The Game
The Angelo State football team will travel 557 miles to SIlver City, New Mexico to take on Western New Mexico on Saturday, Oct. 29 at 1 p.m. CST.
The Series
This will be the third meeting all-time between the two schools. Angelo State won the first game in 1996, 41-3 but lost the most recent matchup in 2004. Western New Mexico won 23-20 in overtime. ASU's Bryn Hepler kicked a 42 yard field goal to put the Rams on top but WNMU scored a touchdown on the ensuing drive to win the game 23-20.
Western New Mexico
The Mustangs are 2-6 on the season and 2-4 in the LSC. WNMU's two wins have come over Oklahoma Panhandle State and Texas Permian Basin. Adam Clark is in his fifth season at WNMU and is 28-45.
Coaching Connections
WNMU head coach Adam Clark and Ram defensive coordinator
Jeff Girsch have a history. The two were both member of the St. Ambrose football program. Clark played for St. Ambrose and was a graduate assistant while Girsch spent 17 years in Davenport, Iowa. The two worked together while Clark was a graduate assistant and Girsch coached defensive backs.
Longest Play from Scrimmage
Mark Munson electrified the crowd on Saturday night with the Rams longest play from scrimmage this season. The senior caught a pass from
Carsen Cook on a seam route and used his speed to score an 80 yard touchdown. It is ASU's longest play of the season.
100 Yard Receiving Night
Not only did Munson have the longest play of scrimmage for ASU, he became the first receiver to have at least 100 yards receiving in a game this season. The senior caught five passes for a season high 109 yards and scored one touchdown.
On Pace for 1,000
Josh Stevens is 245 rushing yards away from breaking the 1,000 yard barrier. His 757 yards is No. 4 in the LSC. He has had three games with at least 100 yards rushing. If he averages 81.0 yards per game over the last three games he will become the first ASU player since
Kyle Washington in 2013 to gain at least 1,000 rushing yards in a single season and the first running back since Daniel Thomas in 2008.
#BlueMob Continues to Lead Nation
The Rams special teams are tied for the national lead with eight blocked kicks on the season. ASU set the school record for blocked kicks in a season with eight. The Rams blocked a kick in five straight games to start the season.
LSC Leader
Markus Jones took over the lead for tackles for loss with 14.5 on the season. The sophomore averages 1.81 per game and is No. 13 nationally in the category. He has made 11 solo talckes for loss and seven assistsed. He is also No. 2 in sacks in the LSC with 6.0 on the season.
Defensive Takeaways
The Rams defense has continued its streak of forcing an interception or fumble in 13 straight games. The streak started against Texas A&M-Kingsville last season and has continued through the first eight games of this season.
Grant Aschenbeck recoverd a fumble in the third quarter to keep the streak intact.
Top Third Down Defense
The Rams have only allowed teams to be successful on third down 26.1-percent of the time. ASU has only allowed 35 succesful conversions out of 134 this season. It is the No. 8 best percentage in Division II and No. 1 in the Lone Star Conference.
Double-Digit Catches
Donovan Thompson had one of the top games of his career against Midwestern State. He caught a season high 10 passes for 67 yards. It is the third time in his career the Houston native has made doudble-digit receptoins. He has a career high in receptions of 12 against TAMUC last season.
Field Position Threat
Casey Eyman has helped the Rams flip field positions all season. He has booted 56 punts for 2,321 yards and has a LSC best 22 punts inside the 20. He is averaging 40.0 yards per punt this season.
Team Captains
Fred Lawrence,
Richard Franklin,
Willie Brown,
Donovan Thompson and
Trey Green were selected as captains for the 2016 season by their teammates.
Interception Returns
Justin Jackson recorded his second career interception return for a touchdown agasint OPSU. He picked off a pass in the fourth quarter and returned it 15 yards for the TD. His first interception return for a touchdown came against McKendree. He is tied for the lead in NCAA Division II in interception returns for TD's. He is also tied with
Fred Lawrence for the team lead in interceptions. The Rams defense as a whole is No. 26 nationally in defensive touchdowns with two.
Rams Draft Anthony Quintana
The Angelo State football team added a new member to its team by drafting TeamIMPACT's Anthony Quintana. ASU is the first LSC school to draft a player from TeamIMPACT. Anthony, a nine-year old from Water Valley, will spend the next three years with the Ram football team interacting with the team while battling recurrent respiratory papillomatosis.
Road Warriors
ASU will travel a total of 8,062 miles to all seven road games this season. The longest trip of the season was 3,064 miles to Marquette, Michigan, to play Northern Michigan and the shortest was 312 mile round trip to Stephenville. ASU will look to improve its road record under head coach
Will Wagner. The Rams are 18-13 under Wagner on the road.
Overtime Victory
The Rams defeated Northern Michigan in triple overtime 47-41. ASU has seen very few overtime games over the years. The only other overtime game under head coach
Will Wagner was against Texas A&M-Kingsville on Oct. 29, 2011. The Javelinas won 36-33 in triple overtime. The last ASU victory in overtime was a 28-21 win over Eastern New Mexico on Oct. 6, 2007.
#RamFam Connection
Two current Rams have connections to Rams of the past.
Brennan Bibbs heard about ASU from former All-American uncle Henry Alsbrooks. Alsbrooks played defense for ASU and was a 1988 All-Americna. He recorded 271 tackles and is No. 10 all-time in career tackles. Myron Turner, Jr. plays opposite side of his dad Myron. The elder was an all-conference performer in 1989 and 1990. He is No. 8 on the career receiving yard list with 1,704 yards and led ASU in yards in 1989 with 706 yards.
Listen to the Rams
The Rams will once again be carried on KWFR 101.9 The Fire with four-time Lone Star Conference Broadcaster of the Year Jeremy Bryant on the call. He will add Dr. John Klingemann in the booth for color analysis. Dr. Klingemann is the chair of the history department and an associate professor at Angelo State
Live in HD
Every Ram home game will be broadcasted on RamTV Suddenlink Channel 6 and 106HD. Fans will be able to see the games in full high definition with Angelo State students directing the broadcast and giving play-by-play and color analysis.
New Offensive Coordinator
Will Wagner promoted
Drew Dallas to offensive coordinator. Dallas has been an integral part of the offensive staff at Angelo State since 2011 as a graduate assistant and promoted to assistant coach in 2012. He has worked with the wide receivers since 2011 and picked up recruiting coordinator duties in 2012.The Ram offense is coming off a record-setting season by leading the nation in total offense with 560.4 yards per game.
Winning Season
ASU secured the program's 32nd winning season since 1964 with a 7-4 record last year.It was the first time the Rams have had winning seasons in back-to-back years since 2000-2001 under former head coach Jerry Vandergriff.
Head Coach
Will Wagner (Hardin-Simmons, '96) will begin his sixth season as head coach of the Rams. He is 34-30 in his three seasons at the helm of the Rams. The Odessa native helped Northwest Missouri State win three national championships as an assistant head coach and defensive backs coach.
417 and Counting
Angelo State has won a total of 417 football games since 1939. The following lists the coaches and record breakdown in Ram football history.
Pete Sikes 1939-1949 41-23-5
Max Bumgardner 1950-1968 74-74-2
Grant Teaff 1969-1971 19-11
James Cameron 1972-1973 13-7
Jim Hess 1974-1981 65-23-3
Jerry Vandergriff 1982-2004 143-101-2
Dale Carr 2005-2010 28-36
Will Wagner 2012-Present 34-30
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 Ram tackle Rodney Cason.
Follow From Home
If you cannot attend the Angelo State football game, ASU has you covered. Live updates will be provided on Angelo State's Facebook page along with its Twitter account, @AngeloSports, Instagram, angeloathletics or on YouTube AngeloSports.
