The Game
The Angelo State Rams have shown they can keep pace with a pair of the top teams in the Lone Star Conference, who also happen to be a pair of the top teams in the country, but haven't been able to post a win in LSC South Division play. As the season passes its midpoint, ASU will get another shot at a premiere opponent, and a chance at notching an LSC South win as the Rams travel to Wichita Falls for a divisional showdown with No. 17 Midwestern State at Memorial Stadium Saturday. The contest will kickoff at 8 p.m.

The Series
Midwestern State leads the all-time series, 7-5. The Rams upset the then-No. 17 Mustangs at San Angelo Stadium last season, 20-17, on a last second field goal from Ryan Smith. The field goal snapped a three-game skid by the Rams to the Mustangs. The two teams first met in 1946, a win by MSU when both schools were junior colleges. The series was revived in 1997, the first of three consecutive wins by Angelo State before Midwestern State surged ahead with wins in 2002, '03 and '04. Dale Carr led ASU to a 30-29 win over Midwestern State in his first season at the helm, but dropped three in a row to Bill Maskill before last year's meeting.

The Coaches
Angelo State: Dale Carr (Colorado State, '76) took over the ASU program in 2005 and has guided the Rams to a 25-34 overall mark, including a NCAA Division II postseason appearance in his first season. Carr was previously head coach at Tyler Junior College.

Midwestern State: Bill Maskill (Southeast Oklahoma, '98) is in his 11th season as a head coach
and ninth campaign at Midwestern State. He has led the Mustangs to winning ledgers in each of his years at the helm of the program including the school's first Lone Star Conference championship in 2009. Under Maskill's guidance, MSU has advanced to the NCAA Division II postseason in each of the 2004, 2006 and 2009 seasons while amassing a 66-28 record (.702).

The Program
Angelo State won the NAIA National Championship in 1978 and has won three Lone Star Conference Championships (1978, 1984, 1987). The Rams have seen five NCAA DII playoff appearances and produced 55 All-Americans. Angelo State has sent 11 student-athletes on to successful NFL careers, including Pierce Holt, who earned two Super Bowl rings with the San Francisco 49ers in 1988-89, was a two-time Pro Bowl selection and was inducted into the NCAA Division II Football Hall of Fame in 2000. Legendary Baylor head coach Grant Teaff coached at ASU, and has been inducted into the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame with Holt and former Ram tackle Rodney Cason.

This Week's Opponent
Midwestern State is located in Wichita Falls, Texas, and has an enrollment of 6,400. The university was founded in 1922, and like Angelo State began as a two-year college. The Mustanges are members of the South Division of the Lone Star Conference and finished the 2009 campaign tied for first with a 7-2 mark in LSC contests and 4-2 mark in the South Division. Last year, the Mustangs advanced to the NCAA playoffs but fell to fellow LSC South member Abilene Christian in the opening round. Midwestern State has 5 All-LSC returners, including Zack Eskridge (QB), who was named the Offensive Back of the Year and to the All-LSC First Team. The Mustangs enter Saturday's contest 5-1, with their only loss coming to nationally ranked LSC foe ACU last weekend.Midwestern State is ranked No. 15 in the country.

Ties with Midwestern State
• Angelo State quarterback Aqura Brown and Tristan Carter are from the greater Atlanta, Ga., area along with Midwestern State's Trey Wolfe.
• V'Keon Lacey (ASU), Brandon Kelsey (MSU), Charles Perdue (MSU), and Keidrick Jackson (MSU) list Arlington, Texas, as their hometown.
• ASU back-up quarterback Blake Hamblin and Midwestern State quarterback Zack Eskridge are from Rowlett, Texas.
• Michael Cochran (ASU), Jarron Harris (ASU) and Dy'Rius Haywood (MSU) list Cedar Park, Texas, as their hometown.
• A total of eight players are from Austin, Texas - six from ASU and two from Midwestern State.
• Sixteen players hail from Houston - nine from Angelo State and seven from Midwestern State.
• Angelo State's Shiloh Hickman and Terre Camille attended Westfield High School, the same high school as Midwestern State's Roland Hannah.
• Alvin Johnson (ASU) and Neiko Conway (MSU) both attended Lamar High School.
Burleson, TX
• ASU's Derek McDonough, Jerrel Walters and Jonathan Family, and MSU's Demetrich Gilliam are from Spring, Texas.
• Ten players list Dallas as their hometown, three from Angelo State and seven from Midwestern St.
• San Antonio will also be well represented with a total of nine players in the contest, five from ASU and four from MSU.
• Tight ends Trey Anderson (ASU) and Andrew Stevenson (MWS) are from Marshall High School in San

Player to Watch // Tristan Carter
Carter leads the Rams' rushing attack with 376 yards and has gone over 100 yards in two of Angelo State's five games this season. In doing so, Carter became the first Ram player to rush for 100 yards since the 2008 season. The Tucker, Ga., native rushed for a career-best 129 yards two weeks ago against No. 9 West Texas A&M and broke a career-long 75-yard touchdown run, the Rams' second-longest play of the season.

All-Purpose Pecikonis
Angelo State wide receiver Dekarai Pecikonis logged a career-best 257 all-purpose yards against No. 10 Texas A&M-Kingsville. He caught six passes for 104 yards, carried the ball twice for eight yards, and returned four kickoffs for 145 yards, including a 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. The all-purpose yardage was the most by a Ram since Kyle Fox rumbled for 265 all-purpose yards in the 2005 playoffs against Northwest Missouri State.

Pecikonis Named LSC Special Teams Player of the Week
Angelo State wide receiver and kick return specialist Dekarai Pecikonis was named the Lone Star Conference South Division Special Teams Player of the Week after returning a kickoff 97 yards for a score in Angelo State's 28-21 loss to No. 10 Texas A&M-Kingsville at San Angelo Stadium Saturday. The award marks Pecikonis' second of the year after he also earned LSC South Offensive Player of the Week honors Sept. 13. Only one of Texas A&M-Kingsville's seven punts and five kickoffs were directed at Angelo State's leading return specialist Garrett Tidwell, but Pecikonis, the Rams' No. 2, found a way to make the Javelinas pay. Immediately after a 62-yard fumble return for a touchdown drained the momentum from ASU's sideline, Pecikonis re-invigorated his team and the Rams' fan base with a 97-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. The score also gave the Rams a 21-14 lead halfway through the third quarter against the No. 10 team in the country.

Taking it Away
Alvin Johnson nabbed his team-leading fourth interception of the season against the Javelinas. He's third in the league with 0.8 interceptions per contest. The sophomore from Houston, now has six career interceptions. His effort helped Angelo State keep its streak of interceptions for 2010 alive. The Rams picked off three passes in each of the first three contests, intercepted WT's Taylor Harris, and nabbed two in Saturday's game against Kingsville, including Johnson's interception.

A Bad Case of Déjà Vu
With three consecutive losses, Angelo State has equaled its longest losing streak from 2009, and the villains are the same. The 2009 Rams started 6-2 only to see losses to West Texas A&M, Tarleton State and Texas A&M-Kingsville dash the team's playoff hopes. This year's schedule featured the same order and results, only earlier in the season and with two different teams in the national rankings. If anything else holds over from last year, the Rams are hoping it will be an upset of nationally ranked Midwestern State, this weekend's opponent in Wichita Falls.

Tough Yardage
Angelo State had moderate success running the football against the nation's top rush defense with 61 yards in the first half against No. 10 Texas A&M-Kingsville Saturday. The first half total was more than any other team had accumulated against the Javelinas in an entire game. Angelo State was limited to 15 yards on seven carries in the second half and finished with 76 yards on the ground. Tristan Carter rushed for a team-high 46 yards and a touchdown in the loss.

Kicking Conundrum
Angelo State had another errant kick turned into points, in the loss to Texas A&M-Kingsville. A 38-yard attempt by Ryan Smith that could've broken a 21-21 tie late in the fourth quarter missed. The Javelinas marched 79 yards in six plays on the ensuing drive to score the game winning tally. Angelo State had two kicks blocked against Tarleton State during the previous week, and had an extra-point blocked and returned for a two-point conversion by the defense against West Texas A&M. The Rams have had three kickers attempt field goals this season and are a combined 2-for-6.

Return Specialists
Angelo State's other elements of special teams have shined this season with the Rams leading the Lone Star Conference in average kickoff return yardage (26.2) and average punt return yardage (21.8). Dekarai Pecikonis returned the Rams' first kickoff for a touchdown of the season against Texas A&M-Kingsville and Garrett Tidwell returned a punt for a touchdown against Tarleton State. George Shamblen has the league's best net punting average at 40.5 per punt.

Pass Rushed
Angelo State defensive tackle Devin McDonald registered a game-high 10 tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss, and was part of a Rams defensive effort that sacked Texas A&M-Kingsville quarterback Nate Poppell four times. Trailing 7-0 late in the first quarter, McDonald helped the Rams send a message that they weren't intimidated by the No. 10 team in the country with an assisted tackle for loss and a sack on a three play drive that went for negative eight yards. McDonald helped stall another drive in the fourth quarter by batting down a pass from Daniel Ramirez on third-and-four. The senior defensive tackle is fourth among Rams with 26 tackles and leads the team with 3.5 sacks.

SHAM-wow!
Angelo State punter George Shamblen produced some booming, As-Seen-On-TV punts this season, including a career-best 66 yarder against Texas A&M-Commerce. Thanks to Shamblen, the Rams have been successful at giving opponents unfavorable field position and the team leads the nation in net punting at 40.54 yards per punt.

Team Net Punting
1. Angelo State (40.54)
2. Brevard (39.61)
3. Carson-Newman (39.38)
4. Stillman (39.36)
5. Pittsburg State (38.91)

Special Delivery
With ASU trailing Tarleton State, 10-0, late in the first quarter Tidwell returned a kickoff 80 yards to set up a 10-yard touchdown run by Dekarai Pecikonis. Later in the first half, Tidwell dove over the pile on an extra-point try to give the Rams two points. The all-purpose player wasn't done scoring as he connected with Pecikonis on a 17-yard wide receiver reverse pass to give the Rams a 14 point lead late in the third. A week earlier, Angelo State was looking for a spark in the second half against No. 9 West Texas A&M and the Boyd, Texas native returned the opening kickoff of the second half 41 yards, then later in the third quarter scored on a 55-yard punt return for a touchdown off a reverse from Dekarai Pecikonis.

Two Grand
Angelo State wide receivers V'Keon Lacey and Dekarai Pecikonis both went over 1,000 career receiving yards in the Rams' win over Texas A&M-Commerce in the Harvey Martin Classic. The catches to put the pair over a grand were also memorable, as Pecikonis scored on an 83-yard strike and Lacey on a 33-yard pass from ASU QB Josh Neiswander.

Steady Climber
Angelo State quarterback Josh Neiswander surpassed 6,000 yards for his career with a 234-yard effort against Tarleton State and threw for 200 more against No. 10 Texas A&M-Kingsville. The senior from Winnsboro, Texas, is second on ASU's career passing list with 6,421 yards. Neiswander took a Sharpie to the Rams' single season record book last season, setting new highs for pass completions (242), pass attempts (388), passing yards (2,933), touchdowns (25) and completion percentage (62.4). He passed Erik Hartman (1994-97) for second all-time in yardage and has his eyes on the top spot held by Ned Cox (1983-86), who passed for 7,843 yards in his career

Josh's Handful
Angelo State quarterback Josh Neiswander threw five touchdown passes with no interceptions in the Rams' 41-38, season-opening win over Eastern New Mexico. It was the second time in Neiswander's career that he's thrown for five or more touchdowns. The senior signal caller notched a career-best six touchdowns against Southwestern Oklahoma in the third game of the 2009 season (Sept. 12). Neiswander's 349 yards through the air against Eastern New Mexico were also the second-most he's ever thrown for and he was one shy of tying his career high in completions with 28.

Getting Yards in Bunches
It takes more than a couple good games to move into third all-time on a school's passing charts and Josh Neiswander has had certainly had his share. Neiswander posted the third-highest single-game passing effort in school history at Eastern New Mexico (Oct. 3) last season, completing 29-of-47 attempts for 403 yards. Neiswander posted another top-10 performance with the second-best performance of his career (349) against the Greyhounds to open the 2010 season (Sept. 9). In all, Neiswander has five of the top 20 single-game passing efforts in ASU history.

Finding the End Zone
Angelo State wide out Dakarai Pecikonis found the end zone through the air and on the ground in the Rams' 37-34 loss to Tarleton State. The Allen, Texas native scored ASU's first touchdown on a 10-yard end around in the first quarter and later helped the Rams build a 14 point advantage by catching a 17-yard reverse pass from fellow wide out Garrett Tidwell. Pecikonis was one of three Rams with five catches, but led the team with 68 receiving yards and 124 yards of total offense.

Ground Attack
Tristan Carter ran for a career-best 129 yards and Angelo State rushed for 201 yards as a team in Angelo State's loss to No. 9 West Texas A&M. It marked the first time since Oct. 4, 2008, that the Rams rushed for over 200 yards. In that contest nearly two years ago, Angelo State carried the ball 51 times for 285 yards against Eastern New Mexico. ASU went the entire 2009 campaign without a 200-yard rushing effort. Carter has rushed for more than 100 yards in two of Angelo State's four games after the Rams were held without a 100-yard back for the entire 2009 season.

300-100-100
A trio of Rams combined to wrack-up a good portion of the team's yards in the Rams' 41-38 win over Eastern New Mexico (9/4). Quarterback Josh Neiswander threw for 349 yards, Dekarai Pecikonis had 161 yards receiving, and Tristan Carter rushed for 118 yards. The last time Angelo State had a player with more than 300 yards passing, a player with more than 100 yards, and another player with more than 100 yards rushing in the same game was nearly five years ago. On Oct. 22, 2005, Trey Weishun threw for 396 yards and six touchdowns, Justin Carter had five catches for 106 yards and three scores, and Kyle Fox went off for 281 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

Bayless is Back
Wide outs V'Keon Lacey and Dekarai Pecikones were on the receiving end of a significant portion of Angelo State's passing attempts last season and didn't mind the action, but quarterback Josh Neiswander will have another reliable target this fall with the return of 6-foot-5 tight end Nate Bayless. The redshirt junior missed the 2009 season while battling non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, but Bayless has looked like his old self with a touchdown in two of the first five games and 10 catches for . A native of Burkburnett, Texas, Bayless played in eight games and caught 10 passes during the 2008 season and two of those catches were for scores.

If the Shoe Fits...
Instead of gaining yards, Austin Benson is looking to take them away. The Del Rio High School product rushed for 156 yards and five touchdowns for the Rams last season helping them to a 6-5 overall mark, but made the switch to linebacker and has looked pretty comfortable in his new role. Benson is third on the team with 30 tackles and notched his first career interception against Eastern New Mexico.

Turning the Corners
ASU defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach Matt Fryar added a little instant credibility with the addition of Kevin Thomas to his unit's staff as defensive backs coach. Thomas, a former standout at UNLV, was drafted in the sixth round of the 2002 NFL Draft and played three seasons for the Buffalo Bills. Thomas tallied 83 tackles, 10 pass break-ups, a forced fumble in 38 career NFL games, and notched his only regular-season career interception against Brett Favre. A knee injury ended Thomas' playing career.