WICHITA FALLS, Texas -- No. 2 Angelo State closed out an unbeaten regular season rolling past Midwestern State 37-19 Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium.

The Rams, who improved to 11-0 and completed a perfect run through the Lone Star Conference with nine wins, likely clinched a bye into the second round of the NCAA Division II playoffs as the top-ranked team in Super Region Four.

But Midwestern State had opportunities to make a game of it in the first half.

The Mustangs appeared to force a punt in the first quarter when Nicolas Martinez forced an incomplete pass when he hurried ASU quarterback Zach Bronkhorst on a third-and-2 at midfield. But MSU was flagged for a substitution infraction allowing the Rams to extend the drive which eventually resulted in an 18-yard TD completion from Bronkhorst to Rasheen Green to extend Angelo State's lead to 14-3.

Midwestern State churned out extended drives going 57 yards on 12 plays and 62 yards on 11 plays, but came away with a pair of Ritse Vaes field goals (23, 30) to pull the Mustangs to within 17-6 early in the second quarter.

The MSU defense created a golden scoring opportunity when sophomore defensive back Joshua Williams stripped Bronkhorst on a sack with 8:30 to play in the second quarter. The Mustangs were unable to scoop the ball in the open field, but still gained possession at the ASU 28-yard line.

The Mustangs came up empty on the drive when Vaes' 50-yard field goal attempt glanced straight up off of the crossbar.

Angelo State finished off a six-play, 75-yard drive with a 38-yard field goal, then extended the lead to 31-6 following a 33-yard TD run by Kason Philips and a 12-yard interception return for a score by Eric Rascoe last in the third quarter.

The Mustangs turned to senior reserve quarterback Kaylor Sullivan after starter Dillon Sterling-Cole went down with an injury and Neiko Hollins was victimized with interceptions on three consecutive passes.

Sullivan proved to be a spark completing 13-of-20 passes for 134 including a 17-yard TD strike to Kylan Harrison after scrambling for a 20-yard touchdown run to pull the Mustangs to within 31-19 with 4:43 to play.

Angelo State running back Nate Omayebu III threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to Cason Brown out of the wildcat formation to finish out scoring with 2:21 to play.

Trenton Kennedy led the Mustangs with 124 yards of total offense as the senior running back ran for 68 yards on 11 carries and caught four passes for 56 yards.

Senior linebacker Justin Guillory equaled a career high by leading the MSU defense with 12 tackles including 1 1/2 stops for loss.

Midwestern State closes the season with a 6-5 overall record for its 19th winning ledger in the last 20 seasons.
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