GOLDEN, Colo. – The sixth-ranked Colorado State University Pueblo football team rallied from a 28-13 halftime deficit to post a 41-34 overtime victory over Colorado School of Mines here Saturday afternoon in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action at Marv Kay Stadium. The overtime gme was the first for the Pack since a double-overtime game on Sept. 9, 2023, at Grand Valley State. 

One week after rallying from a 21-point deficit just seven minutes into the second quarter to post a 24-21 win at then sixth-ranked Western Colorado to post its largest comeback win in school history, the Pack rallied from 22 points down with a little more than four minutes left in the second quarter of Saturday's game to make it now the largest comeback win in program history.

"I don't know what to say. I am incredibly proud of our coaching staff and the team. Again, they never quit. The resiliency of this group is unlike anything I've ever been around," CSU Pueblo head coach Philip Vigil said following his team's ninth win of the season. "Coach (Caid) Faske did an excellent job on the defensive side, making some adjustments to what they were doing in the run game in the second half, and that adjustment was the key to the game for us. Offensively, we moved the ball well in the first half, but kept turning it over. But in the second half, we were much better offensively and took care of the football."

Saturday's overtime win, which was the Pack's eighth consecutive victory and improved the Pack to 4-2 all-time in overtime games, was sealed when senior strong safety Peyton Shaw (Savannah, Texas/Midwestern State) picked off a Joseph Capra pass at the Pack's 13-yard line in overtime. The interception was Shaw's team-leading fourth of the season.

Shaw's interception came two plays after redshirt senior receiver Reggie Retzlaff (Corona, Calif./Riverside City College) caught a 12-yard touchdown pass on the Pack's opening possession in overtime. Retzlaff's touchdown catch was his third of the game and his school record 13th this season.

With the win, the ThunderWolves improve to 9-1 overall and remain undefeated in RMAC play with an 8-0 record, while Mines fell to 6-4 overall and 4-4 in the RMAC. The victory also extended the RMAC win streak to 24 consecutive games and its road win streak to 15 games. Both of those marks are currently the longest active conference and road win streaks in Division II football. The Pack hasn't lost an RMAC game since suffering a 55-14 home loss to Orediggers on Sept. 23, 2023. 

"What a gritty, gritty win by our team. I am just so proud of the guys. It was an unbelievable day today," said Vigil, who improved to 27-6 in his third season as the Pack coach.

Saturday's win was also the Pack's eighth straight overall victory and sets up a showdown for the 2025 RMAC title next Saturday at the ThunderBowl against Chadron State. The Eagles (8-2 overall, 8-0 RMAC) remained undefeated in league play with a 27-24 home overtime win Saturday over 11th-ranked Western Colorado.

Entering the fourth quarter, the Pack trailed 31-20, but the Orediggers used a muffed punt by senior receiver Reece Robinson (Los Angeles, Calif./Antelope Valley) to set up a short field at the Pack 22-yard line. Four plays later, Preston Kyle gave Mines a 34-20 lead following a 38-yard field goal with 11:16 left in the quarter.

On the ensuing possession by the Pack, Mines' defense forced a punt after the Pack drove to its 45-yard line, and on the punt, Jayden Reyes muffed the punt to give the Pack the ball at Mines' 22-yard line. Two plays later, the Pack pulled within a touchdown following a 14-yard touchdown reception from Fuller to Retzlaff. Retzlaff finished the game with eight catches for 82 yards.

Later in the fourth quarter, the Pack took over possession at its 27-yard line with 2:58 left in the game and no timeouts. The drive began with a sack on Fuller, but the Pack would regroup following the sack and drive 73 yards in eight plays and cap the drive with a 32-yard touchdown pass from Fuller to junior receiver Marcellus Honeycutt, Jr. (Denver, Colo./Eastern Washington) and junior kicker Jackson Smith (Centennial, Colo./Santa Barbara City College) made the extra point to tie the game at 34-all with 56 seconds left. Honeycutt caught three passes for 73 yards in the victory.

Mines would get one final possession in regulation, but they would only get their own 30-yard line before junior linebacker Byson Torrie (Denver, Colo./Vista Peak) sacked Joseph Capra on a second-and-10 play to force overtime.

In overtime, Mines won the toss and decided to play defense, so the Pack went on offense from Mines' 25-yard line. After the first two plays gained three yards, Fuller connected with Robinson for a 7-yard completion to give the Pack a first down at the 15-yard line. After redshirt running back Kiahn Martinez (Denver, Colo./University of Idaho) gained two yards on first down, Fuller hooked with Retzlaff for the go-ahead score.

For the game, the Pack offense outgained the Orediggers, 429 to 362, as they rushed for 161 yards on 32 carries, including getting a season-high 112 yards from Martinez on the ground. Fuller, who was sacked three times and threw two interceptions, was 28-for-48 passing for 268 yards and had four touchdown passes in the win.

Fuller's performance pushed his career passing yardage total to 4,622 yards and his career touchdown mark to 45. In addition, he is now 348-for-548 passing and has accounted for 47 touchdowns in his career, which is fourth-most in school history.

After allowing Mines to score 28 points and gain 266 yards of offense in the first half, the Pack defense held the Orediggers to a total of 96 yards and six points. On the day, Mines rushed for 242 yards but got 178 of those yards in the first half in sprinting out to a 28-6 halftime lead.

In the first half, the two teams combined for 41 points and 456 yards of offense as Mines gained 266 yards on 35 plays, including rushing for 178 yards, while the Pack gained 190 yards on 42 plays, including passing for 173 yards.

The Pack got on the scoreboard first in Saturday's game as they drove 66 yards in 11 plays and capped its second drive of the game with a 24-yard field goal by Smith with 9:25 left in the opening quarter.

Mines, though, answered right back as they drove 73 yards in nine plays and capped the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run by Max Barnes to give the Orediggers a 7-3 lead with 5:28 left in the first quarter. On the drive, the Pack picked off a Capra pass near the end zone, but on the play, the Pack was called for a pass interference that allowed Mines to retain possession of the ball.

On the Pack's ensuing possession, which began after a 46-yard kickoff return by Honeycutt, Jr., the Pack drove 21 yards in six plays and capped the drive with a 51-yard field goal by Smith with 3:34 left in the first quarter to cut Mines' lead to 7-6.

Barnes would end the first quarter by scoring a touchdown on a 19-yard run to give Mines a 14-6 lead after 15 minutes of play. Barnes' touchdown capped a seven-play, 62-yard drive by the Orediggers.

The two teams combined for 20 points and 223 yards of offense in the first quarter as Mines ran 19 plays for 141 yards and the Pack ran 17 plays for 82 yards.

Mines pushed its lead to 21-6 following a 1-yard run by Dominic Caggiano with 11:23 left in the second quarter. Mines' possession began after Joseph Diaz intercepted a pass from Fuller. The interception e was just the fourth this season by Fuller.

The Orediggers pushed its lead to 28-6 following a 14-yard touchdown run from Braelon Tate with 4:07 left in the second quarter. The drive started after the Pack drove to the Mines 27-yard line, but they were stopped on downs. Tate's run capped an 8-play, 73-yard drive for Mines.

CSU Pueblo capped the first half scoring with an 18-yard touchdown pass from Fuller to Retzlaff with 12 seconds left in the quarter to pull the Pack within 28-13.

Mines pushed its lead to 31-13 following a 37-yard field goal by Kyle with 9:58 left in the third quarter. The field goal came four plays after the Pack turned the ball over on a fumble following a catch by Martinez.

Following Kyle's field goal, the Pack marched down the field and used a 1-yard touchdown run from redshirt freshman running back Russell Patton (Denver, Colo./MLK Early College) to pull within 31-20 with 8:32 left in the quarter. Patton finished the game with 57 yards rushing on nine carries.

Barnes finished the game with 157 yards rushing on 28 carries, while Tate added 60 yards. Capra was 11-for-23 passing for 120 yards and added 23 yards rushing for 143 yards of total offense.

Mines won the turnover battle, 4-2, as they picked off two passes and forced two fumbles, while the Pack had an interception and collected a fumble. The four turnovers by the Pack were a season-high.

The Pack defense recorded two sacks and four tackles for a loss and got a game-high 12 tackles from Torrie. In addition to Torrie, who had a sack and a tackle for a loss in the game, redshirt freshman defensive back Johnathan Gonzales (Pueblo, Colo./Pueblo County) added a season-high nine tackles and a tackle for a loss.

The Pack will return to action next Saturday, Nov. 15 as they close out the regular season with a 1 p.m. game in the ThunderBowl against Chadron State. Prior to the game, the Pack will recognize its 23-member senior class in a pregame ceremony. The 2025 seniors are defensive lineman Sam Amponsah (Romeoville, Ill./McKendree), offensive lineman Arthur Braach (Pueblo, Colo./Pueblo East), tight end Seth Bozzi (Hawthorne, Nev./American River College), receiver Andrew Cook (Tucson, Ariz./Ironwood Ridge), running back Devin Cross (Pflugerville, Texas/Midwestern State), defensive back Kellen Curtis (Anchorage, Alaska/Southwest Baptist), tight end Tyler Dvorak (Englewood, Colo./Cherry Creek), Fuller, defensive tackle Rashard Jackson (Upper Marlboro, Md./Wheeling), offensive lineman Jaiden Jones (Dallas, Texas/Tyler JC), defensive tackle Kaleb Manning (Clute, Texas/Midwestern State), Martinez, cornerback Keith Mckaney, Jr. (Avondale, Ariz./Desert Edge), senior defensive end Stephen Nagbe, Jr. (Willingboro, N.J./Western New Mexico), offensive lineman Domingo Prince II (Aurora, Colo./Cherry Creek), receiver Zack Rakowsky (Loveland, Colo./Loveland), Retzlaff, Robinson, cornerback Jaylen Shaw (McKinney, Texas/Midwestern State), safety Peyton Shaw, defensive lineman Cameron Smith (Parker, Colo./Stephen F. Austin), receiver Cedric Tillman (Pueblo, Colo./Pueblo South), and defensive back Ben Wilson (Pearland, Texas/Midwestern State).