ELLENSBURG, Wash. – The comeback bid fell short for the ninth-ranked Angelo State football team as the Rams dropped a close contest, 27-24, to Central Washington at Tomlinson Stadium on Saturday night.
 
With the loss, the Rams move to 1-2 overall on the season and 0-1 in Lone Star Conference play.
 
The Wildcats opened the scoring on the night, taking the first drive of the game 75 yards before scoring on a nine-yard touchdown pass for the early lead.
 
ASU got on the board in the second quarter as Bradley Larson converted a 31-yard field goal to make it 7-3.
 
After Jordan McKinney recovered a fumble by the Wildcats, the Rams took their first lead of the game as Gerald Gardner tossed a five-yard touchdown pass to Drew Carstens to five ASU a 10-7 advantage with 7:52 to play in the first half.
 
An interception late in the quarter set up a 25-yard field goal by Central Washington to tie the game heading into the break.
 
The Wildcats gained momentum in the third quarter, returning a blocked punt for a touchdown to regain the lead. CWU extended the lead with a field goal from 46 yards out to go up 20-10 heading into the fourth quarter.
 
An interception return would be the final score for the Wildcats to go up 27-10 with 9:19 left to go in the game.
 
The Rams would respond with a 44-yard touchdown pass from Gardner to Zorhan Rideaux. Gardner finished with 307 yards passing while going 27-for-38 on the night. Rideaux led the Rams in receiving, totaling 182 yards on seven catches.
 
ASU drove 82 yards on six plays before punching the ball in from two yards out on a rush by Chad Pharies to come within three points with 3:09 to play.
 
ASU's defense forced a three-and-out by the Wildcats to get the ball back with under two minutes to go but a blocked field goal would end the game.
 
The Rams finished with 382 yards of total offense while the Wildcats totaled 253 yards.
 
Josh Booker-Brown led the Rams with eight tackles while K'hari Watson and Eric Rascoe finished with seven each.
 
The Rams will be back at home next weekend as they host Western New Mexico on Sept. 23.