Colorado State University Pueblo

DURANGO, Colo. (October 24, 2026) – On a sloppy and wet afternoon here Saturday, the No. 4-ranked Colorado State University Pueblo football team built a 21-point second-half lead before holding off a furious Fort Lewis rally to post a hard-fought 28-21 victory over the Skyhawks in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action at Ray Dennison Memorial Field.

With the victory, the ThunderWolves won their eighth straight game and improved to 8-0 overall and 6-0 in the RMAC, while Fort Lewis fell to 2-5 overall and 1-5 in league play. The victory extended the Pack's NCAA Division II-leading conference winning streak to 31 consecutive games and its NCAA Division II-leading road winning streak to 19 straight games.

The Pack led 20-7 at halftime and used a 57-yard scoring run by sophomore quarterback Evan Powell (San Bernardino, Calif./Chaffey College) with 10:53 left in the third quarter to push its lead to 27-7. Fort Lewis, though, took advantage of two CSU Pueblo special teams' miscues to score 14 unanswered points and pull within six points with nearly 12 minutes remaining in the contest.

Despite the close final score, the ThunderWolves dominated the statistical battle as they outgained the Skyhawks 367-132 in total offense, including a 277-79 advantage on the ground. The Pack also held a 16-5 edge in first downs and controlled the football for 36 minutes and 20 seconds, including 10:58 in the fourth quarter.

"Not great conditions today, but we found a way to get it done and go 1-0 for today," CSU Pueblo head football coach Philip Vigil said following the game that started 43 minutes late due to three lightning delays during pregame warmups. "There a some things we need to go back and correct, not sure how you simulate some of this stuff in practice."

Powell led the Pack's rushing attack with a game-high 139 yards on just 11 carries and averaged 12.6 yards per carry. In addition to his 57-yard touchdown run, Powell added runs of 39 and 27 yards in the fourth quarter to help the ThunderWolves maintain possession and protect their lead.

Along with Powell, senior running back Moosah Alsaffar (Aurora, Colo./Grandview) added 75 yards rushing on 15 carries, while sophomore running back Russell Patton (Denver, Colo./Dr. MLK Jr. Early College) finished with 44 yards and a touchdown on nine carries. Patton also became the 23rd player in school history to surpass 1,000 career rushing yards during Saturday's contest.

The Pack wasted little time getting on the scoreboard as sophomore receiver Nyir Jones (Camden, N.J./St. Thomas Aquinas) took the opening kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown just 15 seconds into the contest. The extra-point attempt was by senior kicker Jackson Smith (Centennial, Colo./Santa Barbara City College) was good to give the Pack an early 7-0 advantage.

"Great job by Nyir on taking the opening kickoff of the game back for score. That was a huge play for us," added Vigil, who improved to 36-7 as the Pack's coach.

Fort Lewis answered immediately as the Skyhawks marched 75 yards in nine plays and capped the drive with a 25-yard touchdown run by KhaVontae Paul to take a 7-6 lead with 10:26 remaining in the opening quarter.

After the Pack went three-and-out on its ensuing possession, the ThunderWolves' defense provided a spark when junior cornerback Oliver Welch (Los Angeles, Calif./Venice) intercepted Fort Lewis quarterback Sam Jones at the Skyhawks' 46-yard line with 7:52 left in the first quarter.

Five plays following the interception, junior tight end Colton Rose (Castle Rock, Colo./Valor Christian) hauled in a 29-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Navi Bruzon (Peoria, Ariz./Highland CC) on a third-and-15 play to put the Pack back in front, 13-7, with 5:51 remaining in the opening quarter. Smith added the extra point to give the Pack a 14-7 lead with 5:51 left in the opening quarter.

The touchdown reception was one of four catches on the afternoon for Rose, who finished with a game-high 74 receiving yards and accounted for four of the Pack's seven receptions.

CSU Pueblo extended its advantage midway through the second quarter as the ThunderWolves put together their longest scoring drive of the afternoon, marching 90 yards in 13 plays and taking 6:37 off the clock.

The drive began at the Pack's own 10-yard line with 12:14 remaining in the quarter and featured a 17-yard completion from Bruzon to Rose, along with several productive runs from Alsaffar. Patton capped the possession with a 13-yard touchdown run with 5:37 remaining before halftime to give CSU Pueblo a 20-7 lead.

The ThunderWolves carried that 13-point advantage into the locker room after holding the Skyhawks scoreless over the final 19 minutes and 26 seconds of the first half.

After Fort Lewis opened the second half with a three-and-out, the Pack took possession at its own 30-yard line and needed just five plays to increase its lead to 20 points.

Patton opened the possession with runs of five and 10 yards before Powell broke free on a third-and-12 play for a 57-yard touchdown run with 10:53 remaining in the third quarter. Smith's extra point extended Pack's advantage to 28-7.

The touchdown, however, would be CSU Pueblo's final points of the afternoon as Fort Lewis used a pair of special teams' plays to get back into the contest.

The Skyhawks began their comeback with 5:35 remaining in the third quarter when Cooper Payne recovered a CSU Pueblo fumble on a punt attempt from junior Caleb Harner (Erie, Colo./Erie) and returned it 23 yards for a touchdown. Lucas Schmitten added the extra point to cut the Pack's lead to 28-14.

Fort Lewis then pulled within six points early in the fourth quarter following another special teams miscue by the ThunderWolves.

With CSU Pueblo facing a fourth-and-five from its own 15-yard line, Fort Lewis' Thomas Gillispie blocked a Harner punt, and Sonny Delpizzo recovered the football at the Pack's 1-yard line.

The Thunderwolves' defense nearly prevented the Skyhawks from capitalizing on the excellent field position, stopping Fort Lewis on three consecutive plays at the 1-yard line. On fourth-and-goal, however, Baylor Seabolt scored on a 1-yard touchdown run with 11:57 remaining in the contest to trim CSU Pueblo's lead to 28-21.

Following the touchdown, the Pack turned to its ground game to help preserve the victory.

Powell opened CSU Pueblo's ensuing possession with a 27-yard run to the Fort Lewis 48-yard line, and Bruzon later connected with Rose for a 10-yard completion to move the ball to the Skyhawks' 38-yard line. The ThunderWolves eventually turned the ball over on downs at the Fort Lewis 29-yard line with 7:46 remaining, but the seven-play drive took 4:11 off the clock.

The Pack defense then forced another Fort Lewis punt after limiting the Skyhawks to just six yards on three plays. The punt was blocked by CSU Pueblo's junior safety Maliek Jamison (Aurora, Colo./Cherokee Trail), giving the ThunderWolves possession at their own 38-yard line with 5:46 remaining.

CSU Pueblo again relied on its rushing attack as Alsaffar opened the possession with runs of six and seven yards before Powell broke loose for a 39-yard gain to the Fort Lewis 10-yard line.

The ThunderWolves eventually moved the football to the Skyhawks' 1-yard line before turning the ball over on downs with 1:46 remaining.

With Fort Lewis needing to travel 99 yards for a potential game-winning touchdown, the Pack defense delivered one final stand. The Skyhawks managed just five yards on four plays, turning the ball over on downs at their own 6-yard line with 1:27 remaining.

CSU Pueblo then ran out the remaining time to secure its eighth consecutive victory and remain unbeaten heading into the final three games of the regular season.

Bruzon finished the afternoon completing 7-of-10 passes for 90 yards and one touchdown without an interception. He also added six net rushing yards on seven carries. The ThunderWolves finished with 277 rushing yards on 54 attempts, averaging 5.1 yards per carry.

In addition to Powell, Alsaffar and Patton, sophomore running back Jaedon Matthews contributed 37 rushing yards on nine carries and caught two passes for 12 yards.

Defensively, CSU Pueblo limited Fort Lewis to just 132 yards of total offense on 46 plays, an average of 2.9 yards per play. The Skyhawks managed only 53 passing yards and completed 9-of-17 passes, while the Pack held Fort Lewis to just two conversions on 12 third-down opportunities.

The ThunderWolves were particularly effective defensively after Fort Lewis' opening touchdown drive. Following that nine-play, 75-yard possession, the Skyhawks managed just 57 yards of offense over the remainder of the contest.

Senior defensive end Jaylen Booth (Merced, Calif./Merced College) led the Pack with six tackles, including five assisted stops, while senior safety Jason Thome (Arvada, Colo./South Dakota State), junior nose tackle Ian Ortiz (Deming, N.M./Deming), senior defensive tackle Stephen Laguerre (Spring Valley, N.Y./Saint Anselm) and senior linebacker Miles Sprague (Holyoke, Colo./Holyoke) each recorded five tackles. Thome also added a tackle for loss, while senior safety Kahden Rullo (Denver, Colo./Grandview) finished with three tackles, one tackle for loss and a pass breakup.

Along with Welch's first-quarter interception, the Pack recorded three tackles for loss and two pass breakups. Jamison also contributed a blocked punt in the fourth quarter.

For Fort Lewis, Paul finished with 38 yards rushing and one touchdown on eight carries, while Seabolt added 20 rushing yards and a touchdown on 11 attempts. Quarterback Sam Jones completed 9-of-17 passes for 53 yards and one interception.