This has set the tone in their games as they have only allowed only three points in the first period of play all season.

Chadron State leads all NCAA football teams, in all divisions, with six blocked kicks on the season. Five came against Angelo State at home, and one was blocked last weekend at Colorado Mesa. Only three other Division II teams have blocked four or more. 

Head Coach Jay Long is now in his 10th full season at the helm for the Eagles. Long is 47-40 during his tenure at Chadron and is 62-55 all-time through his 13 years as a collegiate head coach.

THE POLLS 

The Pack entered the season No. 12 in the D2Football.com and the AFCA polls. The ThunderWolves are one of two RMAC teams with a top 25 ranking in either poll to begin the season. 

CSU Pueblo finished 2018 ranked No. 7 in the AFCA and D2Football.com polls. 

In the second week of the AFCA Coaches' Poll, CSU Pueblo dropped to No. 19 following the heartbreaking loss to No. 8 Texas A&M-Commerce and are still receiving votes following the traveling loss to GVSU and the wins over Black Hills State, South Dakota Mines, and Colorado Mesa.

The Pack ranked in the AFCA top 25 for 66 consecutive polls ranging from Sept. 5, 2011 (21st) to Sept. 5, 2016 (19th).

The ThunderWolves ranked in the top 10 nationally for a then-NCAA Division II-best 37 straight weeks from Oct. 17, 2011 (eighth) to Oct. 6, 2014 (second).

TEAM NOTES

The CSU Pueblo football program and Head Coach John Wristen recorded their 100th victory since the restart of the program in 2008 when they defeated New Mexico Highlands 48-3, Oct. 6, 2018. Wristen owns a 122-30 all-time record. 

Since 2008, CSU Pueblo is undefeated when scoring 36 or more points (64-0) and when allowing 10 points or less (47-0). 

Since 2008, the ThunderWolves are 65-12 (.838) at the ThunderBowl.

The Pack won 15 straight at home from 2016-2018, which ranked as the second longest current home winning streak in NCAA Division II. CSU Pueblo had that streak broken by Mines in the home opener. 

CSU Pueblo had a league-best +23 turnover margin in 2019. The next best team was at +7. Their 1.92 turnover margin per game was good for 1st nationally, while the 35 takeaways was tied for 1st in Division II heading into the Pack's final game. 

The Pack have accumulated three defensive touchdowns so far on the season to rank third in the nation.

The Pack are slated to play in five different states during the regular season (Michigan, Nebraska, South Dakota, New Mexico and Colorado).

The ThunderWolves have now racked up one D2Ftooball.com Player of the Week, RMAC Player of the Week, and NFFCC Player of the Week award. LB Trevor Philio pulled in the NFFCC Player of the Week following his dominating defensive play against Colorado Mesa. P Justin Dwinell earned the D2Football.com and RMAC Special Teams Player of the Week honors. This marks his fifth career RMAC honor and second D2Football.com honor.

CSU PUEBLO POSITION NOTABLES

OFFENSE 

QB Steven Croell has emerged as a consistent role player under center for the Pack following Gunnar Lamphere's untimely injury earlier this season. The freshman took on the majority of the offensive snaps in the loss to the Lakers and took over duties in the second quarter of the Black Hills State game due to injury. 

Croell notched 135 yards in the win over South Dakota Mines while he split duties later on in the game with QB Devin Williams.

Croell burst onto the scene with a stellar first outing in the 12-6 loss to Texas A&M-Commerce. Croell used his arm to start 5-5 throwing which included a 35-yard dart to WR Nigel Mitchell against the Lions. Croell finished the two drive appearance with 6-9 throwing and 58 yards.

The freshman quarterback came through in the clutch for the Pack as he stepped in for the injured QB against Black Hills State. Just in his second pass of the game, Croell fired a touchdown pass to WR Dionte Sykes. Croell finished with a pair of touchdown passes to Sykes and Mitchell as he finished the game with 113 yards passing and two touchdown passes. The freshman sits at 36-63 passing so far on the season with 389 yards passing and four touchdowns.

RB Michael Roots was able to have a breakout game against the Hardrockers. Roots compiled 145 yards off 14 carries with a game-long 53-yard rush. The senior transfer compiled two touchdown rushes in the victory to tally his first scores as a CSU Pueblo running back.

Following his breakout performance against South Dakota Mines, Roots led the way against Colorado Mesa with an 80-yard performance on the ground.

Roots broke out two rushes over 40 yards in the South Dakota Mines win off his best performance of the year. The Central Washington transfer leads the Pack with 359 yards on the ground off 65 total rushes.

WR Max Fine continues to be one of the favorite targets for the Pack, leading the team with 15 catches and 146 yards receiving.

The junior also has racked up 145 yards on special teams off 15 total punt returns to rank 32nd in the nation for all punt returners. 

Thanks to a big week in South Dakota, WR Andrew Cook and WR Jensen Feggins each have over 100 yards on the season now to come in as two of the top five receivers on the team.

Cook has racked up 164 yards on the season now off 11 total receptions. The 164 yards leads all Pack receivers.

WR Nick Williams led all Pack offensive players in the win over Colorado Mesa after showing off his versatility.

Williams completed a 14-yard touchdown pass the WR Nigel Mitchell to tie up the ballgame late in the game. Then, in double overtime, Williams received a 17-yard pass from Croell. Williams fought his way into the end zone and completed the game-winning touchdown to clinch the Pack's third straight victory.
 

DEFENSE

The Pack have owned one of the most stingiest and unforgiving defenses in the nation the past eight seasons. Since 2011, the ThunderWolves have finished the season in the top 22 nationally in scoring defense, which includes leading the country in 2011 and 2014. CSU Pueblo has also ranked in the top 21 in turnover ratio (or turnovers gained) in all but one season in that span with the nation's best mark in 2014 and in 2018.

LB Trevor Philio tallied the second touchdown on defense last week with a forced fumble and recovery as the senior returned it back for a score.

Philio was a stand-out in the win over Colorado Mesa as he totaled career highs in tackles for loss (3.5) and sacks (2.5).

LB Max Gonzales tallied a career-high 13 tackles on the day to wreak havoc on the Mavericks offense and lead the Pack.

The defense held strong throughout the game and made crucial stops in the fourth quarter to preserve the tie and push the game into overtime.

The defense in week one shut down the Texas A&M-Commerce offense and prevented the Lions from marching down the field. The Lions were only able to muster up 214 total yards on 64 plays. 

The stifling defense by the Pack limited the two high powered offenses of No. 8 Texas A&M-Commerce and No. 14 Grand Valley State to low passing efficiencies and limited yardage. 

The Pack rank 18th in the nation in Scoring Defense at 16.4 points per game and sit 25th in Defensive Pass Efficiency.

S Cory McLellan nabbed the Pack's first interception for a touchdown on the season in the loss to Grand Valley State. McLellan's pick-six almost shifted the tide against the Lakers, but not enough to overturn the final result.

S Tanner Draper tallied his first career pick six last week vs. South Dakota Mines, where he ran back an interception for a 30-yard return

Since 2008, the Pack have totaled 46 interception returns for a touchdown. The most in a season is eight, occurring in 2019. The ThunderWolves produced  five in 2010, 2014 and 2017 and now sit at two for the current season.

The ThunderWolves had eight interceptions for touchdowns in 2019 to set the program record. CSU Pueblo totaled three in one game against Adams State. With 12 defensive touchdowns since the beginning of 2019, the Pack are first nationally. 

 In the first quarter of the Commerce battle, the CSU Pueblo defense did not allow a single first down and limited the Lions to just two yards in the period. In the opening quarter, the Pack were also able to force the lone lost fumble of the game for the Lions.

CSU Pueblo's rushing defense was established on game one of the program re-boot in 2008. The Pack allowed 13 yards rushing against Oklahoma Panhandle State (Sept. 8, 2008) and since have held their opponent to less than 50 yards rushing on 26 more occasions. 

Nine times since 2008 the ThunderWolves allowed 10 or fewer rushing yards, with the all-time record standing at -68 yards this season at New Mexico Highlands. The previous record was -11 yards last season at Black Hills State. 

DL Ikenna Onwuasoanya highlighted the defensive efforts for the Pack against Texas A&M-Commerce as he finished with 2.5 tackles for loss and added on a sack to his line score. 

Onwuasoanya headlined his Pack debut with seven tackles. The senior transfer now has 6.0 tackles for loss, just one behind the 7.0 LB Philio has on the season. 

DB Sam Warren has 27 tackles on the season to lead all defensive backs. He also has tallied a pass break-up and interception to round out his defensive stat-line.

McLellan finished the game vs. Commerce with two pass break ups. His second included a break up in the end zone which preserved the one score deficit and allowed the Pack to remain competitive. 

McLellan was named to the All-RMAC Honorable Mention team in 2019. He finished with 50 tackles (31 solo), three interceptions, and seven passes defended . His three inceptions had a season-long return of 36 yards. 

SPECIAL TEAMS

K Dean Faithfull sits second in the RMAC with seven field goals made this season at five. He kicked two field goals as the only points for the Pack in the loss to Texas A&M-Commerce and tacked on another in the win over Black Hills State. Faithfull knocked through a 29-yard FG and a 33-yard FG against the Lions.

Faithfull joins the Pack in 2021 after returning to collegiate athletics after a long hiatus since his time as a soccer player at Florida Tech. Faithfull graduated from Florida Tech in 2010 after playing four years with the Panthers as a defender.

Redshirt sophomore punter Justin Dwinell took over punting duties in 2019 and placed 29 punts inside the 20. He averaged 41.0 yards per kick to rank third in the RMAC and 23rd nationally. He has 14 50+ yard punts and a long of 77 yards, which is the 5th longest in NCAA Division II this season. 

The sophomore punter sits at second in the nation for total punting as he averages 44.8 yards per punt. He trails the national leader by just .3 yards.

Dwinell ranks fifth in the nation with an average net punt of 39.84 yards per punt as the sophomore leads the RMAC in the same category.

Dwinell clinched his fifth career RMAC Special Teams Player of the Week honor and second career D2Football.com Player of the Week honor with the performance against Colorado Mesa. The putner kicked for a season-high 374 yards off seven attempts while landing four punts inside the 20 and logging four punts over 50 yards.

In the first week vs. Commerce, Dwinell punted seven times for 244 yards while fighting harsh windy conditions. The Dwinell punts averaged 34.9 yards per attempt. Dwinell logged a punt that soard 62 yards and then tacked on two punts that landed inside the 20 yardline. 

In week two, the punter stood out as a key player on special teams, logging eight punts for over 350 yards and tallying two punts over 50 yards.

Once again against Black Hills State, Dwinell shined. He logged five punts for over 200 yards while pinning the Yellow Jackets inside their own 20-yard line twice.

Dwinell excelled in his four punt appearances against South Dakota Mines as he logged his fourth consecutive game with at least two punts in side the 20 and another over 50 yards.

Dwinell ranks 11th in the nation with an average of 40 yards per punt as the sophomore leads the RMAC in the same category.

He had a touchdown in the 2019 season after picking up a fumbled snap on a punt attempt, Dwinell returned it 80 yards for a touchdown against CMU.

Dwinell had four RMAC Special Teams Player of the Week awards and two D2Football.com Special Teams Player of the Week honors in the 2019 season.