PUEBLO, Colo. – The No. 14/16th-ranked Colorado State University football team will look to win its fourth straight game this Saturday as the ThunderWolves travel to Durango, Colo., for a 2 p.m. Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference match-up against Fort Lewis College at Ray Dennison Memorial Field.
 
CSU Pueblo comes into Saturday's third road game of the 2024 season sporting a 5-1 overall record and a 4-0 mark in the RMAC following its 67-28 homecoming win last Saturday over New Mexico Highlands, while Fort Lewis comes into the game having lost three straight games and is sporting a 1-4 overall record and an 0-3 mark in the RMAC following a 44-7 loss last Saturday at then 13th-ranked Western Colorado.
 
Along with winning three straight games since suffering a 24-21 loss at home on Sept 14 to then No. 3 ranked Grand Valley State, the Pack have also won 11 straight RMAC games dating to last season and has also won six straight road games dating to last season's 57-49 double overtime setback at Grand Valley State. The 11-game conference win streak is currently the third longest active streak in Division II football, while the six straight road wins is the fourth longest active road streak in Division II football.
 
In last Saturday's 67-28 homecoming win over New Mexico Highlands, the Pack scored a season-high 67 points, which were the fourth most points scored in a game in school history, while the 95 points were the most combined ever in a homecoming game for the Pack.
 
"I was proud of the way our team played on Saturday. We played all four quarters, which was awesome to see," CSU Pueblo second-year head coach Philip Vigil said. "We got guys a lot of experience defensively against an outstanding Highlands rushing attack, and we were able to put some points on the scoreboard offensively."
 
Offensively, the Pack scored eight offensive touchdowns, including scoring 39 points in the second quarter to take a 46-6 lead at the half, and added a ninth touchdown on a 73-yard punt return by redshirt junior receiver Reece Robinson (Los Angeles, Calif./Antelope Valley), which was the Pack's longest offensive play of the season. For his efforts against New Mexico Highlands, Robinson was named this week's RMAC Special Teams Player of the Week.
 
"We wanted to be aggressive in the game and when we had opportunities to be aggressive, we were," said Vigil.
 
The Pack's offense finished the game with 578 yards as they ran the ball 25 times for 197 yards and averaged 7.9 yards per carry and tied a season-high with four rushing touchdowns while passing for 379 yards as the Pack's four quarterbacks that played were a combined 20-for-27 with four touchdowns and no interceptions.
 
"I think our offense is clicking right now and moving the ball well. We were also better in situational football on Saturday as we were 4-for-7 on third down and 4-for-4 in the red zone. We had seven drives that had five plays or less that ended in a score, including six of which were touchdowns," Vigil said.
 
On the season, the Pack offense is one of the best in Division II as they come into Saturday's game sitting second nationally in passing offense (349.2 yards per game), fifth in total offense (509.2 yards per game), fifth in scoring offense (44.5 points per game) and fifth in offensive first downs (141).
 
Senior running back Howard Russell V (Phoenix, Ariz./Eastern New Mexico) and senior running back Korien Burrell (Beaumont, Texas/Henderson State) combined to run the ball 15 times for 170 yards and scored two touchdowns each. Russell, who leads the RMAC in both rushing yards (649) and total touchdowns (9), tallied 108 yards rushing on seven carries and averaged 15.4 yards per carry and Burrell had 62 yards on eight carries and averaged 7.6 yards per carry.
 
Senior quarterback Devin Larsen (Gilbert, Ariz./Western New Mexico) was 7-for-11 passing for 72 yards and one touchdown pass, while junior Roman Fuller (Decatur, Texas/University of Tulsa) was 7-for-9 passing for 177 yards and had two touchdown passes and senior Steven Croell (Broomfield, Colo./Broomfield) was a perfect 5-for-5 passing for 118 yards and had one touchdown pass.
 
The Pack's quarterbacks completed passes to 13 different players in the win as sophomore Verlis Smith (Modesto, Calif./Ceres) caught four passes for 74 yards, including hauling in his first career touchdown pass on a 27-yard reception from Fuller in the third quarter. Along with Smith, senior Taylor Tosches (Temecula, Calif./SW Oklahoma State) caught three passes for 102 yards.
 
Defensively, the Pack allowed 356 yards of offense to the Cowboys as they rushed for 308 yards and passed for 48 yards as Highlands was 7-for-12 passing with an interception and three touchdown passes. The Pack defense also forced three turnovers and recorded a sack to push its season total to 17, which is third-most in the RMAC.
 
On the season, the Pack is fourth in total defense in the RMAC as they are allowing 286.8 yards per game and are third in both passing defense as they are allowing 148.5 yards per game, and scoring defense as they are allowing 17.5 points per game.
 
"Defensively, that fourth down stop after that 13-play drive that they (Highlands) had in the first quarter was huge. It was huge because we knew they were going to hold onto the football and milk the clock as much as possible to keep our offense off the field," Vigil stated. "That shotgun triple option is hard to defend, especially when you don't see it a lot, but when our defense needed to make stops, it made some huge stops for us in the game. We were able to cause three turnovers and got two huge fourth-down stops which are essentially like turnovers for us."
 
The Pack also were able to score on special teams in Saturday's game thanks to Robinson's 73-yard punt return and also had junior kicker Jacob Willig (Fort Collins, Colo./Rocky Mountain) connect on a 41-yard field goal in his first action of the season.
 
"Perhaps one of the nicest things about Saturday's game is getting our special teams involved, which was huge for us," the Pack coach added. "Reece (Robinson) had a punt return for a score, which was great. We had a surprise onside kick that got us the ball back and turned into a 15-point swing that made all the difference. We were able to get all the points in the kicking game, which was also huge for us."
 
One of the biggest positives of the last few games for the Pack has been their ability to get a lot of players some experience and game action, which helps build depth on offense, defense, and special teams.
 
"We were able to get some guys in the game that are selfless guys that have worked hard and put the team first," the Pack coach added. "There were a lot of guys that got in on Saturday and that was great to see. I think the coolest thing for me was seeing how excited the rest of the team was when those guys got their opportunity."
 
One player Vigil singled out for his play on Saturday was Croell, who not only passed for a touchdown, but he also caught a pass and carried the ball two times for four yards in the win.
 
"Steven's  career has had its peaks and valleys and through it all he continues to put the Pack first. For him to go into the game on Saturday and do what he did, he had over 100 yards passing, caught a pass, and threw a touchdown pass. I'm just so proud of him," Vigil said. "He's an unbelievable teammate to these guys. There's a reason he was voted a single-digit number."
 
Saturday's game with Fort Lewis will mark the 37th all-time meeting between the two schools and the 16th time since CSU Pueblo restarted football in 2008. The Pack leads the all-time series, 29-7 and they have won five straight games in the series, including scoring 233 points in the last three games in the series as they tallied a school record 85 points last season, 75 points in 2022, and 73 points in 2021. The last time Fort Lewis defeated the Pack was in 2017 when the Skyhawks posted a 35-24 win in Durango, Colo. The Pack leads the series 14-5 in Durango, 14-2 at home and 1-0 on a neutral field.
 
Last season, the Pack defeated the Skyhawks in Durango, 85-7 as they set new schools records for points (85), total yards (764), total touchdowns (12), passing touchdowns (7), extra points made (11) and extra point attempts (11). The Pack also rushed for 409 yards and recorded eight sacks in the victory.
 
"Look back at our history with Fort Lewis. In 2017, the Pack won the RMAC championship and lost at Fort Lewis, and in 2014, the Pack won the national title and lost to Fort Lewis that year as well," Vigil said when asked about the Fort Lewis series.
 
Following Saturday's game at Fort Lewis, the Pack will return home next Saturday, Oct. 19 to the CSU Pueblo ThunderBowl to host Black Hills State at 1 p.m.
 
ABOUT FORT LEWIS
Fort Lewis comes into this weekend's action having won just one of its first five games this season with the lone win being a 17-12 home win on Sept. 14 against Arizona Christian. That win over Arizona Christian snapped a 40-game losing skid for the Skyhawks and was FLC's first win in five seasons.
 
The Skyhawks still have one streak ongoing as they enter this weekend having dropped 36 straight RMAC games since picking up a 28-9 home win on Oct. 5, 2019, against Adams State.
 
Coming into play Saturday, Fort Lewis is averaging 16.8 points per game and has gained 1,429 yards on offense as they are averaging 125.0 yards rushing and 160.8 passing yards per game. The Skyhawks have gained over 290 yards of offense in three games, including tallying 444 yards of offense (214 rushing, 230 passing) two weeks ago in a 49-33 loss at home to South Dakota Mines. The 444 yards of offense were the most in a game for the Skyhawks since posting 403 yards against Dixie State in 2021 and the 33 points scored were the most in a game since scoring 37 points in a win over Chadron State in 2019.
 
Fort Lewis is coached by second year head coach Johnny Cox, who returned to his alma mater in 2022 after serving as the Associate Head Coach at UNC Pembroke. Cox began his tenure at UNC Pembroke as the offensive coordinator in 2014. As a player at Fort Lewis, Cox was a two-time All-American as a receiver, along with being the RMAC Player of the Year in 1993 and was inducted into the FLC Athletics Hall of Fame in 1999. He was also a two-time finalist for the Harlon Hill Trophy.
 
"Coach Cox and his staff have done a good job of continuing to recruit well. He's done a good job at developing their scheme and the staff has done a good job of getting the right guys in there." Vigil said. "They're a much better football this year than they were last year at this time, and they've got some guys at certain positions that will give us fits on Saturday."
 
One of the main players on offense for the Skyhawks is redshirt freshman quarterback Stone Walker. Walker is 66-for-139 passing for 659 yards and has tossed three touchdown passes and leads the team with 242 rushing yards as he is averaging 3.8 yards per carry and 48.4 yards per game. He has scored four rushing touchdowns and is averaging 180.2 yards of total offense.
 
"I like their quarterback. He is a good player. He's a kid from Houston and is athletic and very poised in the pocket, can throw the football, can run when he needs to, and makes people miss," Vigil said about Walker. "They have some other weapons and some tools that we're going to have to plan for both offensively and defensively to be able to go into Durango and come out with a victory."
 
In addition to Walker, some other top offensive players for the Skyhawks are sophomore running back Jamal Johnson, who has gained 203 yards rushing, has scored one touchdown, and is averaging 5.0 yards per carry, along with junior receiver Christopher Thomas, Jr. (17 catches, 195 yards, 11.5 yards per reception) and senior receiver Jamille Humphrey (13 catches, 157 yards, 12.1 yards per reception).
 
Meanwhile, on defense, Fort Lewis is allowing 34.6 points per game and 436.2 yards per game as the Skyhawks' foes are averaging 246.0 rushing yards and 190.2 passing yards per game.
 
Leading the defensive effort is redshirt freshman linebacker Jacob Penney, who leads the team in tackles with 57, including 34 solo stops, and has had five tackles for a loss, three quarterback hurries, and has forced a fumble. In addition to Penney, sophomore free safety is second in tackles with 35 and has picked off a pass and recorded a tackle for a loss and junior defensive end Walter Stauffer has had 27 tackles and leads in both sacks (2.5) and tackles for loss (7.5). His 7.5 tackles for loss are tied for second-most in the RMAC, while his 2.5 sacks are tied for seventh-most in the RMAC.
 
"Durango is a unique place to play. It's a unique field and we've got to make sure that we are playing our brand of football to the best of our ability on Saturday. Because I think regardless of if you're playing Fort Lewis or if you look at the Division I level, anyone can beat anyone on any given week, and that's college athletics," added Vigil. "We need to make sure our mindset is right going into these games every single week regardless of who we're playing, but if we're not, you can lose the game."
 
One of the strengths of the Skyhakws is their special teams as junior punter/kicker Hunter Villavicencio leads the RMAC in punting as he is averaging 45.9 yards per punt and has placed four punts inside the 20-yard line and has had seven 50-plus yard punts. In addition, he is 5-for-9 on field goals and is 9-for-10 on extra point attempts.
 
Humphrey is Fort Lewis' top return specialist as he is averaging 23.3 yards per punt return and 23.7 yards per kickoff return, while freshman Orlando Guevara is averaging 17.3 yards per kickoff return. Humphrey is also averaging 76.4 all-purpose yards per game for the Skyhawks.
 
PACK FOOTBALL NOTES

• The Pack Football Show is scheduled for 6 p.m. every Wednesday (except for Oct. 23) during the 2024 football season at the Thunder Zone, which is located across the street from the CSU Pueblo ThunderBowl.
• In the Preseason RMAC Coaches' Poll, the Pack was tabbed to finish third as they received 66 points to sit 16 points in front of fourth-place Colorado Mesa (50 points) and eight points behind second-place Western Colorado, who earned 74 points and three first-place votes. Mines was tabbed as the preseason favorite as the Orediggers earned 79 points and seven first-place votes.
• Saturday's game marks the Pack's second of three games in October as the Pack has posted a 111-49 record in the month since 1963, including being 58-10 in the month since 2008.
• Saturday's game will mark the 187th game played since the restart of the Pack football program in 2008. Since 2008, the Pack have posted a 146-41 record.
• All 11 of the Pack's football games will be broadcast once again this season on Fox Sports Pueblo (1350 AM) with Jim Brooks and Joe Cervi on the call. The broadcasts will begin with a pregame show 30 minutes before the opening kickoff. Saturday's Fort Lewis pregame show will start at 1:30 p.m. MT.
• The Pack is the winningest football program in the state of Colorado in terms of winning percentage as the Pack has won nearly 65 percent of its all-time games since beginning its four-year school tenure in 1963. The Pack has posted a 260-140-4 record in football since 1963. Colorado is the second-winningest team in the state as Colorado has won nearly 57 percent of its games all-time as they have posted a 726-546-36 record.