LIVINGSTON, AL – The fifth-ranked Angelo State football team opened the season with a victory on the road, defeating West Alabama 38-14 on Thursday night at Tiger Stadium. The Rams begin 1-0 on the season for the seventh year in a row.
According to Angelo Sports, Midway through the first quarter of play, Eric Rascoe forced a fumble by the Tigers to set up a 23-yard touchdown run by Chad Pharies to give Angelo State an early 7-0 lead.
Later in the quarter, the Tigers capitalized off an ASU interception, tying the game on a rush from 27 yards out.
West Alabama took the lead in the second quarter, recovering a fumble by the Rams for a touchdown to make it 14-7.
The Rams closed the gap with 5:12 to play in the first half as Bradley Larsonconverted a 30-yard field goal attempt.
ASU's defense forced three turnovers in the first half, including on back-to-back drives as Stephen Woods forced the second fumble by the Tigers before Kason McCullough-Cooper intercepted a pass. Jordan McKinney recovered both fumbles for the Rams.
The Rams finished with 196 yards of offense in the first half while holding the Tigers to 61 yards, including 25 yards through the air.
Angelo State came out firing in the second half as the Rams moved 56 yards on five plays, capped off by a 34-yard touchdown pass from Gerald Gardner to Zorhan Rideaux to gain the lead.
The Rams followed up with another touchdown on the next drive as Gardner connected with Kyle Bradford on a 71-yard touchdown pass. Gardner finished the game with 292 passing yards on 16 completions with two passing touchdowns.
ASU's defense continued to dominate as Onyei Orupabo intercepted a pass, setting up a 77-yard touchdown run by Brayden Wilcox to extend the lead to 31-14.
The Rams added a score in the fourth quarter as Gardner punched it in from one yard out for the final score of the game.
ASU finished with 482 yards of total offense, with 323 yards passing, while the defense held the Tigers to only 196 yards offensively. K'hari Watson was the leading tackler for the Rams with six on the night followed by five from Rascoe.
Bradford led the Rams in receiving yards with 98 on two catches while Hunter Wallis collected four passes for 41 yards. Wilcox led the rushing attack with 75 yards on eight carries and a touchdown.
The Rams host Colorado School of Mines in their home opener next week on Saturday, Sept. 9 at LeGrand Stadium at 1st Community Credit Union Field.
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