CSU Pueblo football handles New Mexico Highlands at home to reach 4-3

The Colorado State University Pueblo football team, led by a strong defensive effort, handled New Mexico Highlands 35-11 for its third straight victory of the season on Saturday at the ThunderBowl.

With the win, the ThunderWolves are 4-3, above the .500 mark for the first time all season.

The Pack were without starting linebacker Max Gonzales but were still extremely productive. They were able to apply pressure all day, which led to them picking off the Cowboys three times. Simply put, they were dominant up front from start to finish. 

“I'm proud of the way these kids played and that they came to work,” CSU Pueblo head coach John Wristen said. “I asked them to work for 60 minutes and I'm really, really excited about the growth of our team right now.”  

Offense clicking

The passing game for the Thunderwolves has been in a groove the last three games after the quarterback change for the Pack. Hunter Raquet threw for 287 yards with three touchdowns in the win and was very much in control of the offense.  

Not to be outdone, the Pack’s ground attack, led by Kiahn Martinez, added to the offensive totals, racking up 138 yards on the ground and two touchdowns. Max Fine also had a day, hauling in 9 catches for 114 yards and a touchdown.

Nigel Mitchell chipped in with a 54-yard touchdown reception, which was Raquet's longest throw of the day. Zach Rakowsky caught the other touchdown pass from Raquet, a 23-yarder.

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Defense shows out

The defense, however, was very much the star of the show. They picked off the Cowboys three times and held them to 253 yards of total offense. Trey Botts had four sacks and 15 tackles. Luke Conilogue, Jon Nuschy, and Eli Pittman all recorded an interception, and Pittman also had a tackle for loss.  

Wristen always preaches being aggressive up front and taking charge of the line of scrimmage.

“I thought we took control of the line of scrimmage from the get-go and when you do that you can dictate a lot of different things,” Wristen said. “I thought it was really good that we were able to control the line of scrimmage and that's one of our team goals, to be physical.” 

Moving the chains

Wristen was asked after the game if he felt that the change in quarterback or the sudden upswing on the defensive side of the ball was responsible for the team's recent winning streak.  

“I think it's the combination of all that,” Wristen said. “I think you need all those if you are going to win. It's just not one thing when you lose, and it's just not one thing when you win. It's a combination of great effort and making sure that you don't beat yourself. You put your head down and you go to work for 60 minutes, that's what I asked our guys to do and they did a great job of that.” 

Coming up next for the ThunderWolves is a game against what could be considered one of the Pack’s biggest rivalry games in Chadron State. If they can pull off another victory, they'll sit comfortably near the top of the RMAC standings, where they are currently tied for third with a 3-2 league mark.  

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Christopher Abdelmalek is a sports reporter for the Pueblo Chieftain and can be reached at cabdelmalek@gannett.com or on Twitter: @chowebacca