In a back-and-forth game that included three overtimes, the Rams beat the Southwestern Assemblies of God Lions 52-44 on Saturday at Farrington Field for Texas Wesleyan’s first win of the season.

The game was the Rams’ first home contest of the season after four straight road games and the first overtime game for the Rams since football returned to Wesleyan, according to ramsports.net; both teams were winless going into the game.

With the score 44-44 in the third overtime, The Rams scored on a 17-yard Jermarcus Jones run; Avery Childs passed to Tyler Pullig for a two-point conversion, putting Wesleyan up 52-44. Mark Seilder (who had 15 tackles and four sacks on the night) and Darnerick Scott ended the Lions’ chance of a comeback with a sack to seal the victory, according to ramsports.net.

The game started slowly for both teams. The Lions could manage only a field goal in the first quarter and were up 3-0 before the Rams answered with 20 points before the half. First, Avery Childs connected with Collier Ricks on a 25-yard touchdown pass; Gregory Blaser added the extra point and the Rams took the lead 7-0.

Next, Jones scored on a 19-yard run; Blaser’s extra point put Wesleyan up 14-3. With less than two minutes left in the half, Trey Jackson scored a TD on a 28-yard run. The Rams were ahead 20-3 at halftime.

During the halftime show, the Gold Line Dancers and the Texas Wesleyan cheerleaders performed routines.  Additionally, a megaphone from Sargent Hill was presented to the current Rams cheerleading team. Hill was a cheerleader for the Rams from 1963-1965 and received the megaphone when he graduated.

The Rams were quiet in the third quarter; the Lions scored a touchdown and an extra point, bringing the score to 20-10.

The fourth quarter brought lots of excitement to Farrington Field.  The Lions erupted for two touchdowns and a field goal, putting them in the lead 27-20.  The Rams came back to tie the game 27-27 with a 69-yard TD pass from Childs to Le’Mant Monroe and a Blaser extra point. Then Jones scored another TD on a 56-yard run; Blaser added the extra point to put the Rams ahead 34-27.

As the fourth quarter came close to the end, it seemed that the Rams had their first win of the season. However, with 0.2 seconds left on the clock, SAGU scored a touchdown and extra point to tie the game 34-34 and send it into overtime.

In the first overtime, Keaton Huebner ran in a touchdown and the kick from Blaser was good to put the Rams up 41-34. The Lions countered with a touchdown and an extra point to tie the game 41-41.  In the second overtime, the Lions took the lead 44-41 with a field goal. The Rams tied the game again with a 27-yard Blaser field goal. The next scores, Jones’s TD and the Childs-to-Pullig two-point conversion, put the Rams ahead for good.

The Rams will play Oklahoma Panhandle State University at 2 p.m. Saturday in Oklahoma. The Rams’ next home game is Oct. 19, when they take on Texas College for Homecoming. For more information, go to ramsports.net.