SILVER CITY, New Mexico – The Angelo State football team's second half comeback came up short as the Rams fell to Western New Mexico 20-14 in Silver City.
The Rams (3-6, 2-5 LSC) scored a touchdown with nine seconds left in the third quarter to trim the Mustangs (3-6, 3-4 LSC) lead to 17-14 going into the fourth quarter. WNMU extended the lead to 20-14 with a 30-yard field goal from Tyler Vargas.
ASU would have three chances to take the lead. The first drive ended by way of interception. The Rams faced a fourth down after a measurement found the ball just short of the first down on a pass to Mark Munson. ASU went for it on fourth down but were stopped short.
Another stop by the defense gave the ball back for one last comeback attempt with under two minutes to play. With the ball at the ASU 46 yard line and 15 second left, Faber's throw toward the end zone was picked off at the WNMU 10 yard line as time expired.
Western New Mexico was held to just eight yards rushing on 30 attempts. Justin Jackson and Willie Brown led the charge on defense with 12 tackles each. The Rams recorded six sacks, led by Bright Ihegworo's 2.0, and nine tackles for loss. Jesus Vargas, Markus Jones, Grant Peterson and Isaiah Smith were all credited with a sack. ASU forced WNMU into 12 punts and limited the Mustangs to 8-of-23 on third down conversions.
The Mustangs outgained the Rams 345-276 overall. ASU grounded out 176 on the ground and averaged 4.1 yards per rush. Josh Stevens led the ground attack with 92 yards rushing on 19 attempts. Trey Green carried the ball 13 times for 48 yards and scored one touchdown.
Jake Faber saw a majority of the time at quarterback and threw for 68 yards on 10-for-27 and one touchdown. Mark Munson caught his fifth touchdown of the season. Lawson Ayo led the Rams with 44 receiving yards on five catches.
Angelo State found a spark coming out of halftime. The Rams forced the Mustangs into their seventh punt of the day. Stevens took the ball on the first play and carried it 17 yards for a first down. Faber carried the ball into Western New Mexico territory. After a WNMU pass interference penalty, Stevens gained 14 yards and Green put ASU on the board with a nine yard run. The eight play drive covered 75 yards.
WNMU scored to increase the lead 17-7 but the Rams quickly answered. Munson took the ensuing kickoff and returned it 68 yards down to the WNMU 27 yard line. Faber would reward Munson for the kickoff return a few plays later on a five yard pass to make it 17-14.
The Mustangs took a 10-0 lead on the Rams by scoring on their first two drives of the game. After the first two drives, Angelo State held WNMU to just 59 yards and forced six punts in the first half.
Western New Mexico's Javia Hall led the team with 337 yards passing on 31-for-57 passing and two touchdowns. Rodney Lawson caught nine passes for 136 yards.
The Rams will stay on the road and head to Canyon next weekend to face West Texas A&M on Saturday. Nov. 5.
