PUEBLO, Colo. (October 31, 2026) – Behind four touchdown passes from sophomore quarterback
Navi Bruzon (Peoria, Ariz./Highland CC) and another outstanding receiving performance from junior receiver
Marcellus Honeycutt, Jr. (Aurora, Colo./Eastern Washington), the No. 4 ranked Colorado State University Pueblo football team remained undefeated on the season here Saturday afternoon as the ThunderWolves held off a second-half rally by Black Hills State to earn a hard-fought 38-31 victory in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action on Halloween and Breast Cancer Awareness Day at the CSU Pueblo ThunderBowl.
With the victory, the ThunderWolves extended their season-opening winning streak to nine consecutive games and improved to 9-0 overall and 7-0 in the RMAC, while Black Hills State fell to 5-4 overall and 3-4 in league play. The victory also extended CSU Pueblo's NCAA Division II-leading conference winning streak to 32 consecutive games. The nine-game win streak is tied for the second longest active win streak in Division II football.
The ThunderWolves, who led 24-10 at halftime, watched Black Hills State score 14 unanswered points in the third quarter to tie the game at 24 before Bruzon connected on touchdown passes of 56 yards to sophomore running back
Jaedon Matthews (Goodyear, Ariz./Cal Poly) and 45 yards to senior receiver
Dedrek Taylor-Akins (Fontana, Calif./Northeastern State) to put the Pack back in front by two touchdowns nearly three minutes into the final quarter.
"That was a really good football team that we just faced and for whatever reason, they seem to have our number and take us to the wire here at home," CSU Pueblo head coach
Philip Vigil said following his team's 18th straight regular season win. "We were not on the field very long in the first half offensively, and that seemed to wear our defense down, but when we needed to make a play, we were able to do that today, especially late in the game."
In the previous two games in the series against Black Hills State in Pueblo, the Yellow Jackets played the Pack to a five-point game (42-37) in 2023 and then in 2024, the Pack returned two blocked field goals for touchdowns and sealed the 24-21 win with a 40-yard field goal with seven seconds left in the game.
Black Hills State would not go away, however, as the Yellow Jackets pulled within seven points with 5:22 remaining in the game on an 8-yard touchdown run by BHSU quarterback Kade Weber, before CSU Pueblo's defense came up with a critical fourth-down stop in the closing two minutes minutes to preserve the victory in front of 5,469 fans.
Bruzon, who entered Saturday's game as one of the top quarterbacks in NCAA Division II, completed 16-of-24 passes for 356 yards and four touchdowns to go with two interceptions. He averaged 14.8 yards per pass attempt and 22.2 yards per completion as the Pack finished the afternoon with 473 yards of total offense on just 46 offensive plays. Bruzon also added 22 yards rushing to give him 378 yards of total offense in the game.
With his four touchdown passes, Bruzon pushed his season total to 28, which is fifth on the school's single-season chart.
Honeycutt, Jr. was Bruzon's favorite target as he hauled in five receptions for a game and career-high 168 yards and two touchdowns, including scoring catches of 70 and 46 yards in the first half. Taylor-Akins added six receptions for 112 yards and one touchdown, while Matthews caught a 56-yard touchdown pass and rushed for 30 yards on nine carries.
With Honeycutt's 168 yards and Taylor-Akins' 112 yards, that marked the first time since last year's home game with Chadron State that two Pack players each had 100-plus receiving yards in the same game. In that game against Chadron State last season,
Reggie Retzlaff had 166 receiving yards and
Zack Rakowsky tallied 118 receiving yards.
The Pack's offense finished with five touchdowns, including four through the air, and averaged an impressive 10.3 yards per offensive play despite possessing the ball for just 18 minutes and 21 seconds.
While passing for 356 yards, the Pack also rushed the ball 22 times for 117 yards as sophomore running back
Russell Patton (Denver, Colo./Dr. MLK Jr. Early College) paced the ground attack with 69 yards and scored on a 5-yard touchdown run with 9:00 left in the second quarter. Patton's score gave the Pack a 17-3 lead. His 69 yards pushed his career total to 1,109.
Defensively, CSU Pueblo recorded five quarterback sacks and seven tackles for loss. Junior linebacker
Carter Daniels (Centennial, Colo./Mountain Vista) led the way with nine tackles, two sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Junior defensive back
Antonio Mayes (Rialto, Calif./Utah Tech), senior defensive tackle
Stephen Laguerre (Spring Valley, N.Y./Saint Anselm), senior safety
Kahden Rullo (Aurora, Colo./Grandview), senior defensive end
Jaylen Booth (Merced, Calif./Merced) and sophomore defensive back
Nathan Spivey, Jr. (Tucson, Ariz./Salpointe Catholic) each added seven tackles.
Booth and Laguerre each had a sack and a tackle for a loss, while junior defensive tackle
Mario Rivas, Jr. (Long Beach, Calif./Bakersfield College had a sack and a tackle for a loss and junior defensive end
A.J. Jordan (Colorado Springs, Colo./Vista Ridge) had 1.5 tackles for a loss to go along with four total tackles in the win.
The ThunderWolves wasted little time getting on the scoreboard as Daniels made an immediate impact on Black Hills State's first offensive play. Daniels sacked Weber for a five-yard loss and forced a fumble that he recovered at the Black Hills State 11-yard line just 11 seconds into the game.
Three plays later, the Pack converted that fumble into points as senior kicker
Jackson Smith (Centennial, Colo./Santa Barbara City College) connected on a 29-yard field goal with 14:04 left in the opening quarter to give the Pack an early 3-0 advantage.
Following a Black Hills State punt, the ThunderWolves struck quickly on their second offensive possession as Bruzon connected with Honeycutt Jr. on a 70-yard touchdown pass with 10:40 remaining in the first quarter. The scoring strike capped a three- play, 80-yard drive that took just 69 seconds and gave the Pack a 10-0 lead.
The Yellow Jackets responded by moving the ball into CSU Pueblo territory on their next possession, but the Pack defense came up with a fourth-down stop at its own 30-yard line to turn the ball over on downs.
Black Hills State eventually got on the scoreboard early in the second quarter when Madden Aquino connected on a 24-yard field goal with 11:54 remaining before halftime to cut CSU Pueblo's lead to 10-3.
The ThunderWolves answered immediately with a seven-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that was capped by a five-yard scoring run from Patton with nine minutes remaining in the second quarter. Smith's extra point extended the Pack's advantage to 17-3.
After forcing another Black Hills State punt, the ThunderWolves put together an eight-play, 86-yard scoring drive that ended with Bruzon finding Honeycutt, Jr. for a 46-yard touchdown pass with 4:36 remaining before halftime. The touchdown, Honeycutt Jr.'s second of the afternoon, pushed CSU Pueblo's lead to 24-3.
The Yellow Jackets answered before halftime as Bryce Coulson scored on a 24-yard touchdown run with 1:48 remaining in the second quarter to cut the deficit to 24-10 at the intermission.
Black Hills State carried that momentum into the second half as the Yellow Jackets scored touchdowns on each of their first two possessions of the third quarter to erase the Pack's 14-point halftime advantage.
After the Pack was held to a three-and-out on its first possession of the second half, BHSU needed just three plays to pull within 24-17 following a 30-yard run by Weber with 11:24 left in the third quarter. The big play on the drive was a 28-yard pass from Weber to Bryce Coulson.
On the Pack's ensuing offensive possession, Bruzon was intercepted at the BHSU 42-yard line, giving Black Hills State another opportunity to tie the game. The Yellow Jackets capitalized with a 13-play, 58-yard drive that consumed eight minutes and 30 seconds and ended with a one-yard touchdown run by Wyatt Trembly with 2:47 remaining in the third quarter. Aquino's extra point tied the game at 24 and set the stage for a decisive response from the ThunderWolves.
CSU Pueblo needed just five plays to regain the lead as Bruzon connected with Matthews on a 56-yard touchdown pass with 33 seconds remaining in the third quarter. The scoring play capped a 75-yard drive and gave the Pack a 31-24 advantage heading into the final period.
After the Pack defense forced a Black Hills State punt early in the fourth quarter, Bruzon delivered another explosive scoring play as he found Taylor-Akins for a 45-yard touchdown pass with 12:22 remaining in the game.
The touchdown capped a two-play, 76-yard drive that lasted just 54 seconds and extended the ThunderWolves' lead to 38-24. The play before Taylor-Akins' touchdown was a 41-yard rush by Patton.
BHSU answered with a 12-play, 75-yard scoring drive that consumed seven minutes and ended with an eight-yard touchdown run by Weber with 5:22 remaining. Aquino's extra point trimmed the Pack's lead to 38-31.
The ThunderWolves moved the ball 35 yards on their next possession before the drive stalled at the BHSU 40-yard line and forced a punt by junior
Caleb Harner (Erie, Colo./Erie) punting the ball back to Black Hills State with 2:41 remaining in the contest.
Needing a touchdown to potentially force overtime, the Yellow Jackets took over at their own 25-yard line, but the Pack defense rose to the occasion, forcing a turnover on downs on a fourth-and-12 play at the Black Hills State 23-yard line with 1:16 remaining. On a third-and-seven play, Booth sacked Weber for a 5-yard loss.
CSU Pueblo then ran out the remaining time to secure its ninth consecutive victory of the season and remain unbeaten in RMAC play.
BHSU finished the game with 343 yards of offense as they ran 77 plays and averaged 4.5 yards per play. The Yellow Jackets tallied 187 yards rushing on 50 carries, including Weber rushing for a game-high 73 yards and passed for 156 yards as Weber was 14-for-27 through the air. Weber accounted for 229 yards of total offense in the setback. BHSU held the ball for nearly 42 minutes in the game.
Jayden Williams caught five passes for 57 yards and Coulson added three catches for 47 yards.
Jack Gentile and Kaleb Tulloss paced the 'Jackets defense with five tackles each. BHSU did not record a sack and had just two tackles for loss in the game. The Yellow Jackets, though, won the turnover battle, 3-1.
The Pack will return to action next Saturday, Nov. 7 as they travel to Rapid City, S.D., for a 2 p.m. RMAC game against South Dakota Mines (5-4, 3-4 RMAC), who suffered a 37-6 loss on Saturday at sixth-ranked Western Colorado.
