PUEBLO, Colo. (November 14, 2026) – In a battle of two of the nation's top four ranked NCAA Division II football teams with the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference championship on the line here Saturday afternoon, third-ranked Colorado State University Pueblo overcame a seven-point halftime deficit and scored 14 unanswered second-half points to post a thrilling 24-17 victory over fourth-ranked Western Colorado on Senior Day in front of 8,753 fans, the seventh-largest crowd in CSU Pueblo ThunderBowl history.
Before Saturday's game, CSU Pueblo honored its 21 seniors in a pregame ceremony. The ThunderWolves' 2026 seniors are running back
Moosah Alsaffar (Aurora, Colo./Grandview), punter
Regan Baker (Brisbane, Australia/Idaho State), defensive end
Jaylen Booth (Merced, Calif./Merced College), receiver
Bryce Boyd (Shakopee, Minn./St. Thomas), defensive tackle
Eddie DePriest (Fort Morgan, Colo./Fort Morgan), tight end
Jordan Gatewood (Anaheim, Calif./Fullerton College), receiver
Nate Gravagno (Englewood, Colo./Englewood), defensive back
Tre Jordan (Tomball, Texas/Midwestern State), defensive end
Micah Lutu (Kalihi, Hawaii/Saguaro), defensive end
DJ Moore (Carlsbad, N.M./Eastern New Mexico), defensive tackle
Derek Moreland (Fresno, Calif./University of Montana), offensive lineman
Christian Newberry-Jones (Placerville, Calif./Northern Arizona), defensive back
Greg Pressley, Jr. (Tampa, Fla./Johnson C. Smith), tight end
Colton Rose (Castle Rock, Colo./Valor Christian), safety
Kahden Rullo (Denver, Colo./Grandview), kicker
Corbin Shirley (Seneca, S.C./Western Carolina), linebacker
Miles Sprague (Holyoke, Colo./Holyoke), long snapper
Brayden Starmer (Mesa, Ariz./Western New Mexico),
Jaden Stoll (Brighton, Colo./Brighton), receiver
Dedrek Taylor-Akins (Fontana, Calif./Northeastern State) and safety
Sir Churchill Williams V (Houston, Texas/UT-Permian Basin).
With Saturday's victory, the Pack completed an undefeated regular season with an 11-0 overall record and a perfect 9-0 mark in RMAC play to capture its third consecutive RMAC Championship and earn the league's automatic berth in the NCAA Division II Football Playoffs. Western Colorado, which entered Saturday's game tied with the ThunderWolves atop the RMAC standings, fell to 10-1 overall and 8-1 in league play.
The victory also extended CSU Pueblo's RMAC winning streak to a school-record 34 consecutive games, surpassing the previous mark of 33 straight conference victories established by the program from 2010-14. In addition, the Pack extended its overall regular-season winning streak to 20 consecutive games and became the first CSU Pueblo team since 2013 to finish the regular season undefeated.
The RMAC championship is the 11th in program history for the ThunderWolves and the third consecutive league title under fourth-year head coach
Philip Vigil, who has guided the Pack to conference championships in 2024, 2025 and 2026. The victory also marked the program's third consecutive season with at least 10 wins and its 10th 10-win season in school history.
"The Lord's hand has been all over this team since the moment we got here, and for these guys to win 34 in a row, it's just incredible. I'm so proud of this group," Vigil said following his 39th win as the Pack's head coach. "They battled today against a really good Western Colorado team. Hats off to them and what they did today."
Vigil said that ability to come together and develop chemistry throughout the season was one of the biggest reasons for the ThunderWolves' continued success.
"I knew we had talent. I knew we did a good job in recruiting. I just didn't know how quickly we'd come together, and they did a great job of connecting," Vigil added. "We talk about chasing connection, and they believe in that. It's all credit to them."
After falling behind 17-10 at halftime, the ThunderWolves used a stout defensive effort and the passing of sophomore quarterback
Navi Bruzon (Peoria, Ariz./Highland CC) to outscore the Mountaineers 14-0 in the second half. Bruzon threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to sophomore running back
AJ Merrida (Houston, Texas/Adams State) with 5:05 remaining in the third quarter to tie the game before connecting with junior receiver
Marcellus Honeycutt, Jr. (Denver, Colo./Eastern Washington) on a 17-yard touchdown pass with 9:40 left in the fourth quarter to give the Pack its first lead of the afternoon.
"I'm just so proud of our team, the resiliency of our team. No matter what the score was, when we needed it, whether it be a stop, a first down, or a touchdown, the team came through," Vigil said. "And that's just a great sign of a great team. I'm so proud of these guys."
Bruzon finished the game completing 25-of-38 passes for 326 yards and three touchdowns, while also rushing for a team-high 43 yards on 19 carries to finish with 369 yards of total offense. His three touchdown passes went to three different receivers as he connected with redshirt freshman
Cedric Mills (Dallas, Texas/Cedar Hill), Merrida and Honeycutt, Jr., in the victory. His three touchdown passes pushed his season total to 33, which is tied for second-most in a single season in school history.
Honeycutt, Jr., led the Pack receiving corps with nine receptions for 113 yards and a touchdown, while Taylor-Akins added seven catches for 101 yards. Mills finished with three receptions for 64 yards and a touchdown.
It marked the second time this season that Honeycutt and Taylor-Akins each went over 100 yards receiving in the same game Honeycutt had a career-high 168 yards and Taylor-Akins tallied 112 yards against Black Hills State.
The Pack defense was equally impressive as it held Western Colorado to just 228 yards of total offense, including only 113 passing yards, and pitched a second-half shutout against the nationally-ranked Mountaineers.
"The defense played fantastic, and the offense did what we needed to do," the Pack coached added. "We had a lot of yardage today, we just couldn't put points on the board. The blocked field goal hurt us."
Sophomore linebacker
Carter Daniels (Centennial, Colo./Mountain Vista) paced the ThunderWolves defensively with a team-high 12 tackles, including eight solo stops and two tackles for loss. Senior safety
Jason Thome (Arvada, Colo./South Dakota State) added eight tackles, while sophomore defensive end
Aiden Alefosio (Temecula, Calif./Chaparral) recorded five tackles, one sack and three quarterback hurries and Lutu added three tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack.
In addition to limiting Western Colorado to 228 yards of offense, the ThunderWolves recorded 11 tackles for loss, two sacks, an interception and 11 pass breakups. The Mountaineers were held to just 4-of-17 on third-down conversions and failed to convert either of their two fourth-down attempts.
The Pack finished the afternoon with 416 yards of total offense on 77 plays, including 326 passing yards and 90 rushing yards. CSU Pueblo also recorded 23 first downs compared to 17 for Western Colorado and held a 30:34 to 29:26 advantage in time of possession.
Western Colorado entered Saturday's game second in the league in total defense as they were allowing 291.4 yards per game, including 203.6 passing yards and 87.8 rushing yards per contest.
Western Colorado struck first in Saturday's game as the Mountaineers capitalized on an early Pack turnover. After Bruzon lost a fumble at the CSU Pueblo 3-yard line, Western Colorado quarterback Josiah Roy scored on a 3-yard touchdown run with 12:33 remaining in the opening quarter to give the Mountaineers a 7-0 lead.
The ThunderWolves answered on their third offensive possession of the afternoon as they marched 56 yards in 13 plays before senior kicker
Jackson Smith (Centennial, Colo./Santa Barbara City College) connected on a 28-yard field goal with 3:10 remaining in the first quarter to cut Western Colorado's lead to 7-3. The drive consumed 6:04 off the clock.
Western Colorado extended its advantage to 14-3 with 9:40 remaining in the second quarter as Damien Nevil capped a six-play, 56-yard drive with a 6-yard touchdown run.
After the Mountaineers built their 11-point lead, the Pack offense began to find its rhythm late in the second quarter. Starting at its own 20-yard line with 4:29 remaining before halftime, CSU Pueblo marched 80 yards in six plays and capped the drive with a 34-yard touchdown pass from Bruzon to Mills with 2:31 remaining in the half. Smith added the extra point to pull the ThunderWolves within 14-10.
The Mountaineers, though, added three points on the final play of the first half as JT Miller connected on a 26-yard field goal to give Western Colorado a 17-10 lead at halftime.
Trailing by seven points entering the third quarter, the ThunderWolves turned to their defense to keep the Mountaineers off the scoreboard while the offense began to find success through the air.
After the two teams exchanged punts to open the second half, the Pack put together a nine-play, 81-yard touchdown drive that culminated with Bruzon connecting with Merrida on a 5-yard touchdown pass with 5:05 remaining in the third quarter. Smith's extra point tied the game at 17-all.
The Pack had an opportunity to take its first lead later in the third quarter, but Smith's 29-yard field goal attempt with 1:20 remaining in the period was blocked by Western Colorado's Johnavon Fenger.
Western Colorado then drove into CSU Pueblo territory on its ensuing possession, but the Pack defense stiffened and forced Miller into a 53-yard field goal attempt that sailed wide with 11:50 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Taking over at its own 36-yard line following the missed field goal, the ThunderWolves needed just five plays to cover 64 yards and take their first lead of the game. The drive was highlighted by a 30-yard completion from Bruzon to Taylor-Akins that moved the ball to the Western Colorado 31-yard line.
Following a 4-yard run by sophomore running back
Jaedon Matthews (Goodyear, Ariz./Cal Poly), Bruzon connected with Honeycutt for 10 yards to move the ball to the Mountaineers' 17-yard line. On the next play, Bruzon found Honeycutt again for a 17-yard touchdown pass with 9:40 remaining in the game. Smith's extra point gave the Pack a 24-17 advantage. The touchdown reception by Honeycutt was his RMAC-leading ninth of the season.
With its first lead of the afternoon, the Pack defense took control of the game as Western Colorado managed just minus-two yards on its ensuing possession and was forced to punt after three plays.
The Mountaineers, however, received another opportunity after Jaylen Clark intercepted a Bruzon pass with 7:53 remaining and gave Western Colorado possession at its own 45-yard line.
Western Colorado moved the ball to the CSU Pueblo 9-yard line before the Pack defense delivered one of its biggest stands of the season. After the Mountaineers lost two yards on first down, Roy threw three consecutive incomplete passes, including a fourth-down attempt intended for Joshua Dixon that was broken up by junior defensive back
Antonio Mayes (Rialto, Calif./Utah Tech) with 5:16 remaining to turn the ball over on downs.
The Pack offense was unable to move the ball on its ensuing possession and punted back to Western Colorado, which took over at the CSU Pueblo 36-yard line with 3:07 remaining.
Western Colorado again drove deep into CSU Pueblo territory, advancing to the Pack 9-yard line before the ThunderWolves came up with another critical fourth-down stop as Houston broke up a pass intended for Caden Measner with 1:14 left in the game. The defensive stand gave the Pack possession with 1:14 remaining and preserved the seven-point advantage.
CSU Pueblo was then able to run out the remaining time to secure the victory and set off a championship celebration at midfield as the ThunderWolves claimed their third consecutive RMAC title.
Vigil said his team still has areas to improve upon as it prepares for the postseason but credited the ThunderWolves for their ability to overcome adversity against one of the nation's top teams.
"We've got to clean some of that stuff up, especially as we move forward into the playoffs," Vigil said. "But again, the adversity, all those things we talked about, the guys that can handle it and still go out and do their job, this team is going to win."
In addition to Bruzon's 326 passing yards, the Pack received 30 rushing yards on nine carries from sophomore running back
Russell Patton (Denver, Colo./MLK Jr. Early College), while Matthews added 12 yards on seven carries. Merrida caught one pass for five yards and a touchdown, while Rose added a 21-yard reception.
Roy finished the game completing 16-of-40 passes for 113 yards and one interception. Roy was also limited to minus-three rushing yards on 14 carries, although he scored the Mountaineers' first touchdown of the game.
Nevil led Western Colorado's ground attack with 58 yards on nine carries and a touchdown, while also catching four passes for 55 yards. Isaiah Jones added 34 rushing yards on five carries.
Defensively, Western Colorado was paced by Ian Loomis, who finished with a game-high 15 tackles, including 3.5 tackles for loss and two sacks. Trevor Monteleone added eight tackles, while Donnell Colbert finished with six stops.
The Pack defense held Western Colorado to just 3.1 yards per play and limited the Mountaineers to 115 rushing yards on 33 carries. Western Colorado was held scoreless in the second half after scoring 17 points in the opening 30 minutes.
Saturday's victory marked the Pack's third consecutive win over Western Colorado and continued CSU Pueblo's recent dominance in the RMAC under Vigil.
With the regular season now complete, the ThunderWolves will turn their attention to the NCAA Division II Football Playoffs. The NCAA will announce the 32-team playoff field and first-round matchups on Sunday, Nov. 15, on
www.NCAA.com at 4 p.m. MT with CSU Pueblo expected to be one of the top two seeds in Super Region Four and is expected to host a first round game next Saturday, Nov. 21 at 1 p.m. in the ThunderBowl.
