Angelo State (3-5, 3-5 LSC) at Southeastern Oklahoma (3-6, 3-5 LSC)
Date	Saturday, Nov. 6
Location	Paul Laird Field  Durant, Okla.
Kickoff	2 p.m.
Game Notes	Week 9 Notes
Radio	KIXY 94.7 FM  Jeremy Bryant // Play-by-Play  Randy Ward // Analyst
Live Stats	GoSoutheastern.com

The Game
Angelo State's football team will look to right the ship after a tumultous run through the Lone Star Conference South Division that saw the Rams post a 1-5 divisional mark, including four losses to team's ranked among the top-15 in the country. ASU will match-up with Southeastern Oklahoma State Saturday at 2 p.m. in a LSC Crossover contest at Paul Laird Field in Durant, Okla. The Rams are 3-5 overall and 3-5 in LSC play, but have posted a 2-0 mark against team's from the LSC North Division. Southeastern is 3-6 overall and will be playing its final home game of the season.

The Series
Angelo State and Southeastern Oklahoma will meet for the seventh time in history with the Savage Storm holding a 4-2 advantage. The Rams took last last season's meeting, a 42-30 shootout in Durant. In that game, Angelo State quarterback Josh Neiswander threw for 342 yards and three touchdowns. V'Keon Lacey led the Rams with 10 catches and Dakarai Pecikonis torched the SOSU defense for 156 yards. Southeastern won the first three meetings between the schools from 2002-2004, but the Rams have won two of the last three.

The Coaches
Angelo State: Dale Carr (Colorado State, '76) took over the ASU program in 2005 and has guided the Rams to a 26-36 overall mark, including a NCAA Division II postseason appearance in his first season. Carr was previously head coach at Tyler Junior College.

Southeastern Oklahoma: Ray Richards (Northern Michigan, 1981) took over the the Southeastern Oklahoma football program prior to the 2005 season and has compiled a 31-21 record at SOSU with an overall career record of 45-51. Richards has also served as head coach at Southwest Baptist University.

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.

Player to Watch // Garrett Tidwell
Garrett Tidwell has established himself as the most prolific kick returner is ASU history, already holding the mark for kick returns in a season, kick returns in a game, kick return yardage in a game, and return yardage in a season. He is now the all time leader in return yardage with 1,886 yards during his career. The senior from Boyd, Texas, has returned two punts for touchdowns this season and is among the nation's leaders in punt and kick returns.

This Week's Opponent
Southeastern Oklahoma State University is located in Durant, Okla., and has an enrollment of 4,000. The Savage Storm compete as members of the LSC North Division and went 7-4 overall last season. SOSU finished second in the North Division at 4-1 last year, and are tied for third at 3-5 this year. The Savage Storm returned 35 letterwinners and 12 starters from last season, including eight All-Lone Star Conference returners. Defensive end Alex Moore was a first team selection last season. Baylen Laury, a second-team selection in 2009, sits one yard shy of reaching 1,000 yards in 2010.

Ties with Southeastern Oklahoma
• Angelo State's Markeith Jones, Stetson Edwards, and Devin McDonald hail from Dallas, Texas, along with Southeastern Oklahoma's Xavier Smith and Brandon Ford.
• Dakota Abernathy (ASU) and Derek Ogg (SOSU) are from Weatherford, Texas.
• ASU running back Samir Baker and linebacker Tyler Crouch are from Euless, Texas, in the DFW Metroplex, as is the Savage Storm's Brandon DeFrance.
• Angelo State back-up quarterback Blake Hamblin and SOSU's Alex Moore are from Rowlett, Texas.
• Angelo State head softball coach Travis Scott spent three seasons at Southeastern Oklahoma before taking over for the Rambelles. Scott won three LSC North Division titles at SOSU.
• Southeastern Oklahoma State director of sports information previously worked as an assistant in the sports information office at Angelo State.

Mayse Making Stops
Brandon Mayse registered nine tackles, including seven solo stops, against No. 3 Abilene Christian. The senior outside linebacker also tallied one tackle for loss and a quarterback hurry. Mayse, a Fort Hood, Texas native, leads the Rams with 55 total tackles this season.

Shamblen Name Special Teams Player of the Week
George Shamblen has helped Angelo State stay competitive in the field position battle in every game this season and continued that trend Saturday against No. 3 Abilene Christian. Shamblen, who is among the nation's leaders in punting, booted seven kicks an average of 50.9 yards and placed two inside the 20. Shamblen launched a career-best 72 yard punt in the third quarter of Saturday's contest to surpass his previous 66-yard high against Texas A&M-Commerce earlier this season. Even punting into the wind Saturday, Shamblen notched a 45-yard kick that went for a net of 44 prior to a facemask penalty.

Akins Emerging
Angelo State sophomore wide out CJ Akins caught seven passes for 129 yards against Abilene Christian, the second time the Harker Heights, Texas native has surpassed the century mark in the past three games. Akins found the end zone on a 12-yard pass from Josh Neiswander in the fourth quarter and made several nifty catches during the game.

There's a Catch
There were plenty of catches to go around as Neiswander completed a school-record 33 passes Saturday. The Rams had double-digit receivers for the third consecutive game as 10 different players caught passes. Akins and Dakarai Pecikonis led the ASU air attack with seven catches each and V'Keon Lacey finished with six grabs.

Blocked
Abilene Christian blocked a Jacob Decker field goal try in the third quarter nearly seven minutes after blocking a point after try. Three Ram kickers have combined to go 4-for-11 on field goal tries and have had four kicks blocked.

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back
Angelo State was held to minus-23 yards rushing, the fewest yards rushing by an ASU team since Sept. 14, 2002, a minus-45 effort in a 38-0 season-opening loss to Tarleton State.

Three Rams Named Academic All-District
A trio of Angelo State football players were selected to the 2010 ESPN Academic All-District Team as announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA), bringing ASU's total number of athletes honored in the program to six for the fall season.

Angelo State tight end Nate Bayless and center Ryan Merryman were named to the District VI First Team while sophomore defensive back Alvin Johnson was named to the Second Team. Bayless, a first year graduate student in Angelo State's MBA program, posted a 3.43 GPA while earning his undergraduate degree in finance-real estate.

Merryman, a math major and accounting minor, boasts the highest GPA on the football team with a 3.73. Johnson, a finance-real estate major with a 3.58 GPA, is tied for the team lead with four interceptions.

A total of seven Angelo State football players qualified and were nominated for recognition, including DJ Clough, Stephen Boyles, Zack McCormick and Josh Neiswander. With their selection to the first team, Bayless and Merryman will be considered for ESPN Academic All-America honors.

Tidwell Strikes Again
The third time proved to be the charm for Angelo State kick returner Garrett Tidwell, who was held to one yard on two punt returns before busting loose for a 73-yard punt return for a touchdown late in the third quarter against Incarnate Word. The return was the longest of Tidwell's career, surpassing a 55-yard return earlier this season against then-No. 9 West Texas A&M. Tidwell is averaging a blistering 26.3 yards per punt return, one of the top marks in the country, and leads the Lone Star Conference with 28.1 yards per kick return.

Piling up the Points
With a 61 point outburst in Saturday's win over Incarnate Word (10/23) the Rams tallied the second-most points in a single game in school history. The 61-17 final, which gave Angelo State its first LSC South win, is second only to 69 points scored against Fort Lewis (Colo.) in 1993.

Picked Off
Angelo State's defense saw its streak of consecutive games with an interception end against No. 3 Abilene Christian. The Rams notched 14 interceptions in the first seven games of the season and had the best per-game mark in the conference. Senior corner Markeith Jones is tied with safety Alvin Johnson for the team lead at four interceptions. Jones has nine career interceptions, one short of tying Jonathan Palafox (2002-03) at No. 10 on ASU's career list. Junior corner Terrance Preston has three picks.

Protecting the Quarterback
ASU's offensive line has surrendered just six sacks this seasonand are fifth in the country in sacks allowed per game.

Aerial Assault
Blake Hamblin's first career pass was a memorable one as he hit Joey Knight for an 86-yard gain in the fourth quarter against Incarnate Word (10/23). Hamblin's only throw of the game was also Knight's first career catch, and is the longest play from scrimmage this season for the Rams. In fact, the pass is tied for fourth-longest in ASU history. That yardage, combined with Josh Neiswander's 385 yards, the second-highest of his career and fifth-best effort ever by a Ram quarterback, put ASU four yards short of tying the school mark for passing yards. The duo combined for 471 yards, just short of the 475 yards ASU accumulated against Texas A&M-Kingsville in 1986. ASU's third quarterback, Michael Cochran, saw his first game action since 2008 when he filled in for the injured Neiswander, but did not attempt a pass.

The Not-So-New-Guy
Excelle Osborne caught two passes for nine yards in his first action of the 2010 season against No. 15 Midwestern State and caught his first touchdown pass of the season against Incarnate Word Saturday. The sophomore from Houston gives ASU another option at wide receiver in the second half of the season. Osborne caught 13 passes for 200 yards and a score as a freshman in 2009. A combination of early season injuries and a response to reconsideration of his initial eligibility certification has limited his time on the field.

Not Bad for a First Timer
CJ Akins made the most of his first career start with six catches for 146 yards against Midwestern State, both career highs. Akins also pulled in the longest catch of his career, a quick grab behind a defender he took 67 yards down the field. Akins also carried the ball once for 12 yards. His receiving yardage was the second-most by an Angelo State receiver this season.

Greatest Show on Turf?
The Rams are scoring 32.0 points per game, the most for an Angelo State team since the 1997 team averaged 34.1 per contest. The Rams have scored 30 or more in four different games this season, with their lowest point total at 20 in last week's loss to No. 3 Abilene Christian.

SHAM-wow!
Angelo State punter George Shamblen produced some booming, As-Seen-On-TV punts this season, including a career-best 72 yarder against (3)Abilene Christian. Thanks to Shamblen, the Rams have been successful at giving opponents unfavorable field position and the team leads the nation in net punting at 40.89 yards per punt. ASU's punt coverage has been great in recent history as the Rams have not allowed a punt return for a touchdown since 2004.

Neiswander Notes
• Josh Neiswander broke his own ASU single-game completions mark by completing 33-of-48 passes in Saturday's loss to No. 3 Abilene Christian. In doing so, the senior from Winnsboro, Texas, also surpassed Ned Cox for Angelo State's career completions mark and has a school-record 620 career completions with two games left.

• Neiswander threw for 327 yards, his third consecutive game with 300 or more through the air, and moved within 377 yards of reaching Cox for ASU's career yardage mark. Neiswander threw two touchdown passes and no interceptions, his second consecutive game without a pick. In his last three contests, which includes games against two top-15 opponents, Neiswander is a combined 83-for-127 (65 percent) with 1,045 yards, eight touchdown passes and just one interception.

• With two more touchdowns against ACU, Neiswander reached 52 touchdown throws for his career. Neiswander is chasing Cox in this category as well, needing four to tie for the all-time mark.

• Neiswander is second on ASU's career passing list with 7,466 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

Player	Career Passing Yards
1. Ned Cox (1983-86)	7,833
2. Josh Neiswander (2006-present)	7,466
3. Erik Hartman (1994-97)	6,006
4. Mickey Russell (1986-89)	5,081
5. Trey Weishuhn (2003-06)	4,974

• It takes more than a couple good games to move into second all-time on a school's passing charts and Neiswander has 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. In all, Neiswander has eight of the top 20 single-game passing efforts in ASU history.

Yards	Year	Passer vs. Opponent
475	1986	Ned Cox vs. Texas A&M-Kingsville
425	1989	Mickey Russell vs. Eastern New Mexico
403	2009	Josh Neiswander vs. Eastern New Mexico
396	2005	Trey Weishuhn vs. West Texas A&M
385	2010	Josh Neiswander vs. Incarnate Word
383	1996	Erik Hartman vs. Tarleton State
359	1989	Mickey Russell vs. Lamar
354	1985	Ned Cox vs. Texas A&M-Kingsville
349	2010	Josh Neiswander vs. Eastern New Mexico
341	2009	Josh Neiswander vs. Southeastern Okla
338	2004	Trey Weishuhn vs. Texas A&M-Kingsville
335	1992	Wilbur Odom vs. Central Oklahoma
335	1997	Erik Hartman vs. Northeastern State
333	2010	Josh Neiswander vs. Midwestern State

• 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).

Oldies But Goodies
These notes may be day-old, but they're still delicious:
• With four consecutive losses earlier, Angelo State surpassed its longest losing streak from 2009, and the villains were mostly 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. ASU snapped the streak with a 61-17 win over Incarnate Word.

• 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. 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.

• 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.

• Dekarai Pecikonis logged a career-best 257 all-purpose yards against No. 10 Texas A&M-Kingsville (Oct. 9). 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.

• Garrett Tidwell has provided some exciting plays this season. 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• Dekarai Pecikonis has earned two Lone Star Conference Player of the Week awards this season. Pecikonis only got his hands on the ball three times on offense during the Rams' 31-10 win over Texas A&M-Commerce in the Harvey Martin Classic, but he turned those three catches into 111 yards and a critical score. For his efforts, he was tabbed the LSC South Division Offensive Player of the Week (Sept. 13). He was named the LSC South 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 (Oct. 11).

• 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) during the first week of the season. 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.

• Austin Benson has a new role this season and is making the transition look easy. The Del Rio High School product rushed for 156 yards and five touchdowns for the Rams last season, but moved to the other side of the ball as a linebacker and is among the team's leading tacklers. Benson notched his first career interception against Eastern New Mexico.

• Nate Bayless, a redshirt junior tight end, missed the 2009 season while battling non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, but he's back to 100 percent and contributing as a starter for the Rams. Bayless has 18 catches for 183 yards and three touchdowns. He caught a career-best four passes in the game against then-No. 15 Midwestern State, a homecoming of sorts for the Burkburnett native.

• Angelo State's corner backs have benefitted from a man that once intercepted Brett Favre, defensive backs graduate assistant coach Kevin Thomas. 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 Favre. A knee injury ended Thomas' playing career.

• It takes more than a couple good games to move into third all-time on a school's passing charts and 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 349 against the Greyhounds to open the 2010 season (Sept. 9) and threw for 385 in last weekend's contest with Incarnate Word. In all, Neiswander has seven of the top 20 single-game passing efforts in ASU history.