Saturday presented a measuring stick for Angelo State. Sure, they entered the game against Midwestern State 3-0 but many people were questioning if they could compete with the top teams in the Lone Star Conference.

“We challenged our kids and they attacked that all week in practice and went out and gave a pretty good performance on Saturday,” said Angelo State head coach Jeff Girsch.

The Rams had a pretty good performance indeed as they wrapped up a dominant Midwestern State rushing attack in an impressive 28-6 victory last Saturday. Their performance was good enough to earn this week’s small college Team of the Week.

Girsch and his staff not only challenged their players, but they also had to make sure their kids knew they could win the game.

“We knew what kind of football team we had, and we felt we were the better football team, but you still have to go out and compete,” said Girsch. “We had to get our kids to believe they could win because we hadn’t beat MSU since 2014.”

How dominant was the Angelo State win? They held the Mustangs to minus-3 rushing yards which were the fewest rushing yards in a game for MSU-Texas since 1997. The six points scored by the Mustangs were the fewest for their team since Nov. 2006.

“They were lights out all game and they just dominated the football game and to hold a team like Midwestern State that likes to run the football to negative yards rushing is a true feat,” said Girsch.

Leading the way for the success of the defense was the Rams linebackers. First-year starter Josh Quinton had eight tackles, one sack, an interception and recovered a fumble. Third-year starter Hunter Kyle, who Girsch describes as "an absolute beast at linebacker," recorded eight tackles, including 0.5 for loss. 

Girsch was the defensive coordinator for Angelo State for five seasons prior to being named head coach on Nov. 5, 2018. He has focused on building depth in his linebacking corps during recent recruiting classes.

“We’ve made a bunch of additions at linebacker to create depth because you need more linebackers when you’re playing a 3-4 defense,” said Girsch. “We’re deep at that position and it’s showing right now.”

Another key player for the Angelo State defense has been Darrick Dickerson. The junior defensive back registered six tackles, one sack, broke up two passes and forced a fumble.

“Derrick can do it all. He actually played corner for us two years ago and last year he started the whole year at safety and he’s at safety again this year,” said Girsch. “He’s so coachable and he’s a football junkie when it comes to the game and he practices like he plays. He only knows one speed which is foot down to the floor.”

While the defense had an outstanding game against MSU-Texas, the offense put up 28 points led by wide receiver Keke Chism, who had six catches for 129 yards and two touchdowns.

“He’s elevated his game to the next level, and he works so hard,” said Girsch. “He didn’t miss a workout during the summer, and he was doing extra running. He’s that guy that goes in and competes like crazy.”

Quarterback Payne Sullins has made great strides in his second season as the Rams starting signal-caller. Girsch mentioned that Sullins just needed repetition after spending three seasons as a backup at Texas Tech. 

"Payne is stepping up his game each and every week," Girsch said. "He just needed time and now he's getting all the reps with the starters and getting the opportunities to get more throws during practice."

While Girsch understands how big of a win last week was for his program. The Rams entered the Division-II rankings at No. 23 following the win. However, his team also knows they must continue to improve, especially since they will go on the road to play No. 4 Tarleton on Saturday at 6 p.m.

“It was a great win and a fun night and anytime you can beat a great program like Midwestern State it’s a great day,” said Girsch. “There are still some things that we need to clean up, but the good thing is that our players see that as well.”