PUEBLO, Colo. – The Colorado State University Pueblo football team continued its strong play on Homecoming here Saturday afternoon as the ThunderWolves earned a 43-10 victory over Adams State in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action in front of a season high crowd of 7,585 fans at the CSU ThunderBowl.
 
With its second straight victory, the Pack improves to 3-3 overall and 2-2 in the league and also improves to 15-0 in homecoming games since restarting the football program in 2008. The Pack are now also 31-6 all-time in homecoming game since 1963. Adams State falls to 3-3 overall and 2-2 in the league. 

Along with Saturday's game being Homecoming, CSU Pueblo Athletics also had its Hall of Fame Class of 2023 induction ceremony on Friday night and the newest Hall of Fame members were honored and recognized during Saturday's game. Two of the inductees came from football as former coach Mike Friedman (1974-83) and current Tampa Bay Buccaneer center Ryan Jensen (2009-12) were among the nine members inducted into this year's Hall of Fame class.

Much like last week's record-setting 85-7 win at Fort Lewis, the Pack got off to a fast start in Saturday's game as they scored on its first three possessions of the game and tallied scores on five of its seven first half drives as they led 27-10 at the half against the Grizzles.
 
"I am really proud of our team, proud of our staff. They did a really good job of putting our guys into good positions today. We challenged them to be physical and do their job and they did that today," CSU Pueblo head coach Philip Vigil said following the victory. "The offense started fast as we came out of the gate in the first half and scored one every possession but two and the defense held them when we needed to and got some turnovers there in the second half. I am just really proud of this group."
 
In fact, the Pack scored on seven of its first 10 drives as they 43-10 late in the third quarter following a 72-yard kickoff return for a score by sophomore receiver Dorion McGarity (Fort Collins, Colo./Fort Collins). The 72-yard kickoff return is the longest kickoff return for a score this season and the first return for score since redshirt senior receiver Nigel Mitchell (Red Bank, N.Y./Red Bank Regional) returned a kick 95 yards for a score last season against Adams State.
 
The Pack offense had another strong showing on Saturday they gained 482 yards on 76 plays. On the day, the Pack gained 193 rushing yards on 34 carries and were 25-for-42 passing for 289 yards.
 
Over its last three games, the Pack offense has gained 819 yards as they rushed for 217 yards against Mines, before running for a season high 409 yards last week against Fort Lewis.
 
"Every week lately it seems like our offensive line and our running backs get better and better. I am really about this group and what they've been doing," Vigil said. "It's fun to see as a coach that you have a security blanket in knowing that you can run the football and today we ran it well again."
 
For the second straight week, the Pack scored on its opening offensively possession of the game as junior running back Kiahn Martinez (Denver, Colo./University of Idaho) completed a six-play, 75-yard drive with an 11-yard touchdown run to give the Pack a 7-0 lead less than two minutes into the game. Martinez, who entered the game as the leading rushing in the RMAC, finished with 68 yards on 11 carries and averaged 6.2 yards per rush.
 
The Pack extended its lead to 14-0 midway through the first quarter on an 11-yard scoring run by junior running back Howard Russell (Phoenix, Ariz./Eastern New Mexico) to complete a 10-play, 90-yard drive. The 90-yard drive was the longest of the season for the Pack. Russell finished the game with 95 yards rushing on 11 carries and averaged 8.6 yards per carry.
 
Junior receiver Reggie Retzlaff (Corona, Calif./Riverside City College) hauled in his team-leading sixth touchdown pass of the season as he caught a 12-yard pass from graduate student quarterback Chance Fuller (Arlington, Texas/Fort Hays State).
 
Fuller had another efficient day in the passing game as he was 22-for-37 through the air for 272 yards and had two touchdown passes and no interceptions. In addition, he gained 11 yards rushing on two carries and finished with 283 yards of total offense. With his two touchdown passes, Fuller pushes his career total to 82, which is fourth among active Division II players.
 
In the opening quarter, the Pack offense ran 23 plays and gained 234 yards of offense as Fuller was 9-for-12 passing for 144 yards and they rushed for 90 yards.
 
Adams State, who entered the game having won two straight games and three of their five to open the season, would find the end zone on its third offensive possession of the game as Noel Moreno caught a 25-yard touchdown pass from Chase Nelson with 11:33 left in the second quarter to bring the Grizzlies within 21-7.
 
After failing to score on its first possession of the second quarter, the Pack extended its lead to 24-7 following a 42-yard field goal by redshirt sophomore kicker Jacob Willig (Fort Collins, Colo./Rocky Mountain). The 42-yard field goal was the longest of the season for Willig and capped a nine-play, 34-yard drive.
 
The Grizzlies would take advantage to a Pack fumble on a muffed punt return by redshirt junior receiver Andrew Cook (Tucson, Ariz./Ironwood Ridge) to score its next points as Zach Survillas drilled a 28-yard field goal with 1:50 left in the quarter to pull ASU within 24-10.
 
That score would give the Pack just enough time to mount a scoring drive to close the first half as they gained 44 yards on nine plays and capped the drive with a season-long 43 yard field goal by Willig with no time left on the clock to give the Pack a 27-10 halftime lead. The big play on the drive was a 21-yard pass from Fuller to redshirt sophomore receiver Zack Rakowsky (Loveland, Colo./Loveland), who finished the game with eight catches for 115 yards. 
 
The Pack pushed its lead to 34-10 on its first possession of the third quarter as Fuller hooked up with Cook for a 13-yard touchdown pass. The touchdown reception by Cook was his 17th of his career, which moved into a tie with Clyde Kenebrew for third place in career touchdown receptions. Kenebrew caught 17 touchdown passes for the Pack from 1972-76.
 
Later in the third quarter, the Pack recorded a safety as a snap to Survillas on a punt went over his head into the end zone and on the play, Survillas fell on the ball for a safety to give the Pack a 36-10 lead.
 
On the ensuing kickoff, McGarity would cap the scoring with his 72-yard kickoff return. For the game, McGarity returned three kickoffs for 172 yards and averaged 57.3 yards per return and totaled 205 all-purpose yards as he caught one pass for 33 yards. 
 
The Pack did have one more scoring opportunity in the fourth quarter as Willig missed on 42-yard field goal attempt after the Pack's drive that started at midfield stalled after gaining 26 yards on six plays.
 
After allowing 200 yards of offense last weekend against Fort Lewis, the Pack defense held Adams State to just 204 yards of offense on 58 yards as the Grizzlies run for just 37 yards on their 32 carries and passed for 167 yards.

The Pack defense also recorded three sacks, six tackles for a loss and forced a turnover in the game. Leading the for the Pack defensively was redshirt junior linebacker Jon Nuschy (La Junta, Colo./Northern Colorado), who had nine tackles. 
 
CSU Pueblo, though, lost the turnover battle as they committed two – one on the muffed punt by Cook and the other was a fourth quarter interception thrown by redshirt junior quarterback Steven Croell (Broomfield, Colo./Broomfield). ASU had just one turnover on the day. 

Ellis Santana paced ASU offense with 83 yards rushing on 16 carries and he totaled 133 all-purpose yards, while Nelson was 15-for-26 passing for 167 yards. Nelson's big target in the passing game was Kentrel Petite, who caught five balls for 64 yards. 

The Pack will look to make it three consecutive wins next Saturday, Oct. 14 as they travel to Las Vegas, N.M., for a 12 p.m. RMAC game against New Mexico Highlands (2-4, 1-3 RMAC) following its 34-24 setback Saturday at Black Hills State.