PUEBLO, Colo. – Fifth-ranked Colorado State University Pueblo football scored 35 points over the second and third quarters here Saturday afternoon as the ThunderWolves remained unbeaten on the season with a 35-23 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference victory over Colorado Mesa on Band Day at the CSU Pueblo ThunderBowl.
With the victory, the ThunderWolves improved to 5-0 overall and 3-0 in RMAC play, while Colorado Mesa fell to 2-3 overall and 1-2 in league action. The win also extended the Pack's NCAA Division II-leading conference win streak to 28 consecutive games, and its regular season win streak to 14 straight games. In addition, the Pack also won its ninth straight game against Colorado Mesa and improved to 20-6-1 all-time in the series.
After being held scoreless and limited to just 17 yards of offense in the opening quarter, the Pack offense came alive over the middle two periods, scoring touchdowns on five of its next seven possessions and turning an early 3-0 deficit into a commanding 35-9 advantage heading into the final quarter. The ThunderWolves scored 14 points in the second quarter before erupting for 21 points in the third quarter.
"I am really proud of our team today. These first five games this season have been hard, and these guys keep showing up and finding ways to improve," CSU Pueblo head coach Philip Vigil said following his 33rd win as the Pack's coach and his 40th collegiate head coaching victory. "There are a lot of things we need to improve on from today. I'm really frustrated with our penalties—a lot of self-inflicted wounds. I thought that was really the only time they (Colorado Mesa) moved the ball.
"Early on, we weren't clicking offensively, but once we settled down, I thought we played well against a really good football team."
Sophomore quarterback
Navi Bruzon (Peoria, Ariz./Highland CC) was the catalyst for the Pack offense, completing 16-of-21 passes for 287 yards and three touchdowns without an interception, and adding a season-high 47 rushing yards and another score. Bruzon accounted for 334 yards of total offense and four of CSU Pueblo's five touchdowns.
The Pack finished with 418 yards of offense despite running just 56 offensive plays and possessing the ball for only 23:52. CSU Pueblo averaged 7.5 yards per play and threw for 287 yards while adding 131 yards on the ground. Colorado Mesa accumulated 387 yards on 81 plays, including 248 rushing yards, and held the ball for 36:08.
Colorado Mesa controlled much of the opening quarter, possessing the ball for more than 12 minutes and running 23 offensive plays compared with just seven for the Pack. The Mavericks turned that advantage into the game's first points when Kyle Purvis connected on a 31-yard field goal with 5:10 remaining in the period. The field goal capped an 11-play, 52-yard drive that consumed 6:13 and gave Mesa a 3-0 lead.
CSU Pueblo's offense found its rhythm early in the second quarter. Taking possession at its own 19-yard line, the Pack marched 81 yards in seven plays and took its first lead when Bruzon connected with redshirt freshman receiver
Cedric Mills (Dallas, Texas/Cedar Hill) for a 28-yard touchdown with 10:54 remaining in the half. Senior kicker
Jackson Smith (Centennial, Colo./Santa Barbara City College) added the extra point to give the ThunderWolves a 7-3 advantage. That scoring drive began with a 12-yard pass from Bruzon to sophomore running back
AJ Merrida (Houston, Texas/Adams State), and Bruzon followed with an 11-yard run to move the ball to the Pack's 42-yard line.
Following an exchange of punts, the ThunderWolves struck again late in the second period. CSU Pueblo took over at its own 38 with 5:18 remaining and needed seven plays to travel 62 yards. Bruzon finished the drive with a two-yard touchdown pass to senior receiver
Bryce Boyd (Shakopee, Minn./St. Thomas) with 2:15 left, and Smith's PAT extended the Pack advantage to 14-3. The big play on the drive was a 35-yard pass from Bruzon to junior receiver
Marcellus Honeycutt, Jr. (Aurora, Colo./Eastern Washington).
Colorado Mesa answered before halftime as Purvis kicked his second field goal of the afternoon, this time from 35 yards with five seconds remaining, sending CSU Pueblo into the locker room holding a 14-6 lead.
The ThunderWolves then broke the game open in the third quarter.
CSU Pueblo received the second-half kickoff and immediately put together its longest scoring drive of the game, traveling 86 yards in seven plays. Bruzon capped the march with a 36-yard touchdown strike to junior receiver
Rashawn Jackson (Venice, Calif./UNLV) with 11:52 remaining in the quarter. Smith's third extra point pushed the Pack lead to 21-6.
Mesa responded with a lengthy drive of its own, running 14 plays and consuming 7:08 before Purvis kicked a 24-yard field goal to trim the Pack's lead to 21-9 with 4:38 remaining.
That would be as close as the Mavericks would get.
CSU Pueblo needed just 2:46 to answer as the ThunderWolves drove 55 yards in seven plays before sophomore running back
Jaedon Matthews (Goodyear, Ariz./Cal Poly), who made his first career start for the Pack on Saturday, scored on a four-yard run with 1:46 left in the third quarter to extend the lead to 28-9.
The Pack defense then produced the game's first turnover when senior defensive back
David Houston III (Austin, Texas/South Alabama) intercepted Mesa back-up quarterback Cole Hansen and returned the ball nine yards, giving CSU Pueblo possession at the Mavericks' 11-yard line. One play later, Bruzon raced 11 yards for a touchdown with 10 seconds remaining in the quarter. Smith's fifth PAT gave the ThunderWolves a 35-9 advantage. Houston's interception was the lone pick of the game for either team.
The two touchdowns came just 1:36 apart and capped a 21-point third quarter for the ThunderWolves.
In the third quarter, the Pack outgained the Mavericks, 152-73, as they rushed for 42 yards and Bruzon was 5-for-5 passing for 110 yards.
Mesa continued to battle in the fourth quarter and put together a 100-yard touchdown drive after taking possession at its own goal line with 7:32 remaining. Hansen capped the 11-play drive with a nine-yard touchdown pass to Alex Turpin with 2:16 left, cutting CSU Pueblo's lead to 35-16.
The Mavericks then recovered a Pack fumble and turned the short field into another touchdown, as Hansen connected with Bryson Brown on a seven-yard scoring pass with 22 seconds remaining to provide the game's final points.
Bruzon spread the ball around throughout the afternoon, completing passes to eight different receivers. Honeycutt led the Pack with four receptions for 97 yards, while Mills caught three passes for 77 yards and a touchdown. Merrida added three receptions for 32 yards, Jackson had his 36-yard touchdown reception, and senior receiver
Dedrek Taylor-Akins (Fontana, Calif./Northeastern State) caught one pass for 25 yards, and Matthews caught two passes for 14 yards in addition to his rushing touchdown.
Through five games this season, Bruzon is 93-for-141 passing for 1,533 yards and has thrown 16 touchdown passes and three interceptions, while rushing 42 times for 118 yards and three touchdowns, and has tallied 1,651 yards of total offense and is averaging 330.2 yards of total offense per game. He has had a hand in 19 of the Pack's 25 offensive touchdowns.
Honeycutt and Taylor-Akins have combined to catch 50 passes for 944 yards and nine touchdown receptions as Honeycutt has caught 26 passes for 491 yards and a team-best five touchdowns, while Taylor-Akins has caught 24 passes for 453 yards and four touchdowns.
On the ground, Bruzon led CSU Pueblo with 47 yards and a touchdown on nine carries, while senior running back
Moosah Alsaffar (Aurora, Colo./Grandview) rushed five times for 32 yards, and Matthews carried 10 times for 23 yards and a score. As a team, the Pack rushed for 131 yards and two touchdowns.
Defensively, sophomore linebacker
Carter Daniels (Centennial, Colo./Mountain Vista) once again paced the ThunderWolves as he finished with nine tackles, including one tackle for loss. Sophomore safety Nathan Spivey Jr. (Tucson, Ariz./Salpointe Catholic) and senior safety
Jason Thome (Arvada, Colo./South Dakota State) each recorded seven tackles, while senior linebacker
Miles Sprague (Holyoke, Colo./Holyoke) added six stops. Houston recorded five tackles to go along with his interception.
The Pack defense also recorded two sacks and three tackles for loss. Junior defensive end
A.J. Jordan (Colorado Springs, Colo./Vista Ridge) recorded a sack, while junior defensive tackle
Mario Rivas, Jr. (Long Beach, Calif./Bakersfield College) and senior defensive end
Jaylen Booth (Merced, Calif./Merced College) combined for the sack. CSU Pueblo also registered six pass break-ups and five quarterback hurries.
Mesa was led offensively by Jalen Hankins, who rushed for 75 yards on 11 carries, while Hansen added 55 yards on eight carries. The Mavericks used two quarterbacks as Liu Aumavae completed 11-of-21 passes for 70 yards before Hansen went 8-of-15 for 69 yards, two touchdowns and an interception. Mesa finished with 248 rushing yards but was held to 139 yards through the air.
While Mesa held advantages in first downs (27-18), rushing yards (248-131), offensive plays (81-56) and time of possession (36:08-23:52), CSU Pueblo's explosiveness proved to be the difference. The Pack averaged 13.0 yards per pass attempt and 17.9 yards per completion and finished with 418 yards on only 56 plays. The ThunderWolves also converted all three of their trips into the red zone into touchdowns.
The Pack will look to remain undefeated this season as they return to action next Saturday, Oct. 3, as they travel to Alamosa, Colo., for a 12 p.m. RMAC contest against Adams State (0-4 overall, 0-2 RMAC). The Grizzlies played a night game on Saturday at eighth-ranked Western Colorado.
