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Fort Lewis College Athletics

Scoreboard

27
Winner CSU Pueblo CSP 8-0 , 6-0
21
Fort Lewis FLC 2-5 , 1-5
Winner
CSU Pueblo CSP
8-0 , 6-0
27
Final
21
Fort Lewis FLC
2-5 , 1-5
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
CSP CSU Pueblo 13 7 7 0 27
FLC Fort Lewis 7 0 7 7 21
Elijah Portela vs. Colorado State University Pueblo
Angela Roberts, FLC Athletic Communications
Elijah Portela (20) lays a hit on a ThunderWolf on Ray Dennison Memorial Field (Oct. 24, 2026)

Game Recap: Football | | Hayden Mangan, Assistant AD-Communications & Fan Engagement

Skyhawks push No. 4/5 ThunderWolves to the brink; upset bid falls short in Saturday mud brawl

Fort Lewis nabs pair of turnovers; Paul and Seabolt rush for first career touchdowns

DURANGO, Colo. – Fort Lewis football made a pair of critical fumble recoveries on special teams, Baylor Seabolt and KhaVontae Paul each punched in rushing touchdowns, and the Skyhawks found themselves with a potential game-tying possession inside the last two minutes, but ultimately fell 28-21 in a Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) contest to No. 4/5 nationally ranked Colorado State University Pueblo in a sloppy, messy mud brawl under historic rainfall up on the rim at Ray Dennison Memorial Field.

There is a discrepancy in the final box score. The correct final score is 28-21 in favor of CSU Pueblo. Game files will be updated once remedied. 

Fort Lewis (2-5, 1-5 RMAC), despite 135 yards of total offense, including 82 rushing yards and 53 passing yards, limited The Pack (8-0, 6-0 RMAC) and Division II's most efficient offense to just 367 yards of offense and 28 total points, 20 points and 194 yards below its season averages. Freshman KhaVontae Paul rushed for the first touchdown of his career with a 29-yard scamper in the first quarter, knotting the game up at seven all, and Baylor Seabolt added his first touchdown with a one-yard scamper later in the fourth quarter to put the Skyhawks in a one-possession deficit, 28-21.  
 
Special teams created big swings for both sides as CSU Pueblo's Nyir Jones took the opening kickoff 89 yards for a touchdown, and Fort Lewis' Thomas Gillispie blocked a punt from the 15-yard line, allowing Sonny Delpizzo to recover the ball at the one-yard line and set up Seabolt's score. Freshman Cooper Payne added his first touchdown with a 23-yard scoop-and-score fumble recovery on a botched snap by the punter.
 
Sophomore punter Ethan Kercher was phenomenal in flipping the field with seven punts for 342 yards and an average of 48.9 yards per punt, three punts over 50 yards, two touchbacks, two punts downed inside the 20, and a season-long 63-yard boot.
 
Senior safety Elijah Portela put forth a career effort, leading all players with 13 tackles, five solo and eight assisted, while also forcing a fumble. Trenton Sullivan and Walter Stauffer, who notched a season high, each poured in eight tackles. MJ Dailey V had Fort Lewis' lone sack on the afternoon with a two-yard drop.
 
CSU Pueblo's Navi Bruzon was held to just 90 yards and one touchdown on 7-of-10 passing. Secondary quarterback Evan Powell rushed for 139 yards and a 57-yard touchdown on 11 attempts, and Russell Patton added another 44 yards and a 13-yard touchdown on nine carries. Tight end Colton Rose had a game-high 74 receiving yards and one touchdown. Oliver Welch notched an interception as The Pack's only takeaway.
 
Notes
-Fort Lewis suffered its fifth-straight loss and second-straight loss at home on Ray Dennison Memorial Field.
-The Skyhawks dropped their eighth-straight contest against the nationally ranked ThunderWolves, and trail CSU Pueblo 32-7 all-time and 14-5 in Durango, Colo.
-Freshman KhaVontae Paul and junior Baylor Seabolt each scored the first rushing touchdown of their respective careers.
-Elijah Portela forced his second fumble of the year and the third of his career.
-Cooper Payne notched his first collegiate touchdown with a 23-yard fumble recovery scoop-and-score, becoming the first Skyhawk to return a fumble for a touchdown since Kameron Lewis at Arizona Christian on Sept. 6, 2025.
-Thomas Gillispie blocked the first kick of his career and notched the first punt block by a Skyhawk since Elijah Thorp did so at Chadron State on Oct. 7, 2023.
-Sonny Delpizzo recovered his first career fumble while making his collegiate debut.
-Ethan Kercher's 63-yard punt ties the seventh-longest by a punter in the RMAC this year, and his 366 punting yards mark the third-most in the RMAC thus far. Kercher also leads the league with 14 punts over 50 yards.
 
Up Next
Fort Lewis will head for Elliot Field at Don Beebe Stadium next Saturday, Oct. 31, as the Skyhawks look to challenge the Chadron State College Eagles (3-5, 2-4 RMAC) at 1 p.m. The Eagles have won back-to-back games, including a 59-17 victory over New Mexico Highlands University (3-5, 1-5 RMAC) earlier today.
 
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Scoring Summary

Scoring Summary
Scoring Play Visiting Team Score Home Team Score
1st Quarter CSP FLC
CSP
14:45 - CSP - Jones,Nyir 89 yd kickoff return ( )
6 0
FLC
10:26 - FLC - Paul,KhaVontae 25 yd run (Schmitten,Lucas kick), 9 plays, 75 yards, TOP 04:19
6 7
CSP
05:51 - CSP - Rose,Colton 29 yd pass from Bruzon,Navi (Smith,Jackson kick) 5 plays, 46 yards, TOP 02:01
13 7
2nd Quarter CSP FLC
CSP
05:37 - CSP - Patton,Russell 13 yd run (Smith,Jackson kick), 13 plays, 90 yards, TOP 06:37
20 7
3rd Quarter CSP FLC
CSP
10:53 - CSP - Powell,Evan 57 yd run (Smith,Jackson kick), 5 plays, 70 yards, TOP 02:22
27 7
FLC
05:35 - FLC - Payne,Cooper 23 yd fumble recovery (Schmitten,Lucas kick)
27 14
4th Quarter CSP FLC
FLC
11:57 - FLC - Seabolt,Baylor 1 yd run (Schmitten,Lucas kick), 4 plays, 1 yards, TOP 01:43
27 21

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