The Angelo State offense scored on its first three possessions and the defense forced five turnovers as the Rams (1-2) earned their first win of the season, 24-2, over Southwestern Oklahoma Saturday night in Weatherford, Okla.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Will Mezger, making his second career start, guided the Rams to a pair of first-quarter scoring drives, both of which were capped by touchdown tosses. ASU struck first with 6:39 left in the first frame as Mezger hit sophomore tight end Nate Bayless for a 21-yard catch and run. The Rams added their second score not four minutes later as Mezger and junior wide out Robert Boone connected for a 35-yard touchdown strike, catching the host Bulldogs in a blitz and man coverage. Angelo State added a 25-yard field goal by Ryan Smith on the second play of the second quarter to secure the Rams' highest scoring output of the season.
"I was very pleased with the first half as we were doing good things on both side of the ball," said ASU head coach Dale Carr. "Will Mezger improved this week and the protection was much better than the previous two weeks."
SWOSU (1-2) got its only points of the game early in the third quarter as Bulldog Ruzell McCoy dropped Angelo State tailback Daniel Thomas in the end zone to trim the Ram lead to 17-2. Thomas would get redemption in the final period as he scored his first touchdown of the season with a 16-yard run with 7:33 left in the contest to close out the scoring. The ground tally was the first rushing touchdown for ASU this season.
Mezger ended the night with 155 yards on 15-of-26 passing with two touchdowns and one interception. He connected with six different receivers with senior Sam Tindol collecting a team-high four catches for 25 yards while Boone had three receptions for a team-best 52 yards. Thomas ended the night with 77 yards on 23 carries and a score.
The Ram defense, a unit that entered the game second in the Lone Star Conference in yardage allowed, held Southwestern Oklahoma to just 192 yards of offense on the night while collecting three interceptions and two fumble recoveries. Junior linebacker Ian Ritchey sparked ASU with eight tackles, including two for a loss, along with a pass break up. Redshirt freshman linebacker Sebastian Lafaele, sophomore defensive end Quinn Deal and sophomore nose guard Cody Smith each added four stops.
Junior cornerback Rickey McKinley and freshmen Jake Eannerelli and Nick Williams each recorded their first interception of the season while Ritchey and senior cornerback Quinton Butler each had a fumble recovery.
ASU nearly recorded its first shutout in six seasons as the Rams limited an opponent to its lowest output since a 19-0 win at West Texas A&M in the fourth game of the 2002 season.
"Our defense had a great effort," continued Carr. "We really stepped up in the third quarter when it seemed like our backs were against the wall. I was really impressed with our secondary tonight."
After three road trips to open the season, the Rams will come home next weekend as they host East Central. Game time is 6 p.m. at San Angelo Stadium.
