NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Facing off against Stephen F. Austin for the first time in 25 years, the Angelo State football team kept up with their Division I opponent before a late surge by the Lumberjacks gave them a 31-12 win over the Rams on Saturday at Homer Bryce Stadium.
 
SFA improves to 2-3 on the season, both wins coming against Lone Star Conference opponents, while the Rams fall to 1-1 on the season.
 
Angelo State's defense made an early stop after the Lumberjacks took the opening kickoff 84 yards before failing to score on fourth down. ASU had an opportunity to go up in its second drive of the game, missing a 34-yard field goal attempt to leave the game scoreless.
 
With just under two minutes to play in the first quarter, the Lumberjacks tossed the ball out to the sideline as Xavier Gibson made a defender miss before taking the pass 90-yards for the first score of the game.
 
The Rams answered quickly in the second quarter as quarterback Zach Bronkhorst moved the ball down the field, ending the drive with an eight-yard pass to Cason Brown for his first touchdown of the season. A missed extra-point kept the lead in favor of SFA.
 
Bronkhorst finished the game throwing 22-of-35 for 189 yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions. He spread the ball out well, hitting 10 different receivers while five players caught three passes each. Austin Landry led a busy receiving core for the Rams, catching three passes for 43 yards while Kellen Pachot finished with 39 yards, and Rasheen Green and Cason Brown had 27 and 24 yards respectively.
 
The Lumberjacks found their second score of the game from Gibson, this time taking a punt 34-yards to the endzone to go up 14-6. SFA added a field goal in the third quarter to extend their lead.
 
Down by 11 points, the Rams found the endzone as running back Alfred Grear took the ball 38-yards for his second touchdown of the season. He finished with a team-high 80-yards on the ground off of 10 carries and added 20 yards receiving. Following him was Nathaniel Omayebu III with 66 yards off of 15 carries.
 
After a failed two-point conversion kept the Rams down 17-12, ASU had a chance to go up as Leddy French II picked off a pass on the next SFA drive with just over six minutes to go in the third quarter. ASU drove the ball inside the 35-yard line for the Lumberjacks before back-to-back false starts followed by a sack ended the drive for the Rams.
 
Stephen F. Austin extended their lead in the final minutes of the third, once again leaning on Gibson, who catches a 76-yard pass for a touchdown. SFA added another score five minutes later, this time a nine-yard run to the outside.
 
The Lumberjacks finished with 197 yards through the air and 83 yards on the ground. SFA relied on the big plays all night, recording only eight first downs compared to 23 from the Rams. ASU ran for 192 yards in the game, adding 189 passing yards.
 
Defensively for ASU, French and Devin Washington each had one interception, bringing the team's season total to three, and Daron Allman led with five total tackles on the night.
 
The Rams will continue action next weekend as they travel to Canyon, Texas for a rematch with LSC rival West Texas A&M on Saturday, Oct. 24.