Date	Saturday, September 22, 2012
Kickoff	6:00 p.m.
Location	San Angelo, Texas
Stadium	San Angelo Stadium
Promotion	Family Day
Series	ASU leads 27-22-1
Video	AngeloSports.com Showcase Subscription Rates: Daily - $5.95 // Monthly - $9.95 // Yearly - $79.95
Radio	KIXY 94.7 FM Jeremy Bryant (Play-by-Play) Randy Ward (Color)
Live Stats	AngeloSports.com
Tickets	(325)942-BLUE or email tickets@angelo.edu

FULL RELEASE

The Game
The Rams and No. 19 Abilene Christian will meet for the final time as conference opponents this Saturday at 6 p.m. at San Angelo Stadium. It will be the 51st all-time meeting between the schools and the 42nd straight year the game has been played. Angelo State holds a 27-22-1 advantage in the series.

Abilene Christian
Abilene Christian comes to town after defeating Tarleton State 34-31 at the Lone Star Football Festival presented by Firestone. The Wildcats are led by first year head coach Ken Collums and are 2-1 on the season. The only loss came at the hands of No. 24 Texas A&M-Kingsville.

Last Week
No. 18 Valdosta State racked up 520 yards of offense and held Angelo State to under 300 yards on its way to a 43 to 10 victory in Cowboys Stadium on the final day of the Lone Star Football Festival presented by Firestone. The Rams had cut Valdosta's lead to 17 to 10 before the Blazers reeled off 12 unanswered points alone in the third quarter to put the game our of reach.

Quick Start
The Rams marched 73 yards in 13 plays to score on a 24-yard field goal from Jarred Martin. It is the first time this season the Rams have scored on an opening drive. The Rams are outscoring opponents 17-7 in the first quarter this season.

The Rivalry
The rivarly betwen ACU and Angelo Stat started back in 1964 with ACU winning the first meeting 33-22. Over the next 44 years the two teams have faced each other every season except for 1971. The teams have battled twice during a season three times. The Rams have the longest winning streak with 11 straight victories form 1987 to 1995. The Wildcats are winners of the last six games. Abilene Christian is the team the Rams have played the most in program history.

Family of the Year
The Phil George family will be honored at halftime as the 2012 Angelo State Athletic Family of the Year.

Big Catches
Senior C.J. Akins made some athletic catches against a talented Valdosta State defense. He hauled in six catches and led all receivers with 114 yards. His one touchdown came on a 19-yard pass from Blake Hamlin on the first drive of the third quarter. He is the second Ram to top the century mark in receiving yards as Joey Knight had 111 yards against Western State.

The Century Mark
Dakarai Pecikonis caught his 100th reception on a 29 yard drag route late in the fourth quarter against Valdosta State. The junior has 17 catches this season and is now 83 behind Ram all-time leader Don Burrell.

Top Tackler
Sophomore Rush Seaver is averaging 11.67 tackles per game and is the Lone Star Conference's leading tackler through three weeks. He is tied for 13th nationally. His career high for tackles is 14 set against Western State earlier this year.  

Moving Up The List
Blake Hamblin has thrown for 2,212 passing yards so far in his career. He passed Mark Embry during the Valdosta State game and is now No. 14 on the Ram all-time career passing yard list. Hamblin is only 38 yards from moving up to No. 13 and has the chance to move up to No. 11 by the end of the season.

Career Milestones
A few Rams are close to hitting some career milestones so far this season.
C.J. Akins - 95 receptions
Austin Benson - 104 tackles
Alvin Johnson - 181 tackles
Rush Seaver - 95 tackles

Anchoring the Line
The Ram offensive line has seen a plethora of new faces with Trent Davis, Anthony Landry, Anthony Lewis, Steven Jackson and Rodney Smith, all seeing playing time for the first season at ASU. Isi and Watkin Cocker, brothers from Euless, are two that have helped shore the line up as well. The duo started their first game together against Chadron State.

Too Many Turnovers
The Rams gave Chadron State four turnovers that prevented Angelo State from finding a rhythm on the offensive end. The three fumbles and one interception were the most in a game since ACU forced two fumbles and two interceptions on Oct. 10, 2009.

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.

Stopping the Run
In 14 games under defensive coordinator Mike Walton, the Ram defense has held opponents under 100-yards rushing six times. The 29 rushing yards that Western State tallied is the fourth lowest.  

A Welcome Return
Blake Hamblin and Dakarai Pecikonis had celebrated returns after being injured during 2011 against Western State. Hamblin threw for 320 yards and four touchdowns while Pecikonis hauled in his first touchdown since the Southeastern Oklahoma game in 2010.

Young Guns
A year after not playing a single true freshman, the Rams had five true freshman in the first game of the season. Clayton Callicutt, Riley Davis, Jared Kutz, Brandon Lee and Joseph Pickett all saw action. Pickett averaged 50.5 yards per punt while Kutz recorded a 58.0 yard per kick average on kickoffs. Davis was the Rams fourth leading tackler and Callicutt made four tackles. Lee had one tackle for loss during the game.

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.

Team Captains
Isi Cocker, Blake Hamblin, Alvin Johnson and Rush Seaver were named captains by their teammates.

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.

Veteran D-Line
Austin Benson, Shiloh Hickman and Kyle Patterson combined to make 92 combined tackles and 7.5 sacks last season. All three should provide the Rams with a veteran defensive line that can stop the run and provide pressure on opposing quarterbacks.  

Head Coach
Angelo State: Will Wagner (Hardin-Simmons, '96) will begin 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 Hidden Yards
The Rams picked up hidden yards and points from special teams last season. Kicker Jarred Martin is one of the main reason for a positive outlook from the special teams unit. Martin is the returning high scorer after connecting on 11 field goals and 37 PAT's. Martin connected on a career long of 42 yards against Texas A&M-Kingsville.

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.

Blake Hamblin


Wayne Blackwell


Will Wagner