The Emporia State football team held #24 Angelo State without a touchdown for a 17-12 victory over the Rams at Welch Stadium Saturday. The game was controlled by both teams’ defenses as several short-field opportunities for ASU were limited to field goals by the Hornets. The Rams (0-2) led 6-0 after the first quarter on a pair of field goals before Tyler Kahmann reeled in a two-yard touchdown pass from Gunnar Gundy to put the Hornets (2-0) up 7-6, but a late field goal in the second quarter gave the Rams a 9-7 lead at the intermission. ESU trailed 12-7 midway through the third quarter after another field goal before Gundy found Kingsley Bennett on a 31-yard touchdown pass late in the frame. Caden Dodson tacked on a field goal with less than a minute remaining before the Rams gave themselves two shots at a Hail Mary with nine seconds to go, but the E-State defense knocked both passes away.
Gundy finished 25-for-39 with two touchdowns and two interceptions for ESU. The Hornets were limited to just 30 yards on the ground on 25 carries while Angelo State ran the ball 45 times for 239 yards but finished just 13-for-43 through the air with two quarterbacks. Tyler Kahmann led all receivers with eight catches for 110 yards. Sage Sieperda led the defense with 11 tackles with four solo stops while Lavon Jones added 8 tackles. Both offenses struggled on third down with ESU finishing just 1 of 15 but the Rams were 1 of 20 on third down and missed both fourth down opportunities. Defensive lineman Rylan Miller said it felt great for the defense to contribute to a win.
Coach Higgins said that while the offense struggled, the defense played well and that the offensive side of the ball will look to make improvements.
The Rams were flagged 11 times for 110 yards compared to just four for 45 yards for ESU. The Hornets are on the road next week for the first time to face #6 Pittsburg State. Pregame coverage begins at 6:00 p.m. Saturday, September 14 with kickoff at 7:00 p.m. on Mix 104.9
