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Date: |
Saturday, Nov. 10, 2012 |
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Kickoff: |
7 p.m. |
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Location: |
Stephenville, Texas |
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Stadium: |
Memorial Stadium |
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Series: |
Tied at 14 |
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Video: |
Fox Sports Southwest |
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Radio: |
KIXY 94.7 FM
Jeremy Bryant (Play-by-Play)
Randy Ward (Color)
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Live Stats: |
TarletonSports.com |
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Tickets: |
TarletonSports.com |
FULL RELEASE
The Game
The Ram football team will travel to Stephenville to face Tarleton State in the final game of the season. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Memorial Stadium and it will be web streamed on www.foxsportssouthwest.com. The Texans have won the last 10 meetings between the two schools.
Tarleton State
Tarleton State enters the game at 5-4 season and on a two-game winning streak. Head coach Cary Fowler is in his third season for the Texans. TSU is the No. 3 scoring offense and total offense in the conference and is No. 2 in pass offense.
Last Week
Redshirt freshman quarterback
Kyle Washington threw for 195 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Angelo State Rams (5-5, 4-3) to a 38-21 win over the Incarnate Word Cardinals (2-8, 1-6) in a Lone Star Conference game at San Angelo Stadium.
National Top 10 Pass Defense
The Rams have only allowed 160.07 passing yards per game which sits at No. 7 nationally. Abilene Christian is the only team to pass for over 300 yards and six opponents have been held under 200 yards passing.
LSC's No. 1 Defense
The Rams enter this week at the No. 1 overall defense in the Lone Star Conference. The
defense is giving up 313.1 yards per game this season. It is the No. 21 ranked defense in
NCAA Division II as well.
Career Highs
Redshirt freshman
Kyle Washington threw his first career touchdown pass in the first quarter to
C.J. Akins. Washington threw for three touchdowns on the day and completed 12 of 16 passes for 189 yards and set career highs.
Last Meeting
Tarleton State beat the Rams 28-23 despite ASU holding the Texans to nine yards rushing.
Tristan Carter led the team with 145 rushing yards while TSU's Nick Stevens threw for 387 yards. It was the final game of the 2011 season.
Sack Machine
Senior
Austin Benson made his final game at San Angelo Stadium a memorable one as he recorded a career-high 3.5 sacks. Benson has 6.5 sacks on the season and 12 for his career. The 3.5 sacks is the most by a Ram player since Calvin Fance collected five against Southeastern Oklahoma State in 2009.
First Touchdown
Sophomore defensive back
Jarred Ross scored his first career touchdown on a fumble return during an Incarnate Word kick return. The Cardinals tried to lateral the ball across the field much like the Tennessee Titans did in the Music City Miracle game in 2000. The ball didn't make it across the field and Ross picked up and scored from 13 yards out.
Final Game for Seniors
The 16 seniors for the Ram football program will play in their final game this Saturday at Tarleton State.
Seniors
Jeff Miller
Donovan Roberts
100-Yard Receiving Games
C.J. Akins caught eight balls for 128 yards against Texas A&M-Kingsville and it marks the third time this season he has eclipsed 100 yards receiving. It is the seventh game of his career of 100 receiving yards or more and it is tied for third most in program history.
2,000-Yard Milestone
Dakarai Pecikonis and
C.J. Akins have been the Rams leading receivers all season. The duo are also two of the top receivers in program history. Pecikonis (2,108) became the fourth player in Ram history to surpass 2,000 receiving yards in a career and Akins (2,089) became the fifth player against Texas A&M-Kingsville. Pecikonis is currently No. 4 all time with 2,097 yards behind Don Burrell (2,798), Darron Johnson (2,711) and Steve Wilson (2,102). Akins is not far behind as he has 2,074 yards for his career. He is No. 5 on the career list.
100-Yard Rusher
Donovan Roberts carried the ball 14 times for 104 yards against Texas A&M-Commerce for his first 100-yard game of his career for the Rams. It is the first time a Ram running back has eclipsed 100 yards this season. The senior averaged 7.4 yards per carry against the Lions.
Defensive Touchdown
Rush Seaver's 25-yard interception return for a touchdown in the second quarter against the Greyhounds of Eastern New Mexico is the first interception returned for a touchdown since
Terrance Preston performed the feat on Sept 11, 2010.
Ranked Teams Everywhere
No. 13 Midwestern State was the second-straight nationally ranked opponent and the fourth of the season for the Rams. The other ranked opponents include No. 18 Valdosta State, No. 19 Abilene Christian and No. 21 West Texas A&M.
Defensive Player of the Week
Rush Seaver was named LSC Defensive Player of the Week for the week of Sept. 22 after upsetting No. 19 Abilene Christian. The sophomore registered 2.5 sacks, two tackles for loss and led the Rams with eight tackles. He was a part of the defense that limited the Wildcats to nine yards rushing.
Sacks Galore
The Rams pressured the LSC's Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, Mitchell Gale, all game and produced seven sacks for a defense that came in with only two for the season. The seven sacks are the most under defensive coordinator Mike Walton and the most since recording seven against Texas A&M-Commerce back on Sept. 11, 2011.
Beating a Ranked Team
The Rams win over No. 19 Abilene Christian marks the first time Angelo State has defeated a ranked opponent since 2009. ASU beat No. 17 Midwestern State 20-17 on a last second field goal by Ryan Smith.
Team Captains
Anchoring the Line
Defensive Stand
The Rams defense held Western State to 175 total yards in its season opening 42-14 win. The 175 yards is the fewest yards allowed by an Angelo State defense since Sept. 19, 2009 when Central Oklahoma only mustered 172 total yards.
Rare Feats
Fans got to see something that the Rams haven't done in quite a while during the Western State game. The first quarter blocked punt by Jared Ross and the scoop and score by
Courtney Moore were both something the Rams haven't accomplished in a while. The last time the Rams blocked a punt was against Texas A&M-Commerce in 2008. Ram fans haven't seen a blocked punt returned for a touchdown since prior to 1999.
Building a Foundation
The 2012 Rams roster will take on a younger look with 73 players being underclassmen. A total of 56 have yet to receive any experience at the collegiate level. The infusion of youth should provide the foundation needed to build success at Angelo State.
Five States Represent the Rams
Five states throughout the United States makeup the Rams football roster. Arizona, Illinois and New Mexico each have one player with California being second most with five. Texas dominates the roster as 93 of the team's 101 players call the Lone Star State home.
Head Coach
Angelo State:
Will Wagner (Hardin-Simmons, '96) in his second season as head coach of the Rams. The Odessa native helped Northwest Missouri State win three national championships as an assistant head coach and defensive backs coach.
Staff Additions
Head coach
Will Wagner added three new coaches to his staff.
Drew Dallas and
Gary Salgado both were promoted from graduate assistant positions. Dallas is the recruiting coordinator and wide receivers coach, while Salgado takesRA over the special teams unit and coach the defensive line. The other new member is offensive line coach
Jay Eilers. Eilers played collegiately at Northwest Missouri State and has 13 years of experience in both the high school and college ranks.
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 D-II playoff appearances and produced 57 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 and 1989. He 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 Rams' tackle Rodney Cason.
Follow From Home
If you cannot attend the Angelo State football game, ASU has you covered. Jeremy Bryant will call the game with help from analyst Randy Ward on 94.7 KIXY-FM, which will also be streamed on AngeloSports.com. Live updates will be provided on Angelo State's Facebook page along with its Twitter account, @AngeloSports.
