SAN ANGELO, Texas -- Midwestern State did it their way once again Saturday at Legrand Stadium.

It didn't always look pretty, but in the end the Mustangs painted another second-half masterpiece with a 35-17 win over No. 17 Angelo State.

"We made adjustments at halftime on both sides of the ball," MSU coach Bill Maskill said. "We really wanted to establish our running game, but felt like we get beat them one-on-one all day long."

That's exactly what they did. 

Dillon Sterling-Cole flashed his four-star ability throwing for 387 yards and completing touchdown passes to five difference receivers as the Mustangs dominated the second half, 21-0.

"The defense rose to the occasion and made some big plays against the run," Maskill said. "I felt we did a great job on defense then the offense put up points. It was a true team victory."

For the third straight week, the MSU defense performed a Jekyll and Hyde routine allowing the Rams to run roughshod for 319 yards of total offense before halftime, then limited them to 140 in a dominating second half.

Sterling-Cole kept the Mustangs close in the first half connecting with Ja'Marzeyea Arvie for a 9-yard touchdown and with Kandin Robertson for 28-yard score in the first quarter, but the Rams would hold a 17-14 edge at the break.

Sterling-Cole put the Mustangs ahead for good with a 40-yard strike to Kylan Harrison to start the third quarter, then found Ja'Juan Mason behind the defense for a 76-yard hookup to stake MSU to a 28-17 lead heading into the final quarter.

Following a Melik Owens' strip sack, Sterling-Cole closed out MSU scoring with an 8-yard swing pass to Jalen March with 13:06 to play.

"We had some things go wrong tonight, but we just kept clawing and scratching," Maskill said. "If we can to continue to do that we can be a good football team."

Mason posted a career-high 116 yards on three receptions, while Harrison made four catches for 81 yards.

Angelo State's Nathaniel Omayebu led all rushers with 161 yards on 17 carries, while C.J. Odoms ran for 75 yards to account for the bulk of the Rams' total of 253 rushing yards.

Senior Mason Montoya paced the MSU defense with eight tackles, while Owens finished with five tackles including a pair of sacks.

Midwestern State faces Eastern New Mexico in its home opener Saturday night at Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.