The Angelo State football team was a handed a 21-14 loss Saturday night as the Rams fell to No. 7-ranked Tarleton State at San Angelo Stadium.
Junior quarterback Josh Neiswander would set one school record and tie another, but the Rams' chance of their first Lone Star Conference title in over two decades faded as ASU dropped its third-straight LSC South Division game.
Neiswander tossed for 233 yards, completing 25-of-38 passes, with one touchdown pass in ASU's eighth-consecutive loss to the Texans. The Winnsboro native set ASU's single-season passing yardage record, now with 2,718 yards, and equaled the school's record of touchdown passes, now with 22 on the season. The old ASU mark for passing yards with 2,615 yards by Trey Weishuhn in 2005. Neiswander match's Ned Cox's 1986 mark for touchdown passes. Neiswander also moved into fourth place on ASU's all-time passing list, now with 5,014 career yards, passing both Lynn Leonard (4,883, 1973-76) and Weishuhn (4,974, 2003-06).
The Rams would open the scoring on the opening drive of the game as junior Garrett Tidwell connected on a five-yard pass to junior V'Keon Lacey to cap a 16-play, 72-yard drive that spanned 8:06 for ASU. The half-back pass gave the Rams an early 7-0 lead with 6:54 left in the first quarter. TSU would not answer until late in the second quarter as Scott Grantham found Devin Guinn for a 33-yard score with 1:50 left in the half.
Tarleton State would score on back-to-back drives in the second half to take a 14-point lead early in the fourth quarter. The Texans would take their first lead of the game with 2:50 left in the third quarter as tailback Roderick Smith scored from two yards out. TSU would then score on three-yard pass from Grantham to Guinn to lift the Texans to a 21-7 cushion with 11:57 left in the contest.
The Texans' attempt at a third-straight scoring drive was quieted as junior Markeith Jones picked off Grantham at the ASU seven-yard line. The Rams would march down the field and trim the lead back to one score as Neiswander connected with Lacey on a 17-yard strike down the middle of the field.
ASU then performed its first successful onside kick attempt of the season as sophomore Lance Tissue recovered the high kick by junior Ryan Smith. The Rams would use a fourth-quarter conversion on a Neiswander run, but would turn over the ball on a fumble with 3:04 left allowing TSU to run out the clock.
Sophomore tight end Bradan Ritchey led the Rams with eight catches for 58 yards while Lacey had five grabs for 45 yards and two scores. Tidwell added four catches for 72 yards. Junior tailback Dwight Pete had 38 yards on 11 carries for ASU while Neiswander ended the game with a season-best 36 yards on seven carries.
Sophomore safety Jake Eannarelli had a team-best nine tackles (four solo) for ASU while senior linebacker Pete Parker added seven stops. Jones collected his team-leading fourth interception of the season. For just the second time this season, the ASU defense did not earn a sack.
Tarleton State (9-1, 7-1 LSC, 4-1 LSC South) would lock up at least a share of its first LSC title since 2001 with the victory. Grantham completed 13-of-24 passes for 206 yards and a pair of scores. Guinn ended the night with eight catches for 129 yards and a pair of TD grabs while Smith had a game-high 104 rushing yards on 15 carries and a score for TSU.
The Rams closed out the home portion of their schedule Saturday night will hit the road next week for the final game of the regular season. ASU will visit Texas A&M-Kingsville next Saturday. Kickoff is 7 p.m. at Javelina Stadium in Kingsville.
