PUEBLO, Colo. – Western scored their first touchdown of the game with 4:12 left to play. A beautiful back shoulder throw by quarterback Brett Arrivey (Jr., Woodinville, Washington) found Kyle Adkins (Jr., Woodinville, Washington) in the back corner of the end zone for the score. Unfortunately for the Mountaineers it was too little too late to upset No. 13 CSU-Pueblo on the road, losing 20-10.
 
"We just needed to play better," Head Coach Jas Bains said. "In the second half we did some really good things. We just weren't as consistent as you need to be against a good team."
 
The score brought the Mountaineers back to within 10 points at 20-10. Western attempted an onside kick following the score, but weren't able to recover.
 
The Mountaineer defense forced a turnover on downs by the ThunderWolves and took the ball back with 3:49 left to play. After moving the ball down the field, CSU-Pueblo regained possession at the 1:28 mark after the Mountaineers failed to convert on fourth down.
 
Arrivey threw for 150 yards (15-of-27) and one touchdown on the day. His counterpart AJ Thompson threw for 169 yards (11-of-18). It's the first time in eight games Arrivey was unable to throw for 200 yards or more.
 
In the first half of play, Western (0-3, 0-1 RMAC) struggled to move the ball against a stingy CSU-Pueblo (2-1 1-0 RMAC) defense. The Mountaineers were held to their lowest offensive half of the season, gaining only 53 yards on 21 plays.
 
Despite the first half offensive struggles, the Mountaineers' bend but not break defense kept the Mountaineers in the game.  Western held the ThunderWolves to 13 points, forcing CSU-Pueblo to kick two field goals. Western's Jordan Woodyard (Jr., Colorado Springs, Colorado) forced a CSU-Pueblo first half fumble, recovered by Victor Alvarez (So., Lancaster, California) for the only turnover by either team in the first half.
 
Woodyard led all players with 16 tackles. Western has now had a player record 14 or more tackles in each game this season. Dylan Boyce (Jr., Simi Valley, California) recorded the only sack for the Mountaineers and leads the team with 1.5 sacks on the season.
 
In the second half, Western's defense continued to hold steady and kept the ThunderWolves off the scoreboard in the third quarter.
 
The Mountaineers put their first points on the board with 57 seconds left in the third. Ryan Winke (Jr., Aurora, Colorado) hit a 32-yard field goal to put Western within 10 points, 13-3.
 
Kevin Cuff led the ThunderWolves defense with 11 tackles, while Morgan Fox chipped-in three sacks.
 
After the RMAC opener this Saturday, the Mountaineers will face Adams State University in the Colorado Classic next Saturday on the road.