BOONE - Appalachian State was seconds away from securing bowl eligibility, but a late penalty erased a would-be game-clinching touchdown and opened the door for Arkansas State’s 30-29 comeback win Saturday at Kidd Brewer Stadium.
Leading 26-23 with under two minutes to play, App State appeared to seal the game when J.J. Kohl delivered a fourth-and-one touchdown strike to Dillon Galloway from the Arkansas State 6. Kidd Brewer Stadium erupted – until an illegal-formation flag wiped the score off the board. Backed up to the 11, the Mountaineers settled for a 29-yard Dominic De Freitas field goal with 1:34 left, extending the lead to six instead of ten.
That margin proved fatal.
Arkansas State (6-6, 5-3 Sun Belt) raced 75 yards in seven plays, with quarterback Jaylen Raynor completing five straight passes in a rapid 52-second march. His 34-yard strike to Corey Rucker put the Red Wolves on the doorstep, and Kenyon Clay scored from a yard out with 42 seconds remaining. The extra point gave Arkansas State its first lead since early in the fourth quarter.
App State (5-7, 2-6) still had a final chance, but De Freitas’ 45-yard field goal attempt on the last snap fell short, ending the Mountaineers’ bowl hopes in the first season under head coach Dowell Loggains.
Before the chaotic finish, App State had turned the game around after trailing 16-13 at halftime. Kohl opened the third quarter with a sharp seven-play, 66-yard scoring drive capped by a 16-yard touchdown pass to Sam Mbake, part of a strong day for the sophomore quarterback. He finished 26-for-39 for 271 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions.
Mbake caught nine passes for 68 yards, while Jaquari Lewis paced the ground game with 108 rushing yards on 22 carries.
De Freitas kept the Mountaineers in front for much of the second half, hitting five field goals from 48, 45, 43, 38 and 29 yards. His only misses were the desperation kick at the end and a second-quarter attempt that Arkansas State blocked.
App State’s defense repeatedly bent but held Arkansas State to field-goal range on key possessions in the second half. Kevin Abrams-Verwayne led the way with 10 tackles and 2.5 sacks, part of a unit that produced several backfield stops before Arkansas State’s final, decisive possession.
Raynor, though, was the difference late. He threw for 363 yards and three touchdowns and repeatedly found Rucker, who caught 10 passes for 90 yards and two scores.
Arkansas State managed only 85 rushing yards, but Raynor’s accuracy and the Red Wolves’ quick-tempo passing game eventually broke through.
App State had controlled much of the early action, jumping ahead 13-3 in the second quarter after Kohl found Dalton Stroman for a 37-yard touchdown. But a late-half meltdown flipped momentum when Arkansas State scored twice in 17 seconds—first on an eight-yard pass to Rucker, then on a short-field strike to Tyler Fortenberry after a muffed kickoff.
The Mountaineers steadied themselves with a late field goal before halftime and carried the lead into the fourth quarter, but could never extend it far enough to withstand the penalty-marred final sequence.
The loss ended the Mountaineers’ season at 5-7 and denied them a chance to reach the postseason for the first time under Loggains.
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