ALLENDALE, Mich. (Sept. 11, 2021) – The No. 19 Colorado State University Pueblo football team (0-2) dropped its second game of the season in a hostile environment at No. 14 Grand Valley State University (1-0), 34-14.
The first play of the game saw LB Trevor Philio in the backfield wreaking havoc and putting strong pressure on the Grand Valley quarterback. The Philio hurry did not phase the Lakers for the remainder of the opening drive. The Lakers drove down the field and punched in a seven-yard rush on fourth down to put the first points on the board for the night.
Following the Pack's first drive that resulted in a punt, the GVSU returner Juwan Johnson saw daylight and zagged through the coverage to score an 80-yard punt return touchdown to quickly jump to 14-0.
Grand Valley punched in one more touchdown with two seconds remaining in the first quarter to put the Pack in a challenging 21-0 hole.
Following a Pack punt to kick off the second quarter, the Lakers took over on their own 39. FS Cory McLellan would not allow another long drive to be had by the hosts. McLellan leaped in the path of the first pass thrown and raced his way to the endzone to put the ThunderWolves on the board, still behind 21-7.
The newfound momentum allowed the CSU Pueblo defense to step back up and halt the Lakers offense. On the next two drives, the Lakers offensive attack would only amount to 10 total yards.
The Grand Valley State offense then woke back up and put together a slow and methodical drive of 17 plays and 91 yards. The Lakers crossed the goal-line once more and expanded the Pack deficit to 28-7 with only 35 seconds remaining in the half.
The Pack tried to put together a drive to shift the momentum at the end of the half but the strong front-seven from the Lakers ended the ThunderWolves' chances to send the game to half with a Grand Valley lead of 28-7.
The second half saw the old Pack defense come to life, as the ThunderWolves only allowed one first down in the first two drives of the half which setup the CSU Pueblo offense with more confidence.
Starting on their own 17, the Pack marched down the field off the likes of QBs Devin Williams and QB Steven Croell. The Pack were able to methodically drive down the field and get first and goal on the Lakers' four.
On a second-and-goal play, Croell lobbed a pass to the stretched arms of TE Preston Guerra and the receiver did the rest. Guerra trucked his way across the endzone and punched in the first offensive touchdown of the young season to close the gap to 28-14 with 1:39 to go in the third.
The fourth quarter began with a Lakers interception at 14:42. The Lakers took over at the CSU Pueblo 16 where they eventually were able to log another touchdown off a deflected pass. Matthew Stephenson was able to get through the line and block the PAT to keep the score at 34-14. In favor of Grand Valley State.
Following the touchdown, the Lakers defense would not yield. Despite valiant efforts on the offensive side of the ball, the ThunderWolves were held to just 38 yards on offense for the remainder of the game. With a 5:13 drive to end the game, the Lakers sealed the 34-14 win over the Pack.
Croell and Williams combined for 133 yards in the air off 18-38 throwing. Croell logged the lone touchdown throw. WR Max Fine highlighted the receivers with four catches and 40 yards.
DL Ikenna Onwuasoanya, LB Patrick Howell, and LB Marcus Lawrence each logged strong defensive performances, notching 1.5 tackles for loss each. Philio and LB Max Gonzales each tallied a tackle for loss as well to total eight on the night.
CSU Pueblo drops to 0-2 on the season following the loss and now look on to their next foe. Black Hills State University will travel to the CSU Pueblo ThunderBowl as the Pack kick-off conference play with a 1 p.m. start.
 -PACK-
