MONMOUTH, Ore. – A late drive from the Angelo State Rams sank the Western Oregon Wolves, 24-17, in the season opener Saturday at McArthur Field.
With just three points scored and a combined nine punts before the break, offenses stayed quiet in the first half before a wild fourth quarter.
Angelo State's (1-0) first opportunity to strike came after an interception by Hunter Kyle deep in Wolves territory. Western Oregon's (0-1) defense denied a touchdown despite starting just outside of the red zone.
Court Hammond and
Andrew Weber combined to sack Charlie Rotherham for a loss of five on first down. The Rams combined to lose four yards before they settled for a 42-yard field goal to get on the board.
ASU presented a dual attack at quarterback as Rotherham split time under center with Payne Sullins. Rotherham led the duo with 17 completions for 199 yards and two touchdowns.
The Ram's offense pushed forward later in the first quarter after a 41-yard completion from Sullins to Keke Chism. After an incomplete pass attempt and a false start,
Curtis Anderson stepped in front of a Sullins pass attempt for an interception just off the goal line and returned it for 17 yards. He added in five total tackles to his day, three of which were solo.
Nate Proctor, Jr. led WOU's defense with a team-high eight solo and 12 total tackles.
Both sides missed field goal attempts later in the half to send Angelo State into halftime with a 3-0 lead.
The Rams' opening drive of the second half yielded results as they took just under two minutes to move 48 yards on six plays for their first touchdown. The drive was capped by Rotherham's 31-yard pass to Chism for the score.
Trailing 10-0 early in the third quarter, Western Oregon retaliated on the very next possession. WOU quarterback
Ty Currie hustled for a 16-yard run before connecting with junior
Ryan Reynolds to get down to the Rams' 20. A sack forced their field goal attempt to be longer than anticipated, but
Adrian Saldana converted the 47-yard kick to get the Wolves on the board, trailing 10-3.
Currie completed 23 of 43 passes for 276 yards, throwing for two touchdowns and three interceptions.
ASU's Sullins threw his second interception of the day with 5:28 remaining in the third quarter and this time, WOU would not squander the opportunity. Currie again connected with Reynolds, this time for a 21-yard touchdown. Saldana's point after locked the game up at 10-10.
With an even score headed to the fourth, the season-opener would be destined for a dramatic finish as 21 points were tallied in the finale.
A Tyrese Nathan nine-yard touchdown run gave ASU back the lead with 8:43 to play, but Connor Flanigan missed the extra point to keep it 16-10 in favor of the Texas side. Flanigan later had a chance to make it a multi-possession lead, but missed a field goal attempt from 36 yards.
After the missed kick, Western Oregon took back over on offense with 2:11 remaining in the game and The first play of the series would be the biggest of the day as
Tyjuan Prince reeled in his second catch of the day for 74 yards, immediately putting the Wolves inside the 10. Prince's 79 total receiving yards led the team.
Currie's lob in to
Thomas Wright two plays later and the successful Saldana kick put Western Oregon on top for the first time in the game, 17-16, with only 1:46 left to play.
ASU, however, they punched in another touchdown with just a 52-second drive. Lawson Ayo culminated the quick strike by catching a 16-yard pass from Rotherham to put the Rams back up, this time for good.
The Wolves were held to just 37 rushing yards on the day, compared to the Rams' 185. Tyrese Nathan ran for 134 yards and a touchdown on 23 attempts.
Western Oregon returns to the field Sept. 8 with a matchup against GNAC foe Central Washington University in Monmouth. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. at McArthur Field. Central Washington, the defending GNAC champions, are ranked No. 9 in the country in the NCAA DII Preseason Poll.
