GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – The 12th-ranked Colorado State University Pueblo football team rallied a from 17-7 deficit just 41 seconds into the second quarter to post a 31-24 hard-fought road victory over Colorado Mesa in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action at Stocker Stadium.

With the victory, the ThunderWolves improved to 3-1 overall and 2-0 in the RMAC, while Colorado Mesa fell to 1-2 overall and 0-1 in the league. The win also extended two streaks for the Pack as they won their 18th consecutive RMAC game and their 11th straight road win. Both of those streaks are the longest active in Division II football.

CSU Pueblo has now won eight straight games in the series against Colorado Mesa and improved to 19-6-1 all-time in the series.

The win was keyed by the Pack defense forcing a season-high tying four turnovers, including two interceptions in the final two minutes of the game to seal the victory. Three of the four turnovers were interceptions, including two from sophomore cornerback Dre'Monti Jackson (Denver, Colo./Dr. MLK Jr. Early College), while the other interception was by senior cornerback Jaylen Shaw (McKinney, Texas/Midwestern State).

Those two interceptions in the final two minutes came after Colorado Mesa had pulled within seven points at 31-24 following a 69-yard touchdown pass from Lui Aumavae to Bryson Brown with 5:49 remaining in the game.

Following that scoring drive by the Mavs, the Pack moved had two possessions that gained a total 15 yards but were sandwiched around the interceptions by Shaw and Jackson. The latter interception came with five seconds left in the game.

"We were resilient today. We found a way to win a game. Again, it was a gritty win by a gritty team," CSU Pueblo head coach Philip Vigil said following his 21st win with the Pack. "I am proud of our guys, especially coming off a bye for them as they had two weeks to game plan, prep and get healthy, all those things, but we made enough plays today to win against a really good football team."

For the game, the Pack were outgained for the second consecutive game, 410 to 396, as the Pack rushed 38 times for 147 yards and senior quarterback Roman Fuller (Decatur, Texas/University of Tulsa) was 22-for-48 passing for 249 yards and had four touchdowns and tossed his first interception of the season with about four minutes left in the third quarter.

With his performance, Fuller pushed his career passing yardage total to 2,923, which is fifth-most in school history, while his four touchdown passes pushed his career total to 29, which is fourth-most in program history.

Redshirt senior running back Kiahn Martinez (Denver, Colo./University of Idaho) paced the Pack ground game with 84 yards on 18 carries to push his career total to 1,326 yards, which is 18th on the school's career rushing charts.  
 
After Mavs extended its lead to 17-7 just 41 seconds into the second quarter on a 2-yard touchdown pass from Lui Aumavae to Ethan Morris. The touchdown came on a fourth-and-goal play, the Pack came right back as they responded with a 12-play, 81-yard drive that was capped by a 6-yard touchdown pass from Fuller to junior receiver Dedrek Taylor-Akins (Fontana, Calif./Northeastern State) to pull within 17-14 with 9:01 left in the quarter. On the drive, Fuller was 4-for-4 passing for 44 yards.

On the ensuing possession by CMU, Jackson picked off an Aumavae pass and returned it nine yards to give the Pack the ball at its own 36-yard line and five plays later, the Pack offense scored on a 21-yard touchdown pass from Fuller to senior receiver Reggie Retzlaff (Corona, Calif./Riverside City College) with 4:14 left in the second quarter to give the Pack a 21-17 lead.

The Pack had a chance to add to its lead right before the half, but a 54-yard field goal attempt from junior kicker Jackson Smith (Centennial, Colo./Santa Barbara City College) was wide left to keep the score 21-17 in favor of the Pack at halftime.

After being forced to punt on the opening possession of the third quarter, the Pack defense came away with another turnover as senior safety Peyton Shaw (Savannah, Texas/Midwestern State) forced a fumble on a run by Aiden Taylor. The fumble was recovered by senior defensive tackle Kaleb Manning (Clute, Texas/Midwestern State) at the CMU 8-yard line. On the second play of the drive, Fuller connected with Retzlaff for a 9-yard touchdown reception to give the Pack a 28-17 lead with 11:40 left in the third quarter. The touchdown was the third of the game for Retzlaff and the 30th of his career, which now ranks 12th all-time in Colorado state history.

Retzlaff finished the game with nine receptions for 100 yards and a career-high tying three touchdown receptions. The nine receptions pushed Retzlaff's career total to 134, which is third-most in school history, while the 100 yards pushed his career total to 2,287, which is second-most in school history.

The Pack lead grew to 31-17 about midway through the fourth quarter as junior kicker Jackson Smith (Centennial, Colo./Santa Barbara City College) connected on a 34-yard field goal.

CMU took the opening kickoff and drove 54 yards in seven plays and capped the drive with a 13-yard touchdown pass from Liu Aumavae to Noah Greer to give the home team a 7-0 lead just three-plus minutes into the game.

The Pack, though, came right back on its opening possession and tied the game on a 9-yard touchdown pass from Fuller to Retzlaff with 7:50 left in the opening quarter.

CMU would respond as it took its next possession and drove 45 yards in eight plays, but the drive stalled and Sullivan Moon drilled a 47-yard field goal to give the Mavs a 10-7 lead with 5:02 left in the opening quarter.

The Mavs extended its lead to 17-7 just 41 seconds into the second quarter on a 2-yard touchdown pass from Aumavae to Ethan Morris. The touchdown came on a fourth-and-goal play.

CMU's offense finished with 162 yards rushing and 248 yards passing as Aumavae was 24-for-38 passing for 248 yards and had three touchdown passes and three interceptions and added three yards rushing for 251 yards of total offense. Taylor led the rushing attack for the Mavs as he finished with 59 yards rushing on 13 carries and Myles Newbie added 52 yards on seven carries.

Junior linebacker Bryson Torrie (Denver, Colo./Vista Peak) paced the Pack defense with a career-high 13 tackles, while junior linebackers Gary Seidenberger (Fredericksburg, Texas/Fredericksburg) and Miles Sprague (Holyoke, Colo./Holyoke) tallied nine tackles each in the win.

With its four forced turnovers on Saturday, the Pack has now forced 12 turnovers this season and has a plus-7 (12-5) turnover margin. The Pack has now picked off eight passes and forced four fumbles.

The Pack will return to action next Saturday, Sept. 27 as they host Adams State for a 2 p.m. RMAC game in the ThunderBowl. The game will mark Band Day on the CSU Pueblo campus. ASU (0-2 overall, 0-0 RMAC) opened RMAC play with a home game on Saturday night against seventh-ranked Western Colorado.