BOX SCORE

STEPHENVILLE – Angelo State quarterback Kyle Washington threw for 245 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another score in his first collegiate start, but Tarleton State (6-4, 5-3) defeated the Rams (5-6, 4-4) 54-37 in the season finale at Tarleton Memorial Stadium.

The two teams combined for 91 points and 964 yards of total offense in brisk conditions.

Tarleton State rolled-up 580 yards of offense with quarterback Jake Fenske completing 23 of 39 passes for 434 yards and three touchdowns.  Wide receiver Jeken Frye caught 7 passes for 180 yards and a score and running back Zach Henshaw had 98 yards on 20 carries and a touchdown.

Ram receiver Excelle Osborne had 8 receptions for 90 yards and two scores, Joey Knight had 8 catches for 84 yards and a touchdown and running back Donavan Roberts ran for 79 yards on 13 carries and a touchdown.

ASU finished with 384 yards of total offense and a season-high 27 first downs.

Down 20-9 at the half, the Rams dug themselves into a deeper hole when Fenske connected with Frye on a 53-yard touchdown pass to give the Texans a 27-9 lead just under a minute and a half into the second half.

Roberts then got the Rams back into the game by ripping off a 41-yard scoring run, the longest run from scrimmage for Angelo State on the season to cut the lead to 27-16.

Another short punt gave the Texans first down at the Ram 36-yard line, but the ASU defense held and Blake Barnes added his third field goal of the game, this one from 41 yards to increase the Tarleton State lead to 30-16.

ASU was on the doorstep of cutting the Texan lead to a touchdown late in the third quarter, but Washington fumbled the snap on first and goal from the Tarleton State 3-yard line and Texan safety Charles Moore recovered at the Texan 4-yard line.

But the Texans returned the favor, fumbling the snap on a punt give ASU a first and goal at the Tarleton State 5-yard line.

Washington scored on a 2-yard run to cut the lead to 30-23.

Barnes' fourth field goal of the game, a career-long 47-yard effort with the wind at his back, gave the Texans a 33-23 lead entering the fourth quarter.

ASU took a big gamble on the second play of the fourth quarter and it backfired.

ASU attempted a fake punt on fourth and two from its own 33-yard line, but Ram punter Joseph Pickett was stopped for a one-yard loss.

Two plays later Vaughn Smith ran 16 yards for a touchdown to give the Texans a 40-23 lead.

ASU drove to the Texan 19-yard line on its next possession, but Jarred Martin missed a 40-yard field goal attempt.

The Texans responded by putting the game away with an 8-play, 76-yard touchdown drive with Aaron Doyle 3-yard scoring run to make it 47-23.

Washington marched the Rams down the field 56 yards for a score to cut the lead to 47-31.

He accounted for all 56 yards of total offense, running for 14 yards and completing 4 of 6 pass attempts for 42 yards including a 4-yard scoring pass to Osborne.  Washington then connected with Osborne on the two-point conversion.

Tarleton State immediately responded with a two-play, 46-yard touchdown drive as Fenske connected with Arthur Buckingham for a 35-yard score to give the Texans a 54-31 advantage.

The final score of the game came as Washington led the Rams down the field again, connecting with Knight on a 5-yard scoring pass on fourth and goal to make it 54-37.

Again Washington accounted for all 64 yards on the drive, rushing for 13 yards and completing 7 of 8 pass attempts for 51 yards, 48 of those going to Knight.

The Ram defense turned back the Texans in the shadow of their end zone on the Texans first drive of the game. 

Tarleton State drove to the Ram 6-yard line, but safety Riley Davis stopped Henshaw for a loss of a yard on third down and two.

The Texans settled for a 24-yard field goal by Barnes to take a 3-0 lead four and a half minutes into the game.

Later in the first quarter, the Ram offense got going; putting together a 12-play, 49-yard drive to the Texas 26-yard line, but Washington's pass was intercepted at the goal line by Devin Figures.

The Ram defense responded by forcing a turnover and giving their offense an excellent opportunity to take the lead.

Ram safety Courtney Moore intercepted a middle screen pass and returned it to the 9-yard line.  Fenske made the tackle that prevented Moore from returning it for a touchdown.

The Ram offense could muster nothing as Washington threw two incompletions and Blake Smith could muster only a 1-yard run.

Martin tied the game at 3-3 with a 25-yard field goal with 3:34 left in the quarter.
It took the Texans just one big play from scrimmage after the Ram score to grab the lead back.
After the ensuing kickoff, Fenske hit a wide open Clifton Rhodes over the middle for a 65-yard score to give Tarleton State a 10-3 lead.

Despite running six fewer plays, the Texans outgained the Rams in the first quarter 153-57 with Fenske completing 5 of 6 passes for 132 yards.

Before the quarter ended, the Texans were in the midst of their second touchdown drive of the game.

After a 9-yard punt by ASU into a stiff breeze gave the Texans first down at the ASU 36-yard line with two minutes left in the first quarter, Tarleton State was facing a fourth and one at the Ram 14-yard line on the first play of the second quarter and ASU was called for offsides.

On third and goal the Rams appeared to have stopped the Texans but where whistled for a pass interference penalty at the goal line.

Three plays later, Henshaw scored from one-yard to give the Texans a 17-3 lead just over two minutes into the second quarter.

The Ram offense responded with their best drove of the first half.

ASU drove 65 yards in 9 plays culminating in an 8-yard touchdown pass from Washington to Osborne to cut the Texan advantage to 17-9 as the Rams missed the extra point.

Washington ran twice for 23 yards and completed all four pass attempts for 27 yards on the drive.

Once again the Ram defense kept ASU in the game by stopping the Texans deep in Ram territory.

Tarleton State drove 67 yards into the wind to the Ram 20-yard line, but Clayton Callicutt effectively stopped the Texan drive with a quarterback sack and it had to settle for a Barnes' 40-yard field goal and took a 20-9 advantage into the locker room at halftime.

The Texans outgained the Rams 251-102 in the first half.