Despite 16 penalties and five turnovers, the Angelo State football team (3-1) was able to pull off a 29-9 win at East Central Saturday night in Ada, Okla.
The Rams gave up 173 yards on penalties in a night where they amassed 419 yards of offense. ASU limited host East Central (0-4) to just 172 yards of offense, including just 56 yards on the ground. Angelo State had four fumbles and an interception against Tiger team that had not forced a turnover in its three previous games.
Angelo State got on the score board early as junior Dwight Pete scored on a six-yard run up the middle to cap its first drive of the night, giving the Rams a quick 7-0 lead with 11:24 left in the first quarter. The Tigers would add a safety before the end of the first quarter as ASU quarterback Josh Neiswander was called for intentional grounding in the end zone with less than two minutes left in the first stanza.
The Rams took little time to extend its lead as Neiswander connected with freshman Dakarai Pecikonis on a 30-yard touchdown strike with 13:36 left in the second quarter. ASU would take a 15-2 lead after Neiswander found Pete for a two-point conversion.
ASU would not score again until the next quarter when Neiswander found junior John Norcott for a 12-yard score with 10:38 left in the third frame, putting the Rams up 22-2. ECU would answer, however, on its ensuing drive when Josh Phillips found Alvin Barnett for a 11-yard touchdown, trimming the Angelo State lead to 22-9 with 9:04 left in the third.
The Rams would seal the game with 6:00 left in the game as sophomore Michael Simpers scored his first career touchdown. Simpers would scamper 45 yards to break the back of the Tigers to complete the scoring.
Neiswander became the first ASU quarterback to record five straight 200-yard passing games as he finished the win with 258 yards on 21-of-29 passing with two touchdowns and an interception. It was his eighth-career 200-yard peformance. Neiswander hit eight different receivers with his favorite target once again junior V'Keon Lacey. Lacey led the Rams receivers with 10 catches for 129 yards. Pecikonis had five catches for 72 yards.
Simpers led the Rams on the ground with 14 carries for 91 yards, both carries highs. His 45-yard touchdown run was also a career-long for Simpers. Pete would add 11 carries for 50 yards as ASU ended the night with 161 rushing yards, eight yards shy of its season-high of 169 yards set last week against Southwestern Oklahoma.
Senior linebacker D'Angelo Waites led ASU with 12 tackles, seven solo, with 2.0 tackles for a loss, including 1.5 sacks. After Waites, the Rams spread the wealth on defense as five different ASU players had five tackles each. Junior defensive lineman Cody Smith, senior defensive lineman Calvin Fance, junior linebacker Stephen Duhon and sophomore linebacker D.J. Clough each had five tackles. Sophomore cornerback Markeith Jones collected his team-best third interception of the season while freshman defensive back Stetson Edwards picked up his first career pick.
Phillips ended the night with 116 yards on 12-of-28 passing with one touchdown and two interceptions. The Rams sacked Phillips four times, giving ASU 14 sacks through four games. Collin Avery led the Tigers with 15 carries for 51 yards while Barnett led ECU with six catches for 60 yards.
The Rams will open Lone Star Conference South Division play Saturday, Sept. 26, when they host Midwestern State. Game time is 6 p.m. at San Angelo Stadium.
