PUEBLO, Colo. – Colorado State University Pueblo returned home to the ThunderBowl here Saturday afternoon as the ThunderWolves won its fifth straight game as they earned an impressive 59-20 victory over Colorado Mesa on Pink Out Day for Breast Cancer Awareness in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action.
 
With the win, CSU Pueblo improves to 6-3 and 5-2 in the RMAC, while Mesa snaps its two-game win streak and falls to 4-5 overall and 3-4 in the RMAC. 
 
The Pack offense had a dominating performance against the Mavericks defense as they gained 563 yards and scored seven touchdowns and added an eighth score on a 96-yard kickoff return by redshirt freshman running back Moosah Alsaffar (Aurora, Colo./Grandview) in winning their 23rd straight October home game since 2010. In the win, the Pack rushed for 199 yards on 31 carries and passed for 364 yards.
 
Meanwhile, on defense, the Pack held Mesa to just 285 yards and collected six sacks, forced three turnovers, including picking off two passes and holding the Mavs to just 4-for-18 on third down opportunities.
 
"I am proud of our guys today. I can't tell you how proud I am of these guys because every single week they get better and better. I am proud of everyone today – offense, defense, and special teams, they all carried their weight today and was a great team victory," CSU Pueblo head coach Philip Vigil said following his sixth win as the Pack coach.
 
Saturday's game was an emotional one for Vigil as he played football at Colorado Mesa from 2004-08 and was a two-time All-RMAC performer with the Mavs and led the team to an NCAA Playoff appearance in 2007.
 
"We're playing good right now on all three phases of the game. That was a good opponent we just faced and obviously, this one was a little personal for me," added the Pack coach. "I am proud of our guys, our staff. They did a great job preparing these guys for today's game."
 
In the game, the Pack scored on nine of its 13 possessions and on two of the possessions they failed to score on the Pack were stopped on fourth down. The Pack also did not attempt a punt in the game, which was the first time not attempting a punt since Fort Lewis on Oct. 30, 2021.
 
During its current five-game winning streak, the Pack are averaging 54.2 points and 553.8 yards of offense per game, while allowing just 9.4 points and 233.4 yards of offense per game on defense. The Pack have also recorded 22 sacks and have forced 11 turnovers on defense.
 
Against Colorado Mesa, graduate student quarterback Chance Fuller (Arlington, Texas/Fort Hays State) tallied his second straight 300-plus yard passing game as he was 26-for-38 passing for 360 yards and had a season-high tying five touchdown passes and one interception. His five touchdown passes pushed his season total to 26, which is fourth on the school's single season chart and pushed his career total to 93, which is fourth among active Division II quarterbacks.
 
Fuller completed 26 passes for five different receivers as redshirt sophomore Zack Rakowsky (Loveland, Colo./Loveland) caught 10 passes for a career-high 152 yards and had one touchdown reception. In addition to Rakowsky, junior Reggie Retzlaff (Corona, Calif./Riverside City College) caught five passes for 58 yards and added his 11th touchdown reception, which is tied for second-most in a single season in school history.
 
On the rushing front, junior running back Howard Russell (Phoenix, Ariz./Eastern New Mexico) carried the ball 13 times for 103 yards and scored a touchdown and caught four passes for 41 yards to finish with 144 all-purpose yards, while junior running back Kiahn Martinez (Denver, Colo./University of Idaho) had 12 carries for 80 yards. Martinez entered the game as the leading rusher in the RMAC as he was averaging 75 yards per game.
 
The Pack scored the first points of the game on a 35-yard field goal by redshirt sophomore kicker Jacob Willig (Fort Collins, Colo./Rocky Mountain) with 6:50 left in the opening quarter. 
 
Mesa, though, came right back and drive 39 yards in five plays on the ensuing possession and tied the game on a 47-yard field goal by Henry Katleman.
 
On the Pack's next drive, redshirt junior receiver Andrew Cook (Tucson, Ariz./Ironwood Ridge) caught a 31-yard touchdown pass from Fuller to cap a four-play, 75-yard drive to take a 9-3 lead with 4:02 left in the first quarter. The snap on the extra point attempt by Willig was bobbled and the attempt was missed to snap Willig's streak of 43 consecutive made extra points. He entered the game 43-for-43 on extra points this season.
 
The Pack extended its lead to 17-3 just a minute into the second quarter thanks to a 29-yard touchdown pass from Fuller to Russell and added two-point conversion run by redshirt junior Cody Ramming (Littleton, Colo./Columbine). The two-point conversion run by Ramming were the first points of his collegiate career. The drive for the Pack began following an interception by senior defensive back Donyai Dixon (Baltimore, Md./UNLV). The interception was the second of the season for Dixon.
 
Mesa, though, came right back and pulled with 17-10 thanks to a 29-yard touchdown run by Gavin Herberg on a fourth-and-eight play by the Mavericks. Herberg's score came five plays after Kash Bradley intercepted a Fuller pass.
 
Redshirt sophomore receiver Nate Gravagno (Englewood, Colo./Englewood) caught a 38-yard pass from Fuller to give the Pack a 24-10 lead with 4:49 left in the second quarter to cap an 11-play, 75-yard drive.
 
The Mavs would drop the Pack's lead to 24-13 with 1:47 left in the second quarter thanks to a 23-yard field goal by Katleman to cap a 59-yard, nine-play drive.
 
On the ensuing kickoff, redshirt freshman running back Moosah Alsaffar (Aurora, Colo./Grandview) took the kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown to give the Pack a 31-13 lead. The 96-yard kickoff return was the longest play of the season for the Pack. 
 
Mesa, though, would turn the ball over on its next drive as freshman linebacker Gary Seidenberger (Fredericksburg, Texas/Fredericksburg) recovered a fumble by Herberg at the Mesa 23-yard line. Three plays later, Rakowsky (Loveland, Colo./Loveland) caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from Fuller to give the Pack a 38-13 lead with 39 seconds left in the first half. 
 
The Pack scored on its first drive of the third quarter thanks to a 13-yard touchdown pass from Fuller to Retzlaff to cap a nine-play, 75-yard drive and push its lead to 45-13.
 
Mesa would come right back and score on its first possession of the second half on an 8-yard touchdown pass from Kai'I Keone to David O'Connell to cut the Pack lead to 45-20. Keone replaced Herberg, who was injured one play earlier on the drive on a rush for no gain.
 
The Pack extended its lead to 52-20 just five-plus minutes into the fourth quarter on as 3-yard touchdown run by Russell to cap a six-play, 84-yard drive. The big play on the drive was a 41-yard pass from Fuller to Rakowsky.
 
CSU Pueblo would cap the scoring on a 5-yard touchdown pass from redshirt junior quarterback Steven Croell (Broomfield, Colo./Broomfield) to Gravagno, who had his first career two-touchdown game. The big play on the drive was a 35-yard pass from Fuller to Rakowsky.
 
Croell was 2-for-2 passing for four yards and rushed one time for 11 yards in relief of Fuller.
 
Prior to his injury, Herberg was 11-for-22 passing for 119 yards with one interception and no touchdowns and added 47 yards rushing on 11 carries. Keone was 3-for-6 passing for 30 yards and had a touchdown and an interception, which came by redshirt junior defensive lineman Kenneth Lofton (Phoenix, Ariz./Mountain Pointe) with 1:08 left in the game.
 
"I thought our defense did a good job at containing their quarterback. He is very athletic. He made some big plays with his legs today, but when we had an opportunity to get the ball, we got the ball," added Vigil. "I was really proud of our defense today."
 
Gianni Hurd led the Mavs in rushing with 48 yards on 10 carries, while O'Connell caught four passes for 59 yards.
 
Jamel Acosta-Lewis finished with 100 kickoff return yards on four returns.
 
Senior defensive back Cory McLellan (Monument, Colo./Palmer Ridge) paced the Pack defense with eight tackles and a tackle for loss, while Seidenberger added seven tackles. Ramming had three sacks and 3.0 tackles for loss in the game and forced a fumble.
 
The Pack will look to make it six straight wins next Saturday, Nov. 4 as they travel to Rapid City, S.D., for a 12 p.m. game against South Dakota School of Mines (5-4 overall, 4-3 RMAC), who earned a 63-7 win Saturday at Adams State.