Angelo State Rams Survive Close Call to Edge No. 17 Central Washington

SAN ANGELO, TX — The Angelo State Rams hung on to beat No. 17-ranked Central Washington 17-16 Saturday after the Wildcats missed an extra point with 34 seconds remaining.

The win was massive for ASU, which is now a perfect 7-0 in Lone Star Conference play with two games remaining.

The Rams can lock up the title next week at Western Oregon (6-1).

ASU was in a precarious spot, however, after Central Washington’s Tyler Flanagan scored on a 9-yard TD run in the final minute.

The Wildcats initially lined up for a two-point conversion to try and take the lead, but a false start pushed them back five yards, so they settled for the extra point, which was pushed wide left.

CWU was unable to recover the ensuing onside kick and suffered its second one-point conference loss this year. The Wildcats fell 14-13 to UT Permian Basin.

The game was a matchup of two of the best defenses in the country, and they held strong most of the night.

The game began with a 75-yard TD on the first play from scrimmage, however, when ASU's Braeden Fuller connected with Zeek Freeman for a deep pass.

CWU's Kennedy McKill tied the game at 10-10 on an 8-yard TD run with 6:56 left in the second quarter, but the Rams scored late in the first half to take a 17-10 lead into halftime.

That's where the score remained until the Wildcats' last-minute TD drive.

It was a battle of sophomore quarterbacks who are both dual threats. Fuller led ASU with 22 carries for 94 yards, and he was 8-of-15 passing for 168 yards.

McGill had 21 carries for 130 yards and a TD, and he was 10-of-19 passing for 136 yards. He was intercepted once in the fourth quarter by ASU's Kenton Allen at the Rams' 15-yard line.

Flanagan added 20 carries for 91 yards and a TD for the Wildcats.

Central Washington fell to 6-3 overall and 5-2 in LSC play.

The win was the seventh in a row for ASU after an 0-2 start to the season with a pair of nonconference losses. The Rams will return home in two weeks to take on West Texas A&M to close out the regular season at 6 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 16.