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ThunderWolves beat South Dakota Mines 35-6; QB breaks school record
Colorado State University Pueblo kicked off its 2024 season Thursday evening with an impressive record-setting 35-6 victory over South Dakota Mines in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference action in Dunham Field at O’Harra Stadium.
Thursday’s game was the earliest season opener for the ThunderWolves since opening the 2017 season with a 38-7 home win over Colorado School of Mines. The Pack are now 14-2 all-time in season openers since the football program was restarted in 2008.
With the win, the Pack extends its winning streak to eight straight games, which is tied for the second-longest active streak in Division II football, and moves its win streak in season openers to three consecutive games since falling to Texas A&M-Commerce in 2021. The current eight-game win streak is the longest for the Pack since winning nine straight games in 2019.
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“I am proud of these guys. It wasn’t pretty, be we found a way to get it done tonight. Proud of our offense and defense,” second-year Pack head football coach Philip Vigil said following the game. “We left a lot of points out there tonight. We set a school record for passing yards, which is pretty awesome. Our defense balled out all night long. It was exciting to see us come out and fly around and put on a show.”
Thursday’s season-opening win was keyed by a Pack passing offense that completed a school-record 35 passes and threw for a school-record 548 yards. In addition, senior receivers Reggie Retzlaff (Corona, Calif./Riverside City College) and Taylor Tosches (Temecula, Calif./SW Oklahoma State) combined for 22 receptions for 392 yards and four touchdown receptions, including three from Retzlaff. Retzlaff finished the game with 11 receptions for a school-record 241 yards, while Tosches also caught 11 passes for 151 yards and a touchdown. It marked the first time in school history that two receivers combined to catch 20 or more passes in a single game.
Retzlaff’s 241 receiving yards bettered the old single-game school mark of 219 yards set by Max Fine against Colorado School of Mines in the first round of the 2022 NCAA Division II Playoffs, while the 11 receptions were one shy of the single-game school record of 12 set by John Trahan against Colorado Mesa in 1982.
Senior quarterback Devin Larsen (Gilbert, Ariz./Western New Mexico) had a memorable Pack debut as the starting signal caller as he was 30-for-45 passing for a school-record 508 yards, tossed five touchdown passes, and did not throw an interception. The 30 pass completions are the most in a game by a Pack quarterback in school history, while the 508-yard passing game was the first 400-plus yard passing performance in the program’s 61-year history. The 508 passing yards bettered the old school record of 396 set by senior Steven Croell (Broomfield, Colo./Broomfield) in the 2022 season opener at Midwestern State, while the 30 completions bettered the old mark of 29 set twice last season by Chance Fuller, who is serving as the Pack’s quarterbacks coach this season.
While Larsen passed for 508 yards, senior Roman Fuller (Decatur, Texas/University of Tulsa) replaced Larsen in the fourth quarter and was 5-for-5 passing for 40 yards to help the Pack conclude the game with 35 pass completions. In addition, the 50 pass attempts in the game by the Pack were just three shy of the single-game record of 53 against New Mexico Highlands in 2021.
In the state of Colorado football record books, Larsen’s play on Thursday night is the eighth-best single-game passing yard mark and the most in a game by a quarterback from the state since Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders threw for 510 yards at TCU, while Retzlaff’s 241 receiving yards are 15th most all-time in state history and most since Colorado State’s Preston Williams tallied 248 receiving yards in 2018 at Air Force.
“I am proud of Devin. He just took what the defense gave him all night. They were going to load the box and we’ve got some serious playmakers on the edge as you saw tonight,” Vigil said when asked about Larsen’s performance. “Those guys (receivers) went up and made some unbelievable plays and made Devin look pretty good tonight on some of those throws.”
The Pack took its first possession of the game and drove 59 yards in 12 yards, but the drive stalled at SDSM”s 6-yard line, and a 22-yard field goal attempt by sophomore kicker Evan Lyons (Superior, Colo./Monarch) was blocked by Isaac Engle.
CSU Pueblo would eventually get on the scoreboard late in the first quarter as Larsen hooked up with Retzlaff for a 5-yard touchdown pass with 2:32 left in the quarter. The touchdown reception was set up by a 44-yard pass completion from Larsen to Retzlaff prior to the touchdown catch.
Larsen added his second touchdown pass with 3:07 left in the second quarter as he connected with Retzlaff for a 6-yard touchdown pass, which passes, which came two plays after junior tight end Tyler Dvorak (Englewood, Colo./Cherry Creek) appeared to haul in a 30-yard touchdown pass, but his knee was ruled down at the 1-yard line.
The Pack offense dominated in the first half as they gained 285 yards of offense on 40 plays, but were only able to score 14 points as they had a field goal blocked, while Lyons missed a 31-yard field goal and Croell threw an interception on the goal line midway through the second quarter to stall a scoring opportunity on its second possession of the second quarter.
While the Pack offense gained 287 yards in the opening half, the Hardrockers gained just 100 yards on 35 plays with 45 of those yards coming on an 11-play drive that was capped by a 37-yard field goal by Connor Taylor with 1:06 left in the first half. Prior to that possession, the Hardrockers had run 24 plays for just 55 yards.
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South Dakota Mines got on the scoreboard first in the second half as Taylor connected on a 42-yard field goal with 8:43 left in the third quarter to cut the Pack’s lead to 14-6. The drive was set up by a fumble from Larsen at the Pack 36-yard line.
The Pack would push its lead to 21-6 following a 43-yard touchdown pass from Larsen to Retzlaff that capped a four-play, 80-yard drive that lasted 49 seconds.
After a three-out by the Pack defense, the ThunderWolves’ offense found the end zone once again as Larsen hooked up with senior running back Howard Russell VI (Phoenix, Ariz./Eastern New Mexico) for a 14-yard touchdown pass to cap an eight-play, 50-yard drive that gave the Pack a 28-6 lead. The drive was keyed by a 25-yard pass reception from Larsen to redshirt senior receiver Nigel Mitchell (Red Bank, N.J./Red Bank Regional).
Larsen capped his record-setting night with his fifth touchdown pass of the game as he connected with Tosches for a 13-yard reception with 9:13 left in the fourth quarter to give the Pack an insurmountable 35-6 lead.
After’s fifth touchdown pass of the game, SDSM would drive 50 yards in 14 plays, but the Pack defense stuffed the drive following an interception by sophomore defensive back Donovan English (Pomoma, Calif./Colony) off Hardrockers quarterback Jake Martinelli.
The Pack defense held the Hardrockers out of the end zone for the game as they limited them to 214 total yards on 75 plays. In addition, the Pack collected a sack, had seven tackles for a loss, and picked off a pass. Senior two-time All-American defensive back Daniel Bone III (Colorado Springs, Colo./Pine Creek) led the way with eight tackles, including six solo stops, while senior defensive lineman James Turrentine (Elk Grove, Calif./American River College) had five tackles and 1.5 tackles for a loss.
Along with catching a 14-yard touchdown pass and tallying three catches for 23 yards, he also added 57 yards rushing on 12 carries as the Pack rushed for 56 yards in the win.
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Martinelli was 20-for-47 passing for 164 yards and had one interception for the Hardrockers, while Max Hoatson caught five passes for 38 yards and Ty Harris gained 23 yards rushing on 16 carries. South Dakota Mines passed for 164 yards and ran for 50 yards in the season opener.
On the night, the Pack was 7-for-17 on third-down conversions and 2-for-2 on fourth-down conversions, while South Dakota Mines was just 4-for-21 on third-down conversions. The Pack also held a 25-13 edge in first downs.
The Pack will return to action next Saturday, Sept. 7, as they open the home portion of its 2024 schedule with a 6 p.m. non-conference contest against 21st-ranked University of Texas Permian Basin in the CSU Pueblo ThunderBowl.
This article was submitted to the Chieftain by the CSU Pueblo Athletics Department. For stats and additional information from this game, visit gothunderwolves.com.
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