The Angelo State football team (3-3, 1-1 LSC South) continued to shine on defense, nearly setting a school record Saturday night, as the Rams knocked off Eastern New Mexico, 25-13, at San Angelo Stadium.
The Rams held ENMU to minus 19 yards rushing, three yards shy of the school record, and held their third opponent in four weeks under 200 yards of offense, holding the Greyhounds to just 173 yards. The offense did its part too as ASU scored in every quarter for the first time this season.
Senior tailback Daniel Thomas had another solid performance as he rushed for 144 yards, including 104 in the second quarter, on just 13 carries, including a 14-yard touchdown scamper in the fourth quarter. Thomas reached the 100-yard mark for the third time this season and ninth time in his career. In all, the Rams rushed for a season-high 285 yards as senior Terrell Lee added 87 yards and junior Kobey Lewis rushed for 44 yards.
The Rams opened up the scoring with 10:49 left in the first quarter as redshirt quarterback Will Mezger capped ASU's first offensive possession with a 29-yard pass to junior wide out Jeremy Hill, giving the Rams a 6-0 lead after a missed extra point.
ENMU (1-5, 0-2 LSC South) cut the lead in half, 6-3, with 2:23 left before intermission as Adam Richards hit a 30-yard field goal. But, the Rams would answer on their next drive as sophomore Ryan Smith drilled a 20-yard field goal with 49 seconds left in the half. The score was set up by 66 rushing yards on three carries by Thomas, including a 55-yard run to put the Rams inside the ENMU 10-yardline.
After the break, the Greyhounds would take their first and only lead of the game as Joseph Banyard scored on a five-yard run to give ENMU a 10-9 advantage after the extra point. The Rams answered later in the half on Thomas' touchdown, with 2:42 left in the frame, to take back the lead, 15-10, after an unsuccessful two-point try.
The two teams then traded field goals, a 50-yarder by Richards for ENMU and a 29-yarder by ASU's Smith, before Lewis sealed the victory with a five-yard run with 1:43 left in the contest to put the Rams up by two scores.
Mezger ended the night with 117 yards on 9-of-20 passing with one touchdown and one interception. He connected with five receivers in the win with senior Sam Tindol leading the pack with five catches for a game-high 79 yards.
For ENMU, quarterback J.J. Harp tossed for 192 yards on 26-of-49 passing. Eight Greyhounds recorded at least one catch with Darian Dale ending the game with seven catches for 43 yards. Banyard led ENMU on the ground with 11 yards on seven carries.
The Rams sacked Harp seven times for a total of 41 yards. Junior linebacker Ian Ritchey led the squad with 10 tackles (five solo) with half a tackle for a loss and a quarterback hurry. Junior defensive tackle Dustin Arthur had five tackles (two solo) with 2.5 tackles for a loss, including a team-best 1.5 sacks. Junior linebacker Edward Cantrell also had five tackles (three solo) with a game-high five pass break ups.
ASU will hit the road next weekend as the Rams visit rival Abilene Christian on Saturday, Oct. 11. Game time at Shotwell Stadium is 7 p.m. and the game will be televised on KSAN-TV in San Angelo.
