The Angelo State football team was handed its third straight loss Saturday night, falling 38-17 at No. 5 West Texas A&M in Canyon.

The Rams (2-6, 2-5 LSC, 1-3 LSC South) fell behind early and never recovered.  The Buffs (9-0, 7-0 LSC, 5-0 LSC South) took a 17-0 lead in the second quarter en route to their ninth consecutive win.

Sophomore quarterback Josh Neiswander completed 19-of-37 passes for 205 yards for ASU.  Sophomore running back Charles Amos led the Rams on the ground with 70 yards on 15 carries with a score. Sophomore running back Jeremy Hill made his first career start but ended the night with just 24 yards on 15 carries.

The Buffs opened up the scoring with 2:32 left in the first quarter as redshirt freshman Taylor Harris, making his first career start at quarterback, connected with A.J. Ruffins for an eight-yard touchdown.  WTAMU extended its lead to 10-0 early in the second frame on a 25-yard field goal by Jon Roberts.  The Buffs completed their first quarter scoring with 9:08 left in the half on a 99-yard run by Keithon Flemming.

Harris connected with Ruffins again early in the third quarter, this time for a four-yard score, to extend the Buff lead to 24-0.  ASU got on the scoreboard with 6:29 left in the third frame with a 26-yard field goal by Ryan Smith.  However, WTAMU added two more touchdown tosses by Harris to pull away for the victory.

The Rams added two fourth quarter scores.  Junior safety Michael McLeod tallied the first ASU defensive score of the season with a 35-yard interception return with 10:33 left in the game.  Amos posted the Rams' final score with a seven-yard run with just over a minute to play.

Junior Drew Peterson had a team-high six catches for 52 yards.  Junior Sam Tindol added three catches for a team-best 53 yards.

Sophomore linebackers Edward Cantrell and D'Angelo Waties each recorded a team-high eight tackles.  Redshirt freshman defensive back Ben Thomas added six tackles.  The Rams picked off the potent WTAMU passing attack three times with Pete Parker and Tanner Jacobs joining McLeod.

For the Buffs, Harris completed 24-of-35 passes for 314 yards with four touchdowns.  Flemming ended the night with 201 yards on 11 carries.

The Rams return home next Saturday as they host Tarleton State for their final game of the season.  Kickoff at San Angelo Stadium is 6 p.m.