PUEBLO, Colo. – After playing its two straight games on the road, the 12th-ranked Colorado State University Pueblo football team will return home to the comforts of the ThunderBowl this Saturday, Sept. 27 as the ThunderWolves host Adams State for a 2 p.m. Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference tilt on Band Day.
 
The Pack, who will be playing its third home game of the 2025 season and its first home Saturday game this season when they host Adams State, enters the game sporting a 3-1 overall record and a 2-0 mark in the RMAC following a 31-24 hard-fought road win last Saturday at Colorado Mesa. Meanwhile, Adams State enters the game sporting an 0-3 overall record and a 0-1 mark in the RMAC after opening league play with a 45-6 home loss last Saturday to seventh-ranked Western Colorado.
 
"We are excited to once again play in the ThunderBowl. We will be able to sleep in our own beds and go against another conference opponent in Adams State," CSU Pueblo third-year head coach Philip Vigil said about playing at home for the first time in 23 days.
 
CSU Pueblo enters this weekend's action having won 18 straight RMAC games dating to the 2023 season. That 18-game conference win streak is currently the longest active streak in Division II football and the longest for the Pack since winning a school-record 33 straight RMAC games from 2010-14.
 
In last Saturday's win at Colorado Mesa, the Pack trailed 17-7 just 41 seconds into the second quarter, before outscoring the Mavericks, 24-7, over the remainder of the game, including scoring 14 points in the second quarter to take a 21-17 halftime lead.
 
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 and extend its road win streak to 11 straight victories, which is the longest active road win streak in Division II football.
 
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). Jackson's second interception came in the end zone with five seconds left in the game.
 
"I think we've shown some grit over the last two weeks. We were able to go on the road against opponents who had bye weeks before they played us and found a way to win," Vigil said. "That is what gritty teams do. It wasn't always pretty, but we made enough plays on offense, defense, and special teams to come away with a victory against a really good team in Colorado Mesa. A team I think is going to win a lot of games in the conference this year."
 
Vigil says that turnovers are a huge key to victory every week, and last Saturday, the Pack defense won the turnover battle, 4-1, and now has a +7 turnover margin (12-5) on the season. The plus-7 turnover margin is tied for second nationally in Division II.
 
"Turnovers are a huge key to victory every week. Offensively, I think we've done a really good job protecting the football. We have had three turnovers total on the year offensively, and obviously, the defense is going out and forcing turnovers. Any time your turnover ratio is plus-three, like it was on Saturday, that goes a long ways for you to be able to win a football game," said Vigil, who is 21-6 as the Pack's head coach.
 
Perhaps the biggest turnover in the game, according to Vigil, came in the third quarter as senior safety Peyton Shaw (Savannah, Texas/Midwestern State) forced a fumble by Aiden Taylor that was recovered by senior defensive tackle Kaleb Manning (Clute, Texas/Midwestern State) at the CMU 8-yard line with 12:21 left in the quarter. That fumble recovery led to a nine-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Roman Fuller (Decatur, Texas/University of Tulsa) to redshirt senior receiver Reggie Retzlaff (Corona, Calif./Riverside City College) to give the Pack a 28-17 lead.
 
"That fumble was probably the biggest turnover in the game as that fumble happened inside the 10-yard line and we were able to convert it into seven points and ultimately, that was the difference in the game," added Vigil.
 
The touchdown reception by Retzlaff was his career-high tying third in the game as he finished the contest with nine catches for 100 yards and pushed his career touchdown reception total to 30, which is 12th all-time in the state of Colorado history. In addition, Retzlaff is currently second among active Division II players with 30 career touchdown receptions.
 
On the season, Retzlaff has caught 19 passes for 254 yards and has had six touchdown catches and is third in the RMAC in receiving yards and second in the league in both receiving touchdowns and scoring, as he is averaging 12.0 points per game.
 
Fuller continued to direct the Pack offense with a steady hand as he finished game 22-for-38 passing for 249 yards and had four touchdown passes. On the season, Fuller is 95-for-156 passing and leads the RMAC in passing yards (1,081), completions per game (23.75), passing yards per game (270.3), and passing touchdowns (11), is second in points responsible for (78), third in total offense (264.5), and sixth in completion percentage (60.9 percent).
 
"We've got some pretty special playmakers in our receivers' room. Roman has been really good at taking what he's been given and is not forcing things and putting the Pack in really good situations," the Pack coach said.
 
Once again on Saturday, the Pack offensive line was able to keep Fuller upright and allow him time to make plays and find his receivers downfield. The Pack offensive line, which has played a combined 99 games at CSU Pueblo, did not allow a sack on Saturday. The starters on the offensive line this season have been junior left tackle Tyler Ethridge (Midlothian, Texas/Midlothian), redshirt senior right guard Arthur Braach (Pueblo, Colo./Pueblo East), sophomore center Preston Jarvis (Westfield, Ind., Ind./Murray State), senior right guard Domingo Prince II (Aurora, Colo./Cherry Creek) and senior right tackle Jaiden Jones (Dallas, Texas/Tyler JC).
 
"The offensive line play has been really good. They're doing a good job of keeping Roman upright, and they're doing a really good job in the run game, and I think they're the catalyst for our offense," added Vigil.
 
In last Saturday's game, the Pack offense finished with 396 yards of offense as they rushed 38 times for 147 yards and passed for 249 yards. Entering Saturday's game, the Pack leads the league in passing (276.5 yards per game), is third in scoring offense (34.5 points per game), sixth in rushing offense (135.8 yards per game), and fourth in total offense (412.3 yards per game). In addition, the Pack is a perfect 17-for-17 in the red zone, which is tied for first nationally in Division II and leads the league and is third nationally in offensive first downs (102).
 
On defense, the Pack is second in scoring defense as they are allowing 21.0 points per game and is third in rushing defense (109.3 yards per game) and is allowing 382.5 yards per game. In addition, the Pack leads the league and is second nationally in interceptions with eight, and is second in sacks with 11, and leads the league in red zone defense (60.0 percent).
 
In Saturday's game against Colorado Mesa, the Pack was 5-for-5 in the red zone and was 6-for-13 on third-down conversions, while on defense, the Mavericks were a combined 7-for-17 on third and fourth down and were 2-for-3 in the red zone.
 
"If you own those areas – third downs offensively and defensively – you're usually going to have a lot of success, and I think we were pretty efficient on both sides of the ball last Saturday," Vigil stated. "If we can get off the field on defense on third down and extend drives on offense on third down, then we're going to have success."
 
Vigil preaches to his team every week that their opponent is faceless and that the most important thing for the Pack is to focus on getting better each day, and that is one of the keys for Saturday's game.
 
"It should not matter who we're playing. If we focus on a faceless opponent and not worry about so much of who we're playing, but about what we're doing offensively, defensively, and on special teams and if we go out and play to our standard every single play, we're going to put ourselves in a really good position to win," the Pack coach added. "Adams is going to present challenges with certain things they do on offense, defense, and special teams, even though their record doesn't show it, they are not the same team they were last year. Coach Gallas has done a great job brining in new talent and scheme and you can see on tape they believe in what they are doing in their effort every play."
 
Saturday's game with Adams State will mark the 37th 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 27-9 and has won 15 straight games in the series since Adams State picked up a 16-8 win in Pueblo in 2008. The Pack is 14-5 at home against Adams State and leads 13-4 in Alamosa. The Pack are 15-1 in the series since 2008. Last season, the Pack picked up a 66-10 win over the Grizzlies in Alamosa, Colo.
 
Following Saturday's game with Adams State, the Pack will return to the road next Saturday, Oct. 4, as they travel to Las Vegas, N.M., for a 1 p.m. RMAC game against New Mexico Highlands (3-0 overall, 1-0 RMAC). The Cowboys play Saturday at seventh-ranked Western Colorado before hosting the Pack next weekend.
 
ABOUT ADAMS STATE
Adams State comes into Saturday's road game with the Pack having lost 20 straight games dating to the 2023 season as the Grizzlies are sporting an 0-3 overall record and an 0-1 mark in the RMAC after opening league play with a 45-6 home loss last Saturday against seventh-ranked Western Colorado. Ironically, the Grizzlies' current 20-game losing skid began with its 43-10 loss on Oct. 7, 2023, at CSU Pueblo.
 
Along with its loss to Western Colorado, ASU's other losses this season have come at Western New Mexico (35-21) in its season opener and then fell 41-7 at home on Sept. 6 against then 21st-ranked UT-Permian Basin.
 
The Grizzlies have a new head coach this season in Levi Gallas, who played football at Adams State and was named the Team MVP in 2009. Gallas returns to his alma mater after spending the past two seasons as the defensive coordinator at West Texas A&M. Before coaching at West Texas A&M, Gallas spent six seasons, including two as the defensive coordinator, at the University of Nebraska-Kearney.
 
Gallas' first Grizzlies' team enters Saturday's game averaging 11.3 points per game and has been held to a total of 13 points in its last two games. On offense, the Grizzlies are averaging 230 yards per game as they are rushing for 134.7 yards per game and are passing for 95.3 yards per game. They have recorded two rushing and two passing touchdowns.
 
"They have a new coaching staff. Levi Gallas is their head coach, and he's done a good job with them. Watching their offense and defense, they're sound in what they do, and are playing very hard and have been resilient," the Pack coach added. "They have gone against three really good opponents to start the season. They played UTPB, who is one of the best teams in the Lone Star Conference, and obviously, they played Western Colorado last weekend, who is one of the best teams in the RMAC."
 
Leading the way for the Adams State offense is freshman quarterback Tyson Smith. Smith is 27-for-54 passing for 252 yards and has thrown two touchdown passes and three interceptions. He is averaging 80.7 yards of total offense on the season and has been sacked eight times.
 
The Grizzlies' rushing attack is led by sophomore running back AJ Merrida, who has carried the ball 41 times for 198 yards and has scored a touchdown, averaging 4.8 yards per carry and 66 rushing yards per game.
Smith's big target in the passing game has been sophomore receiver Geovonni Ribalta, who has caught nine passes for 111 yards and has had one of the team's two receiving touchdowns. Ribalta is averaging 12.3 yards per catch and 37 receiving yards per game. In addition to Ribalta, junior Devin Dawkins has caught seven passes for 56 yards and has had a touchdown reception.
 
On defense, ASU is allowing 40.3 points per game and is allowing 414.0 yards per game, as they are allowing 158.7 rushing yards and 255.3 passing yards. The Grizzlies have recorded eight sacks, 16 tackles for a loss, and have forced two fumbles.
 
The Grizzlies' defense is paced by junior linebacker Mafileo Tupou, who leads the team with 22 tackles, including 16 solo stops, and has had 2.5 tackles for a loss and 1.5 sacks, while sophomore linebacker Liam Finney has had 13 tackles, two tackles for a loss and has both forced and recovered a fumble and junior defensive back Anthony Henry has also tallied 13 tackles, including two tackles for a loss and two sacks.
 
On special teams, ASU is fourth in the league in kickoff returns (25.8 yards per return) and sixth in the league in punt returns (6.3 yards per return). Senior Kahekili Pahio is eighth in the RMAC in kickoff returns as he is averaging 16.7 yards per return, while Dawkins is third in the league in punt returns as he is averaging 6.3 yards per return.
 
Senior Braden Biller is sixth in the RMAC in punting as he is averaging 41.0 yards per punt and has put three punts inside the 20-yard line and has had one 50-plus yard punt, while sophomore kicker Quinton Pacheco is 2-for-2 on field goals and is 4-for-4 on extra points and leads the team in points scored with 10.
 
"It's about starting fast and finding ways to play complementary football, offensively and defensively. If we can get some stops early and execute on offense and put them into a position where they need to throw the ball, I think that favors us," Vigil said. "I think with our defensive backs, our pass rush, and what we've been able to do and cause quarterbacks to turn the ball over, but if we don't, then we're going to be in a dogfight like we were last week."
 
Pack Football Notes