COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Colorado State University Pueblo sophomore quarterback Navi Bruzon (Peoria, Ariz./Highland CC) has been named this week's Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Offensive Football Player of the Week as announced by the league office Monday afternoon.
Bruzon earns his first career RMAC Player of the Week accolade after turning in a career performance in the fifth-ranked ThunderWolves' 45-17 home victory over Colorado School of Mines this past Saturday at the CSU Pueblo ThunderBowl. The victory moved the Pack to 3-0 overall and 1-0 in RMAC play.
Against the Orediggers, Bruzon completed 22-of-27 passes for a career-high 421 yards and four touchdowns without throwing an interception. He completed 81.5 percent of his passes and averaged 15.6 yards per attempt as the Pack finished the afternoon with 588 yards of total offense, including 430 yards through the air.
Bruzon's big afternoon began on the Pack's first offensive play of the game as he connected with Marcellus Honeycutt Jr. for a 75-yard touchdown just 11 seconds after Mines had taken an early 3-0 lead. Later in the opening quarter, Bruzon found Nate Gravagno for a 66-yard touchdown to give CSU Pueblo a 14-3 advantage before tossing his third touchdown of the first half on a 24-yard strike to Honeycutt. Bruzon capped his four-touchdown afternoon early in the fourth quarter with a 38-yard scoring pass to Sean Conway that extended the Pack's lead to 38-10.
Bruzon's 421 passing yards against Mines were 100 more than his previous season-high of 321 yards, which came in his CSU Pueblo debut against Central Missouri. Through his first three games in a Pack uniform, Bruzon has completed 61-of-87 passes for 1,022 yards and 11 touchdowns against just two interceptions. He is completing 70.1 percent of his passes, is averaging 340.7 passing yards per game and owns a 205.92 passing efficiency rating. Bruzon has also accounted for 1,081 yards of total offense through the opening three games of the season.
Behind Bruzon, the Pack offense has been one of the most productive units in the country through the opening three weeks of the season as CSU Pueblo is averaging 41.3 points and 524.0 yards of total offense per game. The ThunderWolves have scored 17 touchdowns through three games, including 11 through the air, while averaging 343.7 passing yards per contest.
In addition to Bruzon, the league named Colorado Mesa sophomore linebacker Dante Vigil as the Defensive Player of the Week and Fort Lewis junior kicker Lucas Schmitten as the Special Teams Player of the Week.
Vigil earns this week's RMAC Defensive Player of the Week honor after recording a career-high 17 tackles in Colorado Mesa's 30-24 road victory over South Dakota Mines. The 17 tackles were the most by an RMAC player this season and tied for the fourth-most in Division II. Vigil recorded six tackles in the second quarter before adding seven more in the third quarter to help lead the Mavericks to the lone road victory in the RMAC during Week 2.
Meanwhile, Schmitten takes home the RMAC Special Teams Player of the Week honor after delivering a 37-yard field goal in overtime to lift Fort Lewis to a 31-28 victory over New Mexico Highlands. Schmitten was perfect on the day as he connected on field goals from 23, 42 and 37 yards along with converting both of his point-after attempts. His 42-yard field goal gave the Skyhawks a 28-21 lead with 2:13 remaining in regulation before his 37-yarder in overtime secured the victory.
Bruzon and the fifth-ranked ThunderWolves (3-0 overall, 1-0 RMAC) return to action this coming Saturday, Sept. 19 as they travel to Chadron, Neb., for a 1 p.m. MT RMAC contest against Chadron State College. Saturday's game will be a rematch of last season's RMAC Championship Game, when the Pack defeated the Eagles in overtime to capture its second consecutive RMAC title.
