The Angelo State football team secured it first winning season since 2005 as the Rams downed Southeastern Oklahoma, 42-30, Saturday afternoon in Durant, Okla.

The Rams (6-2) and SOSU combined for 688 passing yards as the two teams traded blows all afternoon. ASU junior quarterback Josh Neiswander would end the game with 341 yards, completing 22-of-39 passes, with three touchdown tosses as the Rams improved to 6-1 in Lone Star Conference play. Neiswander surpassed the 300-yard mark for the third time of the season as he ended the game with ASU's eight-best single-game performance.

Angelo State had a pair of receivers that ended the game with better than 100 receiving yards. Freshman Dakarai Pecikonis had six catches for 156 yards and a score while junior V'Keon Lacey had a game-high 10 catches for 118 yards with a pair of touchdown grabs. Pecikonis' 156 yards is the most by a Ram this season and the 16th-best total in ASU history.

The Rams would open the scoring with their quickest score of the season as Neiswander connected with Lacey on a 11-yard connection just 2:07 into the contest. Neiswander would add a second touchdown pass in the first quarter as he hit Pecikonis on a screen deep in ASU territory only to watch the freshman scamper 81 yards to give the Rams a 14-0 lead with 8:34 left in the opening stanza. The 81-yard pass-and-catch was the longest this season by ASU and tied the seventh-longest pass in school history. It was also the second-longest pass in the LSC this season.

Southeastern Oklahoma (5-3) would nearly cut the Rams' lead in half, 14-6, late in the first quarter as SOSU's Justin Pitrucha found Daniel Nichols for a 24-yard touchdown pass with 3:27 left in the period. SOSU would miss the extra point. But, the Rams would respond on their ensuing drive as redshirt freshman Austin Benson would score the first of his two touchdowns of the afternoon, a three-yard plunge, to give ASU a 15-point lead, 21-6, with 13:02 left in the first half.

The Savage Storm would respond on their next drive, however, as Cole Jones connected on a 46-yard field goal with 11:28 left in the half, cutting ASU's lead down to 21-10. ASU junior tailback Dwight Pete would add a nine-yard touchdown run with 4:55 left before the break but the Savage Storm would add another score, a 47-yard pass from Pitrucha to Ty Hull, trimming ASU's lead to 28-16 at halftime.

After a furious second quarter, the tempo slowed in the third frame as each team used sustained scoring drives. The Rams would take a 35-16 lead with 9:33 left in the third as Neiswander found Lacey for a three-yard fade in the corner of the end zone, capping a 12-play, 77-yard drive that used the first 5:27 of the third quarter. SOSU would later use an eight-play, 66-yard drive, using more than three minutes, capped by an 11-yard touchdown pass from Pitrucha to Michael Goodlow, cutting ASU's lead to 35-23 early in the fourth quarter.

Benson would add his second touchdown of the game with 11:24 remaining as he scored from two yards out to lift the Rams to a 42-23 lead. SOSU would tack on a final score as Pitrucha hit Jay Rose for a 39-yard score with just under six minutes left in the game. After the Savage Storm's second unsuccessful on-side kick attempt, the Rams ran out the clock.

Senior defensive lineman Calvin Fance sparked the Ram defense as he picked up five solo sacks in the victory. Fance, who had a game-high eight stops for ASU (seven solo), now has an NCAA Division II-best 13.0 sacks on the season, the second-highest single-season total in ASU history. Senior linebacker Pete Parker added six tackles and senior linebacker Edward Cantrell had five stops. Sophomore safety Jake Eannarelli collected his first interception of the season and junior defensive lineman Cody Smith recovered a fumble.

The Rams, the second-best run defense in the LSC entering the contest, held SOSU to just 34 yards on the ground, limiting the Savage Storm to just 1.3 yards per rush attempt. ASU would tie a season-high with seven sacks of Pitrucha. The Rams now have 35 sacks through eight games, leading NCAA D-II, and are just eight shy of the school record with three games left in the regular season. ASU had 43 sacks in a season twice in the program's history.

For the third time this season, the Ram offensive line did not allow a sack. ASU also leads the LSC in sacks allowed, giving up just eight sacks so far this season.

Benson would led the Rams on the ground with 39 yards on 15 carries and a pair of scores while Pete added eight carries for 25 yards and a score. ASU would rush for just 72 yards against the Savage Storm, which boasted the third-best run defense in the LSC entering the game, behind Abilene Christian and the Rams.

Pitrucha would end the contest with 347 yards on 24-of-42 passing with four touchdowns and one interception for SOSU. The Savage Storm also boasted a pair of 100-yard receives in Ty Hull (6-112) and Daniel Nichols (7-100). Baylen Laury led SOSU on the ground with nine carries for 26 yards.

ASU returns to action Saturday, Oct. 24, when the Rams visit West Texas A&M in their return to LSC South play. WTAMU is coming off a 32-21 upset of No. 1-ranked Abilene Christian this afternoon. Game time next Saturday is 6 p.m. at Kimbrough Stadium in Canyon.