James Williams
The Paw Print
The Adams State College Grizzlies opened the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference portion of their schedule against the Colorado State-Pueblo ThunderWolves on Saturday, but failed to get their offense going for the second consecutive week, dropping the contest 27-10 on the road at the DeRose Thunderbowl.
The teams worked to a 3-3 tie at the end of the first half, as both the Grizzlies and ThunderWolves struggled to get anything going offensively, a trend that would continue throughout the game before big plays on defense and special teams got the ThunderWolves on the scoreboard to open the second half for what eventually became 24 unanswered points on the way to the win.
The Grizzlies were unable to capitalize on tremendous field position in the first half, with three of their first four drives starting in opposing territory.
The opening play saw the ThunderWolves unsuccessful on an attempted onside kick, giving the Grizzlies great field position for their opening drive. The Grizzly offense started out by calling four consecutive run plays by junior running back Terjean Saffold good for 20 yards to take the ball into the red zone before failing to convert on a third down pass from sophomore quarterback Trevor Eggleston to Saffold that fell incomplete.
The ensuing 34-yard field goal attempt by sophomore kicker David Van Voris was blocked by the ThunderWolves, the first of many missed opportunities for both teams in the first half.
The ThunderWolves were unable to capitalize, as junior middle linebacker Rocco DeLorenzo picked off a Ross Dausin pass on the next drive to give the ball back to the Grizzlies.
The teams traded punts on each of their next drives, before the Grizzlies found the scoreboard via a 23-yard field goal by Van Voris with 4:45 remaining in the first quarter.
The ThunderWolves would hand the ball right back to the Grizzlies just two plays later as senior defensive back Bryant Williams intercepted a Dausin pass, giving the Grizzlies the ball at the CSU-Pueblo 31-yard line.
However, the Grizzlies were unable to convert the turnover into points, failing to pick up a first down before a 42-yard field goal attempt by Van Voris sailed wide left.
The ThunderWolves sustained a solid drive following the missed field goal, converting four first downs on the next drive, including one on a personal foul by DeLorenzo, before senior wide receiver Bernard Jackson, the embattled former quarterback at the University of Colorado, fumbled into the hands of sophomore defensive back James Ackel to stop the drive.
The Grizzlies’ struggles on third down would continue, as they went three-and-out on their next two drives. Overall, the Grizzlies went 0-for-7 on third down in the first half and converted just 3-of-13 attempts throughout the course of the game.
The ThunderWolves took their last drive of the first half 25 yards over 10 plays to convert a 27-yard field goal by junior kicker Kyle Major to tie the score entering halftime.
The second half saw the Grizzlies quickly relinquish the tie, as senior running back Marquise Enoch took the kickoff back 97 yards for a touchdown to give the ThunderWolves the lead.
The Grizzlies finally found some offensive momentum on their following drive, sustaining an 8-play, 47-yard drive to the opposing 35-yard line before senior defensive back Chris Brown hauled his first of two Eggleston interceptions to stop the Grizzly attack.
The Grizzly defense responded, forcing a punt before the Grizzlies saw an intercepted screen pass by Eggleston returned 39 yards for a touchdown by sophomore linebacker Damon Schiele to extended the ThunderWolves’ lead to 17-3 with an even six minutes remaining in the third quarter.
The ThunderWolves would add another touchdown to extend the lead to 24-3 following an 18-yard run by junior running back Jesse Lewis out of the Wildcat formation, effectively ending the game, considering the struggles of the Grizzlies’ offense entering the final quarter.
The Grizzlies were able to score a touchdown of their own, as Eggleston connected with sophomore fullback Thomas Brown for four yards on the first play of the fourth quarter to cap off a 7-play, 73-yard drive to bring the score to 24-10, but were unable to sustain another drive.
Major added a late field goal for the ThunderWolves, extending the score to the final margin of 27-10.
The Grizzly defense played well throughout the game, holding the ThunderWolves to just 215 yards of total offense, including just 52 yards through the air. The ThunderWolves in turn held their own on defense, allowing the Grizzlies just 225 yards of total offense and intercepting Eggleston four times.
The ThunderWolves improved their record to 3-0 on the young season, and stand as the lone undefeated team in the RMAC. They will continue their season at Fort Lewis on Saturday.
The Grizzlies will hope to get their offense on track and improve their record to .500 on Saturday against Chadron State, who is coming off of an impressive 40-7 victory over Western State. Chadron State has won the last four contests against the Grizzlies. Kickoff for the annual Spud Bowl is scheduled for noon at Rex Stadium.
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