PUEBLO, Colo. - The Colorado State University Pueblo football team marked the conclusion of spring practice here Saturday afternoon by splitting into two teams – Red and White and played its annual Spring Game in front of nearly 400 fans in the CSU Pueblo ThunderBowl.

"I love spring ball. There's no pressure, it is just about getting better, and I think from practice one to practice 15, this group got better," CSU Pueblo head football coach Philip Vigil said following Saturday's spring game. "I'm excited about this team. We're different than what we've been in the past. We've got a lot of new faces and young guys all over the place, but guys were stepping up and making plays, and that was awesome to see. We've got a long way to go, but all these guys do is continue to work. What we've got to do from now until we report on August 1. We have to put our heads down and go to work and focus on getting better."

In Saturday's spring game, the Red Team came away with a 44-19 win thanks to gaining 418 yards of offense on 66 plays, including passing for 228 yards and rushing the ball 35 times for 190 yards, including 104 yards rushing on 12 carries from redshirt freshman running back Caleb Llamas (Centennial, Colo./Grandview).

The defense for both teams was strong in Saturday's game, combining for 17 sacks, 27 tackles for loss, and three turnovers, including two interceptions by the Red Team. The quarterbacks were not allowed to be tackled, so once their flag was pulled, the play was over.

In Saturday's game, the teams played three 15-minute quarters, with the fourth quarter being an overtime competition from the 25-yard line, with the offensive teams getting seven points for a score and three points for a field goal, while the defense got six points if the offense didn't score and got four points if they held the offense to a field goal.

After three quarters of play, the Red Team held a 21-10 lead and then they outscored the White Team, 23-9 in the fourth quarter overtime competition as the Red Team scored a touchdown on a 25-yard pass from sophomore quarterback Cam McGuire (Dallas, Texas/Woodrow Wilson) to redshirt sophomore running back Jaedon Matthews (Scottsdale, Ariz./Cal Poly). In addition, the Red Team held the White to just one field goal, a missed field goal, and two possessions without a score.

The White got the scoring started in Saturday's game as they took the opening possession and drove 75 yards in seven plays and capped the drive with a 17-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Evan Powell (San Bernardino, Calif./Chaffey College) to sophomore running back Russell Patton (Denver, Colo./Dr. MLK Early College) to take a 7-0 lead following the extra point from senior kicker Corbin Shirley (Seneca, S.C./Western Carolina).

Matthews got the Red Team on the scoreboard just two-plus minutes into the second quarter following a 6-yard touchdown run that capped a nine-play, 76-yard drive. The big play on the drive was a 32-yard run on the final play of the first quarter by Llamas.

Later in the second quarter, the Red Team took over the ball at their own 15-yard line and drove 85 yards in five plays and capped the drive with a 19-yard touchdown pass from redshirt freshman quarterback Jaxon Knutson (Tempe, Ariz./McClintock) to redshirt freshman receiver Cedric Mills (Dallas, Texas/Cedar Hill) to give the Red Team a 14-7 halftime lead.

During halftime, the two teams held a field goal kicking contest as senior kicker Jackson Smith (Centennial, Colo./Santa Barbara City College) nailed a 45-yard field goal to pull the White Team within four at 14-10.

The only score in the third quarter came on the final play of the quarter as McGuire hooked up with senior receiver Nate Gravagno (Englewood, Colo./Englewood) for a 23-yard touchdown pass to complete a six-play, 65-yard drive. The big play on the drive was a 33-yard pass from McGuire to junior receiver RJ Jackson (Venice, Calif./UNLV).

In the fourth quarter overtime competition period, the White got on the scoreboard first thanks to a 35-yard field goal by Jackson to cut the Red Team's lead to 25-13.

On the ensuing possession, the Red Team used Matthews' 25-yard run to take a 32-13 lead in the game. The White Team failed to score on its next possession to give the Red Team a 38-13 lead.

Senior kicker Evan Lyons (Superior, Colo./Monarch) missed a 46-yard field goal on the Red Team's next possession, and then the White Team would throw an interception on the final play of the game to seal the Red Team's win.

McGuire paced the Red Team quarterbacks by completing 13-of-26 passes for 131 yards and two touchdowns, while Knutson went 4-for-5 through the air for 97 yards and a score. Matthews added two touchdowns, one rushing and one receiving, and finished with 96 all-purpose yards, and Llamas led all rushers with 104 yards rushing. Jackson hauled in three passes for 67 yards to lead the Red Team receiving corps.

For the White Team, which finished with 164 yards of offense on 65 plays, Powell threw for 65 yards and a touchdown as he was 5-for-10 passing with an interception to go along with his touchdown. Junior Brayden Dorman (Colorado Springs, Colo./University of Arizona) was 7-for-17 passing for 70 yards, and redshirt freshman quarterback Gavin Ishmael (Frederick, Colo./Frederick) was 4-of-6 passing for 31 yards and had an interception.

Sophomore running back AJ Merrida (Houston, Texas/Adams State) paced the White Team receivers with three catches for 34 yards and added 17 yards rushing.

Defensively, the Red Team recorded 10 sacks and limited the White Team to minus-2 net rushing yards. Sophomore defensive lineman Rodney Ondari (Fort Worth, Texas/Keller) had three sacks, while senior defensive end DJ Moore (Carlsbad, N.M./Eastern New Mexico) had two sacks. Sophomore linebacker Nate Sandy (Elizabeth, Colo./Legend) and junior defensive back Antonio Mays (Fontana, Calif./Utah Tech) each had an interception.

Meanwhile, the White Team defense was also active, totaling seven sacks, led by sophomore defensive lineman Anthony Johnson-Griffin (Fountain, Colo./Fountain-Fort Carson) and redshirt freshman safety Kemon Jackson (Tempe, Ariz./McClintock) with two each and redshirt freshman linebacker Ashton Shepardson (Denver, Colo./Cherry Creek) had both a forced fumble and fumble recovery on the same play in third quarter.

Overall, the Red Team finished with 418 yards of total offense compared to 164 for the White Team and converted 7-of-17 third-down opportunities.

The Pack will kick off its 2026 season on Thursday, Aug. 27, as they host Central Missouri for a 6 p.m. game in the ThunderBowl. Season tickets for the 2026 season will go on sale on June 1.