PUEBLO, Colo. – The 11^th-ranked Texas A&M University-Commerce football team fought until the game's final play before falling to 20^th-ranked Colorado State University-Pueblo, 24-17, at the DeRose ThunderBowl on Saturday.
 
The Lions fall to 3-1 overall with the loss, while the ThunderWolves boost their record to 3-1 as well.
 
A&M-Commerce returns to Lone Star Conference play on Saturday, October 5, when the Lions head to South Texas for the Chennault Cup game against Texas A&M-Kingsville. Kickoff at Javelina Stadium is set for 7 p.m. that day.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- The Lions outgained the ThunderWolves, 312-238, in the game and held the hosts to less than a yard per carry in the run game.
- Miklo Smalls (Plano – East) completed 23-of-34 passes for 248 yards and an interception.
- Antonio Lealiiee (Copperas Cove) was the Lions' top rusher, gaining 35 yards on 17 carries, including a 1-yard touchdown in the third quarter.
- Ryan Stokes (St. Louis, Mo.) and Chance Cooper (Leander – Rouse) each had 71 yards receiving, with Stokes' yardage coming on seven catches, and Cooper's on four.
- Mark Westbrook (Schertz – Clemens) scored a touchdown on a fumble recovery in the endzone after JaQuorius Smith (Kilgore) forced the fumble in punt coverage.
- Alex Shillow (Pflugerville) led the Lions in tackles for the second consecutive game with seven stops.
- The Lion defense had 11 tackles for loss, led by 2.5 TFLs from Elijah Earls (San Antonio – Stevens). Earls, Ronathon Elmore (Belleville, Mich.), Jaylon Hodge (Houston – FB Travis), and Darius Williams (Ft. Worth – Arlington Heights) were each credited with sacks.
- Jake Viquez (Rockwall) made a 44-yard field goal in the first quarter and converted on both of his PAT attempts.
- Andrew Gomez (Richardson) averaged 46.6 yards per punt on seven boots with a long of 58 yards.


 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Lion defense was strong in the early stages of the game, holding Pueblo to only five yards of offense in the entire first quarter of play, including a loss of 23 yards on the ground. A Smalls-to-Cooper 23-yard completion started the Lions' second drive and a 19-yard completion to Tyler Guice (Atlanta, Ga.) put the Lions in scoring position. Viquez' 44-yard field goal gave the Lions a 3-0 lead with 7:41 left in the first period.
 
The Lions extended the lead in the second quarter when Gomez' punt was mishandled by the ThunderWolves' return man. The initial fumble squirted towards the endzone, and JaQuorius Smith poked the ball loose a second time. Westbrook fell on the ball in the paint and the Lions went up 10-0 with 11:43 left in the first half.
 
CSU-Pueblo scored on a short touchdown run two drives later, and then hit a field goal from 33 yards out as time expired in the second quarter to tie the game up at 10-all at the intermission.
 
Smalls had a 22-yard rush on the opening drive of the second half, then converted a third-and-long on a 34-yard completion to Cooper. Four plays later, Lealiiee snuck the ball over the goal line, giving A&M-Commerce the 17-10 lead with 8:38 to play in the third quarter.
 
The ThunderWolves matched that score with a similar drive capped by a 1-yard touchdown plunge by Austin Micci. After the teams traded punts, the Lions drove into the Pueblo redzone, but a promising pass was tipped and intercepted.
 
Just under four minutes into the fourth quarter, the hosts took the lead on a sideline pass to the endzone which was adjudicated to be a touchdown. The 15-yard pass from Gunnar Lamphere to Nick Williams made it a 24-17 T-Wolves lead with 11:20 to play.
 
The teams traded punts and the Lions received the ball with 7:13 left to play. A&M-Commerce would not relinquish possession, but the final minutes had plenty of drama. Both teams were flagged for infractions downfield, including a Pueblo holding in the endzone on fourth-and-goal. An apparent touchdown pass was erased by a holding penalty with four seconds left, and the last gasp pass to the endzone by Smalls was batted away, allowing Pueblo to escape with the win.