CHADRON, Neb. – Fifth-ranked Colorado State University Pueblo football used a balanced offensive attack and another strong defensive performance here Saturday afternoon to collect a 33-6 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference road victory over Chadron State in a game that featured a two-hour and 30-minute lightning delay in the fourth quarter in Elliott Field at Don Beebe Stadium.
Saturday's victory improved the ThunderWolves to 4-0 overall and 2-0 in the RMAC, while Chadron State fell to 1-3 overall and 0-2 in league play. The victory also extended the Pack's NCAA Division II-leading road winning streak to 18 consecutive games and its RMAC win streak to 27 straight games.
"I am proud of our team and proud of the way we were able to gut that out and get a win. It was not a pretty as I'd like to have been today," CSU Pueblo head coach
Philip Vigil said following the game. "Defensively, I thought they played fantastic all game long and offensively, we just weren't clicking like we've been, so we've got to go back to the drawing board and make sure we're on the same page with what we need to do. But credit to Chadron State, their defensive coordinator does an unbelievable job with what he does and they showed some things today they hadn't yet shown on tape."
The contest was interrupted by lightning with 11:13 remaining in the fourth quarter and CSU Pueblo holding a 27-6 advantage. Following a two-hour and 30-minute delay, the teams returned to the field, and the ThunderWolves added another touchdown on a 5-yard touchdown run by sophomore quarterback
Navi Bruzon (Peoria, Ariz./Highland CC) to complete the 27-point victory. The game, which kicked off at 1:03 p.m., concluded at 6:45 p.m. after five hours and 42 minutes.
The Pack finished the afternoon with 500 yards of total offense, including 262 yards rushing and 238 yards passing, while holding Chadron State to just 208 yards of offense. CSU Pueblo also forced three turnovers, recorded five sacks and held the Eagles out of the end zone for the entire contest.
Offensively, the ThunderWolves were paced by Bruzon, who completed 16-of-33 passes for 224 yards and two touchdowns while adding a five-yard rushing touchdown. Bruzon's favorite target was junior wide receiver Marcellus Honeycutt Jr. (Denver, Colo./Eastern Washington), who caught seven passes for a game-high 130 yards and two touchdowns, including a 78-yard scoring reception early in the second quarter.
The Pack rushing attack featured two players who finished just shy of the 100-yard mark. Sophomore running back
Jaedon Matthews (Goodyear, Ariz./Cal Poly) led the way with 95 yards on 16 carries, while sophomore running back
Russell Patton (Denver, Colo./Dr. MLK Jr., Early College) added 93 yards on seven attempts, including a 70-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Sophomore running back
AJ Merrida (Houston, Texas/Adams State) contributed 44 yards on 10 carries as CSU Pueblo averaged 6.2 yards per rushing attempt.
Defensively, sophomore linebacker
Carter Daniels (Centennial, Colo./Mountain Vista) led the ThunderWolves with eight tackles, while junior cornerback
Oliver Welch (Los Angeles, Calif./Venice) and senior defensive end
Jaylen Booth (Merced, Calif./Merced College) each added six stops. Booth also recorded 1.5 sacks, while the Pack finished with nine tackles for loss and five quarterback sacks.
The ThunderWolves also received interceptions from senior safety
Kahden Rullo (Denver, Colo./Grandview) and junior safety
Tre Jordan (Tomball, Texas/Midwestern State), while senior safety
Jason Thome (Arvada, Colo./South Dakota State) recovered a fumble and returned it 35 yards. Rullo returned his interception 30 yards, and Jordan added a 10-yard interception return.
CSU Pueblo opened the scoring with 10:05 remaining in the first quarter when senior kicker
Jackson Smith (Centennial, Colo./Santa Barbara City College) connected on a 49-yard field goal to cap a six-play, 23-yard drive and give the ThunderWolves an early 3-0 advantage.
Following another defensive stop, the Pack put together its longest scoring drive of the afternoon, marching 88 yards on 16 plays and consuming 7:10 off the clock. The drive culminated with a 12-yard touchdown pass from Bruzon to Honeycutt with 56 seconds remaining in the opening quarter. Smith's extra point gave CSU Pueblo a 10-0 lead.
The ThunderWolves carried that momentum into the second quarter as Rullo intercepted a Chadron State pass and returned it 30 yards to set up the Pack offense at its own 30-yard line.
Two plays later, Bruzon connected with Honeycutt on a 78-yard touchdown pass with 13:47 remaining in the first half. Smith added the extra point to extend the Pack's advantage to 17-0.
Chadron State finally got on the scoreboard in the closing seconds of the first half as Shay Prichard connected on a 49-yard field goal with three seconds remaining. The kick capped a nine-play, 63-yard drive and sent the Eagles into halftime trailing 17-3.
The Pack defense delivered another momentum-changing play early in the third quarter when Jordan intercepted a pass to halt a Chadron State drive that had reached the CSU Pueblo 17-yard line.
On the very next offensive snap, Patton broke free for a 70-yard touchdown run with 9:54 remaining in the third quarter. Smith's extra point extended CSU Pueblo's lead to 24-3.
The Eagles responded with their second field goal of the afternoon following a CSU Pueblo interception. Prichard connected from 37 yards with 3:18 remaining in the third quarter to cut the ThunderWolves' advantage to 24-6.
CSU Pueblo answered with another scoring drive that began late in the third quarter and carried into the fourth. The ThunderWolves marched 65 yards on 11 plays before Smith connected on a 32-yard field goal with 13:00 remaining to push the lead to 27-6.
Following the field goal, Chadron State moved the ball into CSU Pueblo territory before the Pack defense forced a turnover on downs at its own 31-yard line with 11:12 remaining.
The game was then interrupted by lightning with 11:03 left on the fourth-quarter clock, forcing both teams to leave the field for a two-hour and 30-minute weather delay.
When play resumed, CSU Pueblo continued its offensive possession and put together a 12-play, 69-yard scoring drive that consumed 4:25 off the game clock. Bruzon capped the possession with a five-yard touchdown run with 6:47 remaining to extend the Pack's lead to 33-6. Smith's extra-point attempt was blocked.
The ThunderWolves' defense continued to keep the Eagles off the scoreboard over the final minutes, forcing another turnover on downs before Thome recovered a Chadron State fumble and returned it 35 yards with 1:28 remaining. CSU Pueblo then ran out the remaining time to secure the victory.
In addition to its 500 yards of offense, CSU Pueblo finished with 25 first downs and controlled the football for 31:51. The ThunderWolves converted 5-of-13 third downs and their only fourth-down attempt while finishing with touchdowns on two of their three red-zone opportunities.
Chadron State was led offensively by Daytuawn Pearson, who rushed for 98 yards on 20 carries. Quarterback Wyatt Sprague completed 7-of-21 passes for 102 yards and one interception, while Aidan Thompson completed 3-of-6 passes for three yards and one interception.
The Eagles finished with 103 rushing yards and 105 passing yards, converted 5-of-15 third-down opportunities and were held to just two field goals in three red-zone trips.
Smith finished the afternoon 2-for-3 on field-goal attempts for the ThunderWolves, connecting from 49 and 32 yards before having a 45-yard attempt blocked late in the fourth quarter and also made three extra points nine points on the day.
The ThunderWolves also finished with 14 penalties for 131 yards, while Chadron State was penalized seven times for 64 yards.
CSU Pueblo will return to action next Saturday, Sept. 26 as they host Colorado Mesa for a 2 p.m. RMAC contest on Band Day in the ThunderBowl. Colorado Mesa (2-1, 1-0 RMAC) hosted eighth-ranked Western Colorado in a 6 p.m. game Saturday in Grand Junction, Colo.
