GUNNISON, Colo. – The 10th-ranked Colorado State University Pueblo football team remained undefeated in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play here Saturday afternoon as they collected an impressive 44-34 victory over eighth-ranked Western Colorado in Mojo Field at Mountaineer Field at the The Rady Family Sports Complex.

With the victory, the ThunderWolves improved to 8-1 overall and 7-0 in the RMAC, while Western Colorado fell to 8-1 overall and 6-1 in the league. The win extended two streaks for the Pack as they won its 14th consecutive conference game, which is tied for the second longest active streak in Division II and its eighth straight road contest, which is the second longest active streak in Division II.

The win also helped the Pack snap a three-game losing streak to the Mountaineers and puts the Pack into the driver's seat to win its ninth all-time RMAC title with two weeks left in the regular season and host at least one home NCAA first round playoff game.

Saturday's win was keyed by a Pack offensive attack that scored on seven of its 13 possessions and finished the game with 593 yards as they passed for 435 yards and rushed for 158 yards against the No. 2 rushing defense in the country as the Mountaineers entered the game allowing just 60.5 rushing yards per game. The Pack also scored 44 points against a Western defense that entered the game allowing just 16.1 points per game. It was also the most points allowed by the Mountaineers since Colorado School of Mines scored 42 points last season in a 42-7 win in Golden, Colo.

"I'm speechless. The Lord has been on this team the whole year. I challenged these guys to play free and play our game today and did exactly that. They played free and I'm so proud of these guys," CSU Pueblo second-year head coach Philip Vigil said. "When we needed plays, we made some plays in every facet of the game."

The Pack offense was paced by the play of junior quarterback Roman Fuller (Decatur, Texas/University of Tulsa) as he was efficient guiding the offense as he completed 74 percent of his passes as he was 34-for-46 for 435 yards and had five touchdown passes in his second career start with the ThunderWolves.

Fuller's primary targets in the passing game were senior receivers Reggie Retzlaff (Corona, Calif./Riverside City College) and Taylor Tosches (Temecula, Calif./Southwestern Oklahoma State), who combined to catch 17 passes for 278 yards as had four touchdown receptions. Tosches finished the game with 10 catches for 137 yards, while Retzlaff caught seven passes for 138 yards and had three touchdown catches to push his career touchdown reception total to 22, which is second on the school's all-time list.

In addition to Retzlaff and Tosches, senior running back Howard Russell V (Phoenix, Ariz./Eastern New Mexico) carried the ball 19 times for 159 yards. The 159 yards rushing pushed his streak to six straight 100-plus yard rushing games.

The Pack wasted little time in getting on the scoreboard in Saturday's game as they took the opening kickoff and drove 75 yards in six plays and capped the drive with a 3-yard touchdown pass from Fuller to junior receiver Zack Rakowsky (Loveland, Colo./Loveland) just a little under three minutes into the contest. The big play on the drive was a 47-yard pass from Fuller to Tosches (Temecula.

Junior kicker Jacob Willig (Fort Collins, Colo./Rocky Mountain) gave the Pack a 10-0 lead following his 23-yard field goal with 18 seconds left in the opening quarter. Willig's field goal capped a 13-play, 58-yard drive by the Pack.

The Mountaineers would answer back following Willig's field goal as they drove 75 yards in eight plays and pulled within 10-7 thanks to an 11-yard touchdown pass from Drew Nash to Daniel Parsek with 11:28 left in the second quarter.

Following WCU's score, the Pack came right back down the field and used a 76-yard touchdown pass from Fuller to Retzlaff with 10:45 left in the second quarter.

The Pack pushed its lead to 24-7 with 3:09 left in the second quarter thanks to a 9-yard touchdown pass from Fuller to Tosches.

Western, though, would gain some momentum as they used a 49-yard hail mary pass with one second left in the quarter from Nash to Cole Riters to cut the Pack lead to 24-14 at the half.

In the opening half, the Pack outgained the Mountaineers, 329-155, with 88 of WCU's yards coming on its final drive of the half. The Pack passed for 280 yards and rushed for 49 yards, while WCU passed for 143 and rushed 15 times for 12 yards.

After holding the Mountaineers to a three-and-out on its opening drive of the second half, the Pack needed just two plays to push its lead to 30-14 following a 1-yard touchdown run by senior running back Korien Burrell (Beaumont, Texas/Henderson State) less than two minutes into the third quarter. Burrell's run came one play after senior running back Howard Russell V (Phoenix, Ariz./Eastern New Mexico) recorded a 74-yard run on the Pack's first play of the third quarter. The extra point, though, by Wllig was missed.

The Pack extended its lead to 37-14 with a little more than five minutes left in the third quarter on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Fuller to Retzlaff. The big play on the drive was a 45-yard pass from Fuller to Rakowsky.

WCU answered Retzlaff's second touchdown of the game as they drove 92 yards in 14 plays and capped the drive with an 18-yard touchdown pass to Riters from Nash. The touchdown dropped the Pack's lead to 37-21 with 4:11 left in the third quarter.

The Pack had a scoring chance early in the fourth quarter, but a 36-yard field goal by Willig was blocked by WCU's Kylan Wilson.

Following the blocked field goal, the Mountaineers drove 80 yards in 11 plays and scored on a 3-yard run by Bryce Vaz with 10:55 left in the game to cut the Pack's lead to 37-27. The two-point conversion attempt by WCU was unsuccessful.

The Mountaineers defense would then stop the Pack at around the 40-yard line on its next possession, but on the punt by junior Regan Baker (Brisbane, Australia/Idaho State) that was returned nearly 50 yards by Jack Jones. On the play, WCU was called for being offsides, which negated the return and gave the Pack a first down.

After getting that first down, the Pack would extend its lead to 44-27 on a 3-yard pass from Fuller to Retzlaff with 4:52 left in the game. The third touchdown reception by Retzlaff capped a nine-play, 75-yard drive by the Pack.

Western would added its final touchdown on a 43-yard pass from Nash to Josiah Ayon with 2:15 left in the game to drop the Pack's lead to 44-34.

After the Pack was forced to punt with about two minutes left in the game, the defense would seal the victory on an interception by sophomore defensive back Kahden Rullo (Denver, Colo./Grandview) on the Pack's 2-yard line that that was returned 34 yards with 41 seconds remaining in the game.

Western finished the game with 445 yards of offense as Nash passed for 405 yards and they rushed for 40 yards on 27 carries. The Pack defense recorded five sacks and seven tackles for loss on the day.

Nash was 29-for-50 passing for 405 yards and had four touchdowns and an interception. Riters, who caught two touchdown passes, finished with 142 yards receiving on eight catches and Braeden Hogan rushed 10 times for 37 yards in the loss.

Sophomore linebacker Gary Seidenberger (Fredericksburg, Texas/Fredericksburg) paced the Pack defense with 13 tackles, while two-time senior All-American defensive back Daniel Bone III (Colorado Springs, Colo./Pine Creek) added seven tackles.

The Pack will return home to the ThunderBowl next Saturday, Nov. 9 as they host 18-ranked Colorado School of Mines for a 1 p.m. Senior Day game. In addition to celebrating Senior Day, the Pack will also celebrate Veteran's Day and recognize the 2014 NCAA Division II National Championship team.