SAN ANGELO, Texas -- Angelo State's Gerald Gardner passed for 334 yards with a touchdown and the Rams scored 17 points in the second quarter on the way to a 27-12 win over Midwestern State in Lone Star Conference action Saturday night at LeGrand Stadium.
"This might have been the best game they've played offensively," MSU coach
Bill Maskill said. "Any time you get a punt blocked in a game, it deflates your mentality. I thought we made too many mistakes on our part to help them excel like they did."
The Rams (6-3, 5-2 LSC) broke open the game with a pair of long drives in the second quarter which resulted in a 23-yard field goal by Bradley Larson to cap an 11-play, 88-yard drive before Braeden Fuller hit Kason Phillips on a 12-yard touchdown at the end of a six-play, 82-yard drive.
Then Angelo State scored on a 20-yard blocked punt return by Dametrias Charles to take a 17-0 lead into halftime.
Midwestern State sophomore
Devin Cross powered the MSU offense in the second half with 110 of his game-high 134 rushing yards which included long gains of 28, 19, and 48 yards.
The Pflugerville native finished off MSU's final scoring drive of the game with a 1-yard TD plunge with 37 seconds to play.
The performance was Cross' third 100-yard effort of the season and seventh of his career. He leads the Mustangs with 774 yards on 131 carries.
The Mustangs broke the scoring ice with a 6-yard scoring connection from
James Cooper, Jr. to
Kelby Hickerson at the 12:20 mark of the fourth quarter.
Maurice Perkins led Midwestern State's defense with 11 tackles, while
Peyton Shaw and
Michael Nash made five stops each.
Midwestern State (4-5, 3-4 LSC) closes the season Saturday afternoon against Texas A&M-Kingsville at Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.
-- MSUMustangs.com --
