GOLDEN — The CSU-Pueblo ThunderWolves have become the Cardiac Kids.
One week after completing the biggest comeback in school history to knock off Western Colorado, the ThunderWolves set a new standard. CSU-Pueblo erased a 22-point deficit en route to a 41-34 overtime victory Saturday afternoon at Marv Key Stadium against Colorado School of Mines.
Pueblo (9-1, 8-0 RMAC) trailed Western 21-0 last week before reeling off 24 points, capped by a buzzer-beating field goal.
Roman Fuller found Reggie Retzlaff in the end zone for his fourth touchdown pass of the game to start overtime, and ThunderWolves safety Peyton Shaw picked off Mines quarterback Joseph Capra (Denver South) to complete the stunning comeback.
Fuller connected with George Washington High product Marcellus Honeycutt, Jr., on a 32-yard touchdown pass with 56 seconds remaining in regulation to claw the ThunderWolves all the way back from a 22-point deficit late in the first half. Honeycutt made a diving catch in the end zone on the play.
One week after a huge comeback in a first-place RMAC showdown, CSU-Pueblo had designs on another. The ThunderWolves stopped the bleeding just before halftime with a quick touchdown drive to make it a 28-13 Mines advantage at the break.
A third ThunderWolves turnover, this one on a catch and fumble by Kiahn Martinez (Regis Jesuit) early in the third quarter, allowed Mines to regain a three-score lead. Pueblo’s offense got rolling again with five straight runs and a Russell Patton (Far Northeast) touchdown that cut the deficit to 31-20.
A missed Mines field goal late in the third quarter and a dropped pass on third down early in the fourth gave the ThunderWolves hope of another comeback. But then Reece Robinson let a punt land in front of him, and it turned into a fourth Pueblo turnover.
The ball bounced off Robinson and into the arms of Mines junior Mason Dickerson (Legacy) at the Pueblo 22-yard line. Mines again could not land the knockout punch, but kicker Preston Kyle drilled a 38-yard field goal after a lengthy injury delay to make it a two-touchdown advantage.
Mines finally made its own big mistake when freshman Jayden Reyes muffed a punt that Pueblo recovered at the Orediggers’ 22. Fuller threw his second touchdown pass of the day to Retzlaff, and the ThunderWolves were back within a score with 9:23 to play.
The three touchdowns for Retzlaff, whose brother Jake is the quarterback at Tulane, established a new program record for a season with 13. He’s had 12 each of the past two years to tie the previous standard.
The Orediggers’ defense made several huge plays in the first half to help build the lead. CSU-Pueblo has one of the most explosive offenses in the nation, led by Fuller. Mines held the ThunderWolves to a pair of field goals on their first three possessions, but then they turned up the pressure on Fuller.
He came into this contest with 2,512 yards, 23 touchdowns and only three interceptions, but Mines safety Joel Diaz picked him off twice in the first half, including one that set up the Orediggers with a short field.
Mines also got a critical stop on fourth down in scoring territory as it continued to build a lead.
Max Barnes began this season as RB3 for Mines, but a midseason injury to multi-year starter Landon Walker opened up more carries, and the sophomore from Austin, Texas, has been a breakout star. He had 115 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the first half alone, putting him over the 100-yard mark for the third time in the past four contests.
The Orediggers turned Diaz’s first interception into a short touchdown run from senior defensive end Dominic Caggiano out of a jumbo package to push the Mines lead to 21-6 early in the second quarter.
When Mines stopped the ThunderWolves on downs on the next drive, the offense put together an impressive eight-play, 73-yard drive, which included seven runs and an incomplete pass, to bust this game open at 28-6. Barnes started the drive with four carries for 38 yards, then Braelon Tate (Legacy) subbed in and finished it with three carries, including a powerful 14-yard touchdown run.
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