BOX SCORE

San Angelo, Texas – Down 13-0 at half, the Angelo State Rams (4-4, 3-2) rallied to defeat the Texas A&M-Commerce Lions (1-6, 1-4) 17-16 in a Lone Star Conference game.
Jarred Martin's 27-yard field goal with 6:55 left in the game proved to be the winning margin for the Rams.

Angelo State senior running back Donavan Roberts registered his first 100-yard rushing game of his ASU career and the Rams' first 100-yard rushing game of the season with 104 yards on 14 carries. 

Ram quarterback Blake Hamblin completed 16 of 36 passes for 122 yards a score and no interceptions and Dakarai Pecikonis had a touchdown catch and two key punt returns that sparked scoring drives.

Neither team accumulated more than 300 yards of total offense with the Rams compiling 291 yards and the Lion 240.

The Angelo State defense held Texas A&M-Commerce to just 11 yards in the second half and no yards in the fourth quarter while the Ram offense did not turn the ball over the entire game.

Ram linebackers Austin Sparks and Rush Seaver combined for 15 total tackles, five tackles for loss including two sacks.

Texas A&M-Commerce quarterback Kevin Vye had a team-high 47 yards rushing on 9 carries and completed 12 of 27 passes for 143 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

After ASU grabbed a 14-13 lead heading into the fourth quarter, Texas A&M-Commerce recaptured the lead on a 31-yard field goal by Chase Thrasher with 12:45 left in the game.

The Rams immediately responded for the game winning score by driving 67 yards on 14 plays which culminated in Martin's game winning field goal.

ASU relied on an effective running game on the crucial drive.

Roberts had gains of 16, 15 and 9 yards and Hamblin completed a critical 11-yard pass to Joey Knight on third and 9 from the Lion 46-yard line as ASU drove to the Lion 3 yard line.

The Rams couldn't get into the end zone, but Martin split the uprights for his 5^th field goal of the season.

The Angelo State defense responded again, forcing the Lion to punt from their own 23-yard line with 5:51 remaining in the game.

The Rams then went back to the running attack and ran out the clock at the Lion 15-yard line.

ASU had just 106 yards of total offense in the first half, but nearly eclipsed that on its first two drives of the second half, resulting in two touchdowns and a 14-13 third quarter lead.

The Ram defense stopped the Lions on three plays on their first drive and the special teams and the offense responded.

Pecikonis gave the Rams great field position by returning the Lion punt 19 yards to the ASU 49-yard line.

The offense took over from there as the Rams took 7 plays to drive 51 yards with Pecikonis making a spectacular catch in the far corner of the end zone for a touchdown.
Hamblin accounted for 47 yard of the 51 yards on the drive, 9 rushing and 38 passing including a 35 yard completion to tight end Antwon Williams to give the Rams first and goal at the Lion 3 yard line.

After another three and out by the Ram defense, ASU put together its second consecutive scoring drive, the one a 45-yard, 9-play drive that was again sparked by a Pecikonis punt return.

After stopping the Lion drive at their own 15-yard line, Pecikonis fielded a booming, 52-yard punt at the ASU 33-yard line and returned it 22 yards to the Lion 45-yard line.

The Rams relied on an effective running game on their second touchdown drive.

ASU accounted for 28 yards on the ground including a 5-yard run by Hamblin on fourth and one from the Lion 36-yard line.  The drive was also aided by a Lion personal foul penalty.

Jermie Calhoun capped the drive with a 3-yard scoring run to give ASU a 14-13 lead with 3:35 left in the third quarter.

The Rams defense dominated the Lions in the third quarter, holding the Lions to just 11 total yards and no first downs.

The Lions had a 13-0 lead at the half thanks to consecutive scoring drives while limiting the Rams to just seven first downs and 106 yards of total offense.

Texas A&M Commerce scored their first touchdown late in the first quarter thanks to an impressive 13 play, 91 yard drive that took nearly seven minutes off the clock.

The Lions mixed the run and pass effectively, rushing eight times for 35 yards and completing four out of five passes for 56 yards including a 5-yard scoring pass from Vye to Tevin Godfrey.  The extra point kick was missed, but A&M Commerce had a 6-0 lead.

The key plays in the drive included a 32-yard pass completion from Vye to Godfrey on third and 12 from the Lion 30-yard line.  Marcus French jumped started the drive by getting the Lions out of the shadow of their own end zone with consecutive runs of 13 and 10 yards after A&M-Commerce started the drive on its own 9-yard line.

The Lion offense kept the ASU offense off the field for most of the first quarter, possessing the ball for just over 10 minutes while the Rams had the ball for just under five minutes.

As a result the Lions outgained the Rams 119-15 in the first quarter.

After stopping the Ram offense on three consecutive plays following their initial score, the Lions responded with an 8-play, 72 yard drive that culminated in a 5-yard scoring run by Vye on third and goal just under four minutes into the second quarter.

It was the second key third down conversion of the drive.  Vye completed a 16-yard pass to Wayne Chapman on third and nine from the Lion 29-yard line.
ASU had two drives into A&M-Commerce territory, but came up empty each time.

After the Lions' second score, the Rams responded by driving 55 yards in 9 plays, but Jarred Martin's 37-yard field goal attempt into a swirling wind hit the goalpost and bounced away.

The Rams had first and 10 at the Lion 35-yard line on their final drive of the half, but four consecutive incomplete passes ended the drive.

The Lions held a 229-106 advantage in total yards in the first half with 104 yards on the ground and 125 yards passing.