The Angelo State football team (6-3, 5-2 LSC, 2-2 LSC South) had a setback Saturday night as the Rams fell, 43-15, at West Texas A&M in Canyon. WTAMU improved to 4-5 overall, 4-3 in LSC play and 3-2 in LSC South play.
The Rams had two season records go down but their hopes for a conference title and a NCAA Division II postseason appearance got slim after dropping their second game in three weeks.
The Buffs struck first midway through the first quarter as wide out Josephius Martin took a pitch from quarterback Taylor Harris and tossed it 30 yards to Stephen Burton to lift the home team to an early 7-0 lead. But, the Rams answered on their next drive as Josh Neiswander connected with V'Keon Lacey with a seven-yard touchdown strike with 1:21 left in the opening stanza.
WTAMU would open the second quarter with a four-yard touchdown run by Keithon Flemming giving the Buffs a 14-7 lead with 14:55 remaining the first half. The Buffs would add a pair of field goals by James Chandler (40, 46) to take a 20-7 lead into the locker room.
The Buffs would continue their momentum into the second half as they took the opening drive 80 yards and increased their lead to 27-7 after a three-yard pass from Harris to Joe Joe Jones with 12:13 left in the third frame. Chandler would then add his third field goal of the game, a 41-yarder, with 7:25 left in the third quarter.
Angelo State would stop a stretch of 23-straight Buff points with 14:09 left in the fourth quarter as Neiswander found fullback John Norcott on a 16-yard screen pass on a fourth-and-one play. Neiswander would then connect with Lacey on a fade for the two-point conversion, trimming the WTAMU lead to 30-15. It took the Buffs little time to respond, however, as Harris would find Tyson Williams streaking down the middle of the field on WT's second play on its next drive for a 79-yard touchdown to lift the home team back to a 37-15 advantage with 13:22 remaining. The Buffs would add a 16-yard touchdown run by Flemming with 5:41 left in the contest to complete the scoring.
Neiswander ended the night with 241 yards on 22-of-36 passing with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Junior Dwight Pete rushed for 55 yards on 12 carries and added three catches for a team-best 78 receiving yards. Lacey had six catches for 32 yards and freshman Dakarai Pecikonis had five catches for 56 yards.
Neiswander and Lacey would each set a school record in the losing effort. Now with 190 completions, Neiswander broke ASU's single-season record set by Ned Cox (180, 1986). Lacey now has 58 catches this season, breaking ASU's single-season mark set by Don Burrell, who had 56 receptions back in 1968.
Senior linebacker Pete Parker and junior linebacker Brandon Mayse each had a team-best eight tackles for Rams. ASU sacked Harris three times in the loss, giving the 41 sacks on the season, two shy of the ASU single-season record. Senior defensive end Dustin Arthur had two solo sacks and senior defensive end Calvin Fance added a solo sack. Fance now has an NCAA D-II-leading 14.0 sacks on the season, one shy of the ASU single-season record. Fance would also add a blocked field goal.
Harris would end the game with 414 yards for the Buffs, completing 30-of-39 passes with two touchdowns. WTAMU boasted a pair of 100-yard receivers in the win as Williams had seven catches for 171 yards and Burton had eight catches for 164 yards. Flemming would lead the Buffs on the ground with 15 carries for 96 yards with two scores. Tae Evans had a game-high nine tackles for the Buffs.
The Rams return home next weekend for their final home game of the season as they host Tarleton State for Senior Day. Kickoff is 6 p.m. at San Angelo Stadium. The game will also serve as Military Appreciation Day for ASU as all military personnel - active, retired and reservists - and their families will receive free admission. The United States Air Force Honor Guard Drill Team will be on hand to perform at halftime as well.
