With the help of junior quarterback Rex Dausin, the Colorado State University-Pueblo ThunderWolves dominated Black Hills State University’s Yellow Jackets 49-14 at Black Hills State in South Dakota, on Saturday.
Dausin threw for a ThunderWolves record six touchdown passes while only throwing for 169 yards on 14 completions, meaning Dawson threw a touchdown about every two passes and did that in three quarters. Sophomore quarterback AJ Thompson was put in the game towards the end of the third quarter when the ThunderWolves were up 49-14.
Dausin didn’t do it alone as senior wide receiver Daniel Wise was the first Pack receiver to have 100 yards receiving this season, as he totaled 104 yards on six catches and scored two touchdowns.
The rushing attack was equally impressive as redshirt freshman running back Austin Micci and senior running back Fradlet Dort both rushed for over 100 yards. Dort rushed more that 106 yards on 12 carries and had a big 57-yard run. Micci got more carries with 22 and rushed for 102 and also scored a touchdown. Junior running back David Cardinal Jr. added 41 yards on eight carries.
One thing to note for the offense is that they did not commit a turnover, which is significant because the Yellow Jackets came into the game with 17 interceptions which ranked first in Division II and had a +12 turnover margin which is third in Division II.
The Pack allowed just 38 yards rushing on 29 attempts against a Yellow Jackets’ team that averaged 213.7 yards per game coming into the contest. The defense also had an interception and forced a fumble.
This performance adds to the great performances this defense has had this season. After two tough losses to open the season and letting up a total of 83 points in those two losses, the defense has rebounded.
The Pack’s defense is currently at the top in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference in terms of scoring defense, total defense and rushing defense, and also allows the least amount of fourth down conversions. In most of these categories, the Pack outperformed other defenses, with the biggest difference being rush defense. In eight games, the Pack has allowed an average of 79 yards rushing.
Redshirt freshman linebacker Kyle Rosenbrock was an impact player, totaling 10 tackles with 2.5 for a loss and forcing a fumble. Redshirt freshman cornerback Emery Taylor was the one who got the interception.
Penalites were an issue in this game for the ThunderWolves, as the team totaled 12 penalties for 106 yards, including a second-quarter ejection of sophomore Brandon Payer for targeting.
The Pack will stay on the road this week as they head to Western State Colorado University to take on the Mountaineers Oct. 29, at 1 p.m.
