PUEBLO, Colo. – The No. 11 Colorado State University Pueblo football team returns home to the ThunderBowl this Saturday, Oct. 11 as the ThunderWolves host Fort Lewis College for its Homecoming 2025 game. Kickoff for Saturday's Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference game is set for 2:05 p.m.
In addition to this weekend's homecoming festivities, CSU Pueblo will honor its Class of 2025 Athletics Hall of Fame inductees at an induction ceremony on Friday, October 10, at 6 p.m. in the OSC Ballroom. The seven inductees will also be recognized during halftime of Saturday's Fort Lewis game. The members of the Hall of Fame Class of 2025 are former men's basketball player
Reco Burt (1993-95), former women's basketball player
Rachel Espinoza (2007-11), former wrestler
Bryan Hawkins (1983-85), former men's cross country and track & field athlete
Marcelo Laguera (2015-19), former women's basketball player
Molly Rohrer (2015-18), former women's cross country and track & field athlete
Andrea Tuck (2012-16) and longtime contributor and "Voice of the ThunderWolves"
Jim Brooks (1987-91, 2010-present).
CSU Pueblo comes into Saturday's Homecoming game riding a five-game overall winning streak and a 20-game RMAC win streak that dates to the 2023 season as the Pack is sporting a 5-1 overall record and 4-0 mark in the league following its 59-13 win last Saturday at New Mexico Highlands. Meanwhile, Fort Lewis comes into the game having lost three straight games overall and is sporting a 1-4 overall record and an 0-3 mark in the RMAC following its 49-10 home loss last Saturday to then seventh-ranked Western Colorado. The 20-game RMAC win streak is currently the longest active conference win streak in Division II football.
In the 59-13 win last weekend at New Mexico Highlands, the Pack defense held the No. 1 team in Division II in total offense to just 309 yards, which was 188 yards off its season average of 497 yards. In addition, the Pack also held Division II's No. 2 rushing offense to 147 yards as they entered the game averaging 349.5 rushing yards per game.
"I'm just really proud of our team. I thought we had the right mentality, the right mindset going into the game and really fired on all cylinders from the get-go," CSU Pueblo third-year head coach
Philip Vigil said. "We scored on our first two offensive possessions, got stops on our defensive possessions, and got a punt block in the first part of the second quarter and returned it for a touchdown, and right out of the gate, just felt like our team was very focused on doing our job and playing to our standard."
Additionally, the Pack defense forced three turnovers to push its season total to 20, including collecting its Division-II leading 13th interception of the season. The Pack also had four sacks and 11 tackles for loss in the win. The Pack enters the weekend leading Division II in both turnovers gained (20) and turnover margin (+12) and is tied for second nationally in defensive touchdowns with three.
"I thought our defense probably did the best job I've seen them do since I've been here of playing with great eye and gap discipline. Those guys just did their job, and trusted the guys next to them to do their job and when you play a team that's going to run the option as those guys (New Mexico Highlands) did, that's what you have to do," the Pack coach added. "I was really proud of how they played last Saturday."
But the biggest highlight of the game came on the Pack's first possession of the game as junior kicker
Jackson Smith (Centennial, Colo./Santa Barbara City College) connected on a school record 60-yard field goal just four-plus minutes into the game. The field goal was the tied for the fifth-longest field goal in the state of Colorado collegiate history and bettered the old school record of 55 yards set by Mitch Johnson against Adams State on Sept. 20, 1975. Smith was named this week's RMAC Special Teams Player of the Week.
In addition to Smith's field goal, the Pack also scored another touchdown on special teams as sophomore linebacker
Shallum Peter (Dallas, Texas/Lake Highlands) blocked a Cowboys' punt just 81 seconds into the second quarter and the ball was scooped up by sophomore safety
Tre Jordan (Tomball, Texas/Midwestern State) and returned 10 yards for a touchdown to give the Pack a 17-0 lead.
Smith's record-setting field goal came after the Pack took the opening kickoff and drove to midfield, but the drive stalled, and the Pack turned to Jackson's left to put the Pack on the scoreboard just a little over four minutes into the contest.
"I was watching Jackson warm up before the game, and I was watching him kick from the logo, and then I watched him kick it five yards past the logo, and he was clearing it by 10 yards to spare pregame. So, I was like, if we get an opportunity and we're close, then we'll let him kick," Vigil said about Smith's 60-yard field goal. "We had the ball right there on the 43-yard line, which made it a 60-yard field goal, and we let him kick it, and he made it. It was an amazing kick, but again, it was also a great snap, great hold, great protection, and Jackson just let his leg do the work for him, and it was awesome to see."
Along with its defensive and special teams' performance, the Pack offense scored a season-high 59 points and finished with 451 yards of offense as they rushed for 223 yards and averaged 7.2 yards per carry and scored a season-high four touchdowns and its passing attack went 16-for-28 for 228 yards and had three passing touchdowns.
Redshirt freshman running back
Russell Patton (Denver, Colo./Dr. MLK Jr. Early College) paced the Pack's rushing attack with 84 yards on nine carries and scored the Pack's final touchdown on a 48-yard run with 2:24 left in the game, while senior
Devin Cross (Pflugerville, Texas/Midwestern State) added 67 yards on nine carries and scored two touchdowns.
"One of our keys to victory going into the game was resetting the line of scrimmage, and we really challenged our offensive lineman up front to dent in the defense and give our running backs holes to be able to navigate and run through," the Pack coach added. "I think our backs are getting more comfortable within our scheme, and they're seeing better than they were earlier in the season. Everybody's just starting to click."
Over its last two games, the Pack rushing attack has gained a total of 468 yards and has scored six touchdowns as along with the 223 yards last weekend at New Mexico Highlands, the Pack rushed 32 times for a season high 245 yards and averaged 7.7 yards per carry and scored two touchdowns on runs of 50 or more yards.
Patton comes into the weekend fifth in the league in rushing with 328 yards and has scored four touchdowns and is averaging 6.1 yards per carry, while Cross is sixth in the league in rushing with 307 yards and has scored three touchdowns and is averaging 6.4 yards per carry.
Senior quarterback
Roman Fuller (Decatur, Texas/University of Tulsa) turned in another efficient game directing the Pack offense as he was 14-for-26 passing for 217 yards and had three touchdown passes and added seven yards rushing for 225 yards of total offense. Fuller comes into this weekend's action ranking first in the RMAC in passing yards (1,458), passing yards per game (243.0), passing touchdowns (16) and total points responsible for (108) and is third in both total offense (240.7) and completions per game (20.0) and is fifth in completion percentage (60.3 percent).
"I think the thing you're seeing from our offense this year is more balance. We've been able to run the ball well and we've also been able to throw the football. We have playmakers on the edge that can go and make plays and we've the big boys up front that are clearing the path for the run game and our backs when they get to the third level, are making guys miss," added Vigil. "It is really pick your poison with us, what do you want to defend today? It's been a lot of fun to watch the guys continue to progress."
Redshirt senior receiver
Reggie Retzlaff (Corona, Calif./Riverside City College) caught six of Fuller's 14 completions as he finished last Saturday's game with six receptions for 92 yards and had two touchdown receptions to push his career total to 32, which is second among active Division II players. Entering Saturday's game, Retzlaff is now just seven receptions (145) and 69 receiving yards (2,438) shy of tying
Paul Browning's all-time school records for receptions (152) and receiving yards (2,507). Browning, who played for the Pack from 2011-14, is currently the Pack's wide receivers coach.
"Reggie is a very special person and a special player to this program and when it is all said and done, whether it happens this weekend or in games down the road, he's going to go down as the best to ever do it here," Vigil said when asked about Retzlaff's impending milestones. "And to be able to have his coach, Coach Browning, be the guy whose record he's breaking is to me pretty special and I know if I was in Coach Browning's shoes, I wouldn't want it any other way."
The Pack offense continues to lead Division II in red zone offense as they are 26-for-26 on the season in the red zone as they have scored 21 touchdowns and made five field goals. In addition, the Pack offense leads the RMAC and is sixth nationally in first downs with 145.
Saturday's homecoming game will mark the 39th in school history and the Pack are 32-6 all-time in homecoming games, including being a perfect 16-0 on homecoming since the Pack football program restarted in 2008. Last season, the Pack collected a 67-28 win in its homecoming game against New Mexico Highlands. CSU Pueblo has faced Saturday's foe, Fort Lewis, seven times previously on homecoming and is 7-0 in those games. The last time the Pack played Fort Lewis on homecoming came in 2022 as the Pack collected a 75-3 victory over the Skyhawks.
Along with it being both Homecoming and Hall of Fame Day on Saturday, the Pack will also celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness Month at the game.
"This game is going to mean a lot to us, because it is the next game, but we also have the added benefit of having a lot of alumni and fans come back to celebrate homecoming," Vigil said. "We're also going to be honoring breast cancer survivors and that has special meaning for with my personal family history with my mom and aunts surviving breast cancer."
Saturday's game will mark the 38th all-time meeting between the two schools and the 17th time since CSU Pueblo restarted football in 2008. The Pack leads the all-time series, 30-7, and has won six straight games in the series, including scoring 291 points in the last four games in the series, as they scored 58 points last season, while scoring a school record 85 points in 2023, 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 14-2 at home, 15-5 in Durango, and 1-0 on a neutral field. Last season, the Pack collected a 58-24 win in Durango.
"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, the Pack will hit the road for the next month as they open its road trip with a 1 p.m. game next Saturday, Oct. 17, in Spearfish, S.D., against Black Hills State (1-5 overall, 1-3 RMAC).
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 58-10 win on Sept. 6 at Arizona Christian. Since that win over Arizona Christian, the Skyhawks, who have lost four straight league games dating to last season, have opened RMAC play with three straight losses, including suffering a 49-10 loss last Saturday at home against then seventh-ranked Western Colorado.
Coming into play Saturday, Fort Lewis is averaging 24.4 points per game and has gained 1,512 yards of offense as they are averaging 124.8 rushing yards and 177.6 passing yards per game. The Skyhawks have gained over 300 yards of offense in three of their five games, including tallying 382 yards of offense (179 rushing, 203 passing) in the win over Arizona Christian.
Fort Lewis is coached by third-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.
"I think that Coach Cox has done a really good job since he's been there of progressing that team every year, and I think this year is no exception," Vigil said about Fort Lewis. "The thing that has hurt them a little bit this year is the absence of (quarterback) Stone Walker. He got hurt early on this season and then I think he reinjured himself against Black Hills State and hasn't played the last two weeks."
Walker had an impressive game last season against the Pack as he passed for 214 yards and added 29 yards rushing for 243 yards of total offense and accounted for all three of the Skyhawks' touchdowns. This season, Walker has played two games and has passed for 127 yards and gained 36 yards rushing for a total of 163 yards of total offense and has had one touchdown pass.
"Walker is a dynamic player. He's a great thrower, a great runner, and they use him really well. They have playmakers on the edge that can go out and make plays. If you give them an opportunity on a 50-50 ball, a lot of times they are coming down with it," the Pack coach added. "So offensively, we don't know what we're going to get this weekend. To be honest, we don't know who's going to play quarterback, but we're expecting Stone to be in there and play. If he's not, they have some capable guys who have played a lot of snaps for them and kept them competitive in a lot of games. They're multiple in what they do on offense."
Without Walker for most of this season, the quarterback position has been played by both redshirt sophomore Jacob Morris and redshirt freshman Jake Jones. Morris is 47-for-84 passing for 579 yards and has had four touchdown passes and two interceptions, while Jones is 13-for-18 passing for 135 yards and has had one touchdown and no interceptions, and leads the team in rushing with 161 yards and is averaging 6.4 yards per carry.
In addition to Jones, the rushing attack is led by redshirt sophomore running back Jamal Johnson and sophomore Orlando Guevara. Johnson has gained 141 yards on the ground and has scored a touchdown, while Guevara has had 130 yards rushing and is averaging 4.8 yards per carry and has had one rushing touchdown.
Four Skyhawks have caught 12 or more passes on the season, as senior receiver Jamille Humphrey has caught 16 passes for 173 yards and is averaging 10.8 yards per reception, while junior Zachary Gaumont leads the team with 259 receiving yards on 13 receptions and is averaging 19.9 yards per reception, and has had two touchdown receptions and freshman Solomon Latimer has caught 12 passes for 183 yards and is averaging 15.3 yards per reception and has had two touchdown receptions.
Perhaps the strength of Fort Lewis' team is its defense, as the Skyhawks are fifth in the league in scoring defense (28.0 points per game), third in total defense (313.6 yards per game), second in rushing defense (105.6 yards per game), and fourth in passing defense (208.0 yards per game). In addition, they are tied for fifth in the RMAC in sacks with nine, second in the league in interceptions with eight, and leads the league with seven forced fumbles.
In its three conference games, the Skyhawks are allowing 355.0 yards per game on defense, including allowing just 98.9 rushing yards per game, and have picked off three passes and have had eight sacks in conference play.
"Defensively, they're going to bring a lot of pressure this year. They are going to want to blitz and try to make the quarterback uncomfortable, and they've done that throughout the season," added Vigil. "They have eight interceptions on the year, and that's because they're getting after the quarterback. So, there are some things that we're going to have to plan for in protection this weekend."
Leading the way for the Fort Lewis defense is redshirt junior linebacker Jacob Penney, who has recorded 53 total tackles, including 29 solo stops, and has had 5.5 tackles for a loss, one sack, one pass breakup, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery. Penny leads the RMAC in tackles per game at 10.3 and is seventh in the RMAC in tackles for loss (1.08 per game).
In addition to Penney, junior linebacker Samuel Ballas has had 23 tackles, 6.5 tackles for a loss, two sacks, and two forced fumbles, while redshirt junior strong safety has had 27 tackles, two pass breakups, and leads the team with two interceptions.
Meanwhile, on special teams, redshirt sophomore kicker Kuba Betlinski is fifth in the league in field goals, having converted 5 of 8 attempts on the season, and is perfect in extra points, going 15-for-15. He leads the team in scoring with 30 points. Betlinski also handles the punting duties for the Skyhawks, averaging 38.2 yards per punt and has downed six punts inside the 20-yard line and has had three 50-plus yard punts.
In the return game, Guevara is averaging 20.5 yards per kickoff return, while Humphrey is averaging 11.3 yards per punt return. Guevara is averaging 54.0 all-purpose yards per game, and Humphrey is averaging 50.4 all-purpose yards per game.
PACK FOOTBALL NOTES
- The Pack Football Show is scheduled for 6 p.m. every Wednesday (except for Oct. 22) during the 2025 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 tied for first with Western Colorado, as the Pack and the Mountaineers each earned 76 points, including each team earning five first-place votes, four second-place votes, and one third-place vote.
- Saturday's game with Fort Lewis will be broadcast on Fox Sports Pueblo (1350 AM) with Jim Brooks and Joe Cervi on the call. Saturday's broadcast will begin with a pregame show 30 minutes before the opening kickoff. Saturday's pregame show with Fort Lewis will begin at 1:30 p.m. MT.
- Siete is serving as the sponsor for Saturday's Homecoming and Hall of Fame game.
- The RMAC has announced that the RMAC Network has moved to a pay-per-view model for both the regular season and postseason. Viewers of the RMAC Network will be able to purchase access to the network via a single-game pass, as well as monthly and yearly passes. A monthly subscription costs $25, while an annual subscription costs $130. Single-game passes for the network are available for $10, which grants access to a single game for 24 hours.
- The Pack's home football games this season that will air on the RMAC Network will also be broadcast live on KRDO Plus 13.3 over-the-air channel.
- The Hospitality Tailgate (formally known as the Alumni Tailgate) will once again be held on the Leomiti Warrior Center rooftop, starting two hours before kickoff and concluding at the start of each of this season's home games. This space is reserved for Pack Club members, corporate sponsors, and special guests. Dickey's Bar-B-Que will provide the food at this Saturday's tailgate.
- As a reminder to fans attending all Pack home football games this season, no outside food or drinks will be allowed inside the ThunderBowl.
- The Pack is the winningest football program in the state of Colorado, boasting a winning percentage of nearly 65.4 percent since its inception in 1963. The Pack has posted a 270-142-4 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 the Buffs have posted a 735-552-36 record.
- Fort Lewis is the most common opponent for the Pack football team in school history, as the two teams have played 37 times, with the Pack holding a 30-7 record in the series.
- The Pack's 20-game RMAC win streak is the longest active conference win streak in Division II and the second-longest RMAC win streak in school history behind its league-record 33-game RMAC win streak that spanned from 2010 to 2014. Ironically, that 33-game RMAC win streak was snapped with a 23-22 loss at Fort Lewis on Oct. 11, 2014.