LAS VEGAS, N.M. – Colorado State University Pueblo football got off to a fast start offensively here Saturday afternoon as the ThunderWolves scored on its first four possessions en route to earning a 56-7 victory over New Mexico Highlands at Sanchez Family Stadium.

With the victory, the Pack extended its win streak to three straight games and improved to 4-3 overall and 4-2 in the RMAC, while Highlands falls to 2-5 overall and 1-4 in the RMAC.

"I am really proud of these guys. The offense put every single point on the scoreboard today. We've got to clean some things up, but overall very, very proud of our team," CSU Pueblo head coach Philip Vigil said following the game. "Again, these guys are buying into what we're doing. It doesn't matter who we're playing, we've got to come out and do our job and play hard for the guy next to you and they're doing that right now and it's been fun to watch. "Everyone is just clicking right now and guys are doing their job." 

The Pack offense finished the game with 510 yards as they passed for 308 yards and rushed for 202 yards and averaged 7.7 yards per play. It marked the third time in the last four games the Pack has rushed for at least 200 yards. Additionally, the Pack was 6-for-6 on red zone scoring opportunities. 

While the Pack offense finished with 510 yards of offense, the CSU Pueblo defense didn't allow a score as the Highlands' lone score came on a 46-yard fumble return for a score late in the second quarter. In addition to pitching a shutout, the Pack defense allowed 158 yards as they held one of the top rushing teams in the league to 121 yards and allowed just 37 yards passing on a 6-for-16 effort by the Cowboys' quarterbacks.

NMHU came into the game second in the RMAC in rushing as they were averaging 181.3 yards per game, but just 3.2 yards per carry in Saturday's game.

Graduate student quarterback Chance Fuller (Arlington, Texas/Fort Hays State) completed 74 percent of his passes as he was 20-for-27 passing for 247 yards and had three touchdowns, including two touchdown passes for junior receiver Reggie Retzlaff (Corona, Calf./Riverside City College).

With his three touchdown passes, Fuller pushed his season total to 18, which is seventh in the school's single season chart and moved his career total 85, which is fourth-most among active Division II quarterbacks.

Fuller's top target in the passing game was redshirt sophomore receiver Zack Rakowsky (Loveland, Colo./Loveland) as he was targeted 11 times and caught 10 passes for 133 yards and also passed for a touchdown right before the end of the first half to give the Pack a 35-7 halftime lead.

Retzlaff finished with eight catches for 92 yards and pushed his season touchdown total to eight.

The Pack rushing attack was led by junior running back Howard Russell (Phoenix, Ariz./Eastern New Mexico) as he finished with 81 yards on eight carries and averaged 10.1 yards per carry. Junior running back Kiahn Martinez (Denver, Colo./University of Idaho) tallied 64 yards on 14 carries.

For the third straight game, the Pack offense scored on its opening possession as Fuller hooked up with redshirt junior receiver Andrew Cook (Tucson, Ariz./Ironwood Prep) for a 36-yard touchdown pass to give the Pack a 7-0 lead with 9:34 left in the first quarter. Cook's touchdown capped an 8-play, 73-yard drive for the Pack.

"If you let a team like Highlands in the game, they will play with you the entire game, especially when you run the triple option, the worst thing you can be is down, so we had to be efficient today. We had to start fast and we did exactly that," the first-year ThunderWolves coach said. "So proud of our offense, our defense and our special teams. We played a complete game again and I can't be morep proud of our staff and these guys."

Martinez scored on a 1-yard out with 4:54 left in the opening quarter to give the Pack a 14-0 lead.

The Pack extended its lead to 21-0 with 2:30 left in the first quarter thanks to a 49-yard touchdown pass from Fuller to Retzlaff.

In the opening quarter, the Pack offense ran 17 plays for 189 yards as Fuller was 9-for-10 passing for 139 yards and had two touchdown passes. The Pack added 50 rushing yards on seven carries.

Russell gave the Pack a 28-0 lead following his 15-yard touchdown run just a little under two minutes into the second quarter.

NMHU got on the scoreboard thanks to a fumble by the Pack that was returned 46 yards for a score by Gannon Ginnis to cut the Pack's lead to 28-7 with 2:15 left in the half.

The Pack then added to its lead on a trick play as Rakowsky connected with Retzlaff for a touchdown in the back of the end zone to give the Pack a 35-7 halftime lead.

Senior defensive back Cory McLellan (Monument, Colo./Palmer Ridge) set up the Pack's next score as he picked off a pass and returned it 29 yards to put the Pack at Highlands 31-yard line andthree plays later, Fuller connected with Rakowsky in the end zone for a 23-yard touchdown reception to give the Pack a 42-7 lead with 6:06 left in the third quarter.

The interception was his second this season and eighth of McLellan's career.

Redshirt junior quarterback Steven Croell (Broomfield, Colo./Broomfield) gave the Pack a 49-7 lead with 7:18 left in the fourth quarter as he scored on a 5-yard run to cap a nine-play, 70-yard drive.

The Pack capped the scoring with a 2-yard touchdown run by redshirt freshman running back Moosah Alsaffar (Aurora, Colo./Grandview) with 1:32 left in the game.

For the game, the Pack defense recorded three sacks and forced two turnovers in the game, both of which led to touchdowns for the Pack and held NMHU to a 4-for-14 effort on third down.

Shawntay Mills, Jr., paced the Cowboys with 89 yards rushing on 14 carries. Gage Guardiola was 4-for-11 passing for 24 yards and had one interception, while Jonathan Jerry was 2-for-5 passing for 13 yards in the loss. 

CSU Pueblo will remain on the road next weekend (Oct. 21) as they travel to Chadron, Neb., for a 12 p.m. RMAC game against Chadron State. Chadron State (3-4 overall, 2-3 RMAC) picked up a 57-20 home win on Saturday over Fort Lewis. 

"We have another rivalry game next weekend at Chadron and I'm excited to get to Chadron and keep growing. This team continues to get better every single week," the coach added.