Rachel Heaton
The Paw Print
Seven turnovers by the Grizzly offense led to a 30-0 defeat against number three ranked Colorado State University- Pueblo in Pueblo on Saturday. The Grizzlies now fall to 3-1 overall and an even 1-1 in conference play. Pueblo moves up to 4-0 overall and is the only unbeaten team in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
The Thunderwolves struck early on Saturday night, putting up their first touchdown of the night on a run by J.B. Matthews with 11:26 left to play in the first quarter.
With 6:26 left in the quarter, senior James Ackel (Riverside, Calif.) intercepted a pass off of CSU-Pueblo quarterback Ross Dausin. However, the play was negated by a pass interference call against ASU.
The Thunderwolves struck again, with 2:17 left in the first quarter on a rush from Chris Ashe to put them up 14-0 over Adams State.
In the beginning of the second quarter, the Grizzlies went on a 6-play, 42-yard drive that ended when senior Trevor Eggleston (Tucson, Ariz.) threw an interception in the end zone. On their ensuing drive, the Thunderwolves kicked a field goal to push the score up to 17-0. On the Grizzlies’ next drive, junior Cody Davies (Bozeman, Mont.) was sacked and then fumbled the ball, which was recovered by a Pueblo player.
In the third quarter, the Thunderwolves capitalized on another Adams State fumble. After being stopped by the ASU defense, Pueblo settled for another field goal and a 20-0 lead.
On Adams State’s next drive, they marched 68 yards down the field to the CSU-Pueblo 7 yard line, before Eggleston threw another interception in the end zone.
In the fourth, the Thunderwolves intercepted another pass, this time from Davies. On the next play, Dausin completed a touchdown pass to Deontrae Cooper with 12:37 left to play.
The Grizzlies’ next drive was ended again with an interception thrown by Davies. With 10:46 left, sophomore quarterback Justin Juda (Lancaster, NY) fumbled and the ball was recovered by Pueblo.
The final scoring play of the game came with 6:35 left when the Thunderwolves hit another field goal to cap a 8-play, 25-yard drive and leave the score at 30-0.
In the game, Eggleston was 12-19 with 2 interceptions and 95 yards. Davies was 7-16 also with 2 interceptions and 54 yards. Redshirt freshman Dominique Matthews (Brighton, Colo.) led the Grizzlies on the ground with 11 carries for 38 yards. Ron Gaudin (Miami, Fla.) had 10 receptions for 83 yards.
On the defensive side of the ball, senior Mario Moore (Moreno Valley, Calif.) had 11 tackles for the ASU, including 2 solo. Ackel, junior Brent Lush (Tucson, Ariz.), and sophomore Connor Stevens (Colorado Springs, Colo.) each contributed 10 tackles. The defense for the Grizzlies remained tough throughout the game, forcing several three-and-outs for the Thunderwolves offense.
After three games on the road, the Grizzlies will return home this Saturday to take on 3-1 Chadron State. This will be the annual Spud Bowl game and fans who purchase a game program for $2 will receive a bag of potatoes after the game. San Luis Valley Regional Medical Center will be the game day sponsor and will be giving away free flu shots to the first 100 fans. The game is set to kick off at 1 p.m. and gates will open at 11:30.
The following week, the Grizzlies will be on the road again, as they travel to Spearfish, S.D. to take on 0-3 Black Hills State University. This game is also scheduled for a 1 p.m. start.
Fans who can’t make it to either game can listen on KSPK FM (102.3, 103.5, or 104.1) or stream live on kspk.com.
What’s Been Said…