BOONE — Appalachian State has made history again during its record-setting start in FBS football.

At 5-1 overall and 3-0 in the Sun Belt Conference, the Mountaineers earned their first Top 25 ranking as an FBS member when the newly released AP Poll on Sunday listed App State at No. 25.

It's tied for the highest ranking ever for a Sun Belt team, as Troy's one-week appearance at No. 25 in the AP Poll during the 2016 season is the only other case of a Sun Belt team being ranked in either poll. With a school-record 78 voting points in this week's Amway Coaches Poll, the Mountaineers are one spot outside the 25th spot, 17 voting points behind Miami.

App State Earns First-Ever AP Top 25 Ranking

Led by head coach Scott Satterfield, Appalachian State is currently in its fifth season of FBS competition, and it's the only program with a bowl win in each of its first three eligible seasons following the complete transition. The Mountaineers are 40-10 in their last 50 games and 30-3 in their last 33 league games.

App State led in the final minute of a 45-38 overtime loss at Penn State to open the 2018 season, and it has won its last five games by a combined score of 231-49. That includes a 35-9 road victory on ESPN2 against Arkansas State, the preseason West Division favorite in the Sun Belt Conference, and a 27-17 home victory against Louisiana on Saturday. A touchdown by the Ragin' Cajuns with 1:03 left Saturday accounts for the only second-half points given up by Appalachian's defense since the Penn State game.

The Mountaineers are currently No. 5 nationally in scoring offense (44.8 points per game), No. 11 in scoring defense (15.7 points per game), No. 8 in yards allowed per game (294.8), No. 17 in offensive yards per game (476.0) and tied with Utah State for No. 1 in special teams touchdowns (four).

Appalachian was unofficially No. 29 in last week's AP Poll and No. 31 in last week's Coaches Poll. The Mountaineers return to action Thursday with a 7:30 p.m. road game at Georgia Southern on ESPNU.

The 2018 football team is the first App State team to be ranked nationally in the top 25 since the 2016-17 wrestling team closed that regular season at No. 19.

N.C. All-State Basketball Teams

The 2013-14 Associated Press all-state high school basketball teams for North Carolina, as selected by 25 sports writers across the state. With school, position, class and number of votes in parentheses:

BOYS

Gabe DeVoe, Shelby, G, Sr. (25)*
Gary Clark, Clayton, F, Sr. (24)
Brandon Ingram, Kinston, F, Jr. (24)
Kedrick Flomo, North Forsyth, PG, Sr. (22)
Edrice Adebayo, Northside (Pinetown), C, So. (21)
Theo Pinson, Wesleyan Christian Academy, G, Sr. (21)
Lamont Robinson, Eastern Alamance, PG, Sr. (16)
Kishawn Pritchett, Lake Norman, G/F, Jr. (15)
Dennis Smith Jr., Trinity Christian, G, So. (15)
Keyshawn Woods, Northside Christian, G, Sr. (15)
Raekwon Miller, McDowell County, PG, Sr. (13)
Aaron Carver, Northeastern, F, Sr. (11)

GIRLS

Jamie Cherry, West Craven, PG, Sr. (25)*
Paris Kea, Page, G, Sr. (22)
Rydeiah Rogers, Myers Park, F, Jr. (22)
Azura Stevens, Cary, C, Sr. (21)
Jatarie White, Providence Day, F/C, Sr. (20)
Madi Story, Bandys, G, Sr. (18)
Rachel Camp, East Rutherford, G, Sr. (13)
Akela Branch, Albemarle, F, Sr. (10)
Brittany Drumgoole, Kinston, PG, Sr. (10)
Jazmine Jones, West Forsyth, F, Sr. (10)
Lexi Mercer, Rosewood, G/F, So. (9)
Danasia Witherspoon, Hickory, G/F, Jr. (8)

*-denotes unanimous selection

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – Todd Gurley II figured he was simply going out on the field to have fun, which would make it easy to perform at a level that would help Tarboro win a third straight state championship. That philosophy also helped him make him this year's Associated Press prep football player of the year for North Carolina.

“I really just go out there and have a lot of fun while I'm playing,” Gurley said. “That's what I feel like: if I have fun doing it, I'll do my best playing in whatever game I'm playing in.”

Gurley ran for nearly 2,600 yards and 36 touchdowns in Tarboro's latest title push. He was the runaway choice for the award, earning 11 of 16 votes from sports writers across the state in results released Thursday. Greensboro Page quarterback James Summers – a North Carolina State recruit – was second with two votes after leading his school to an unbeaten season and the Class 4-AA championship.

Gurley was a Shrine Bowl pick who entered the season ranked No. 1 on The Fayetteville Observer's list of the top 50 college prospects in the state. He's also regarded as an elite sprinter in track who represented the U.S. in international competition last summer.

“What makes him special is he expects to be great,” Tarboro coach Jeff Craddock said. “That's the No. 1 thing. When he steps on that field, in his mind, he expects to be the best player at that time. It doesn't matter if it's the first game of the season, a conference game, the first playoff game, the state championship game, the Shrine Bowl. He has that confidence that when he steps on that field, he believes he's the best.”

Gurley certainly proved that in his final game. He ran for 242 yards and four touchdowns as Tarboro beat Lincolnton 39-36 in the 2-A final, including 197 yards in the second half. He scored the go-ahead 12-yard touchdown with 3:12 left to earn the game's most valuable player award.

Gurley is considering North Carolina, North Carolina State, Clemson or Georgia.

“He's prepared himself,” Craddock said. “A lot of people think, `Well, Todd Gurley is a great athlete.’ I've coached a lot of great athletes. This kid worked his tail off in the weight room and with speed training and doing things the right way. He put himself in position to be this successful.”

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) – Jim Bob Bryant made sure his Havelock team had plenty of motivation after falling a game short of the state final the past two years. He even hung a big picture in the weight room showing an opponent celebrating after ending Havelock's season the previous year.

His players responded with an unbeaten season that helped make Bryant this year's Associated Press prep football coach of the year for North Carolina.

“We always found something to give a little extra motivation to our kids,” Bryant said. “My assistant coaches worked tirelessly and everything we do is a competition. We compete in practice and we compete in the weight room. My coaches do a great job of making everything a competition so the kids keep that edge and are always fighting to be No. 1 in everything we do.”

Bryant led the school to a 16-0 record and the Class 3-A championship in his fourth season. He earned five of 16 votes from sports writers across the state in results released Wednesday.

Tarboro's Jeff Craddock was second with four votes after leading his school to a third straight state title, while Swain County's Sam Pattillo was third with three votes after leading his team to the 1-AA crown.

Havelock had lost to Eastern Alamance in the state semifinals the past two seasons. Bryant and the coaches had a photo blown up of Eastern Alamance's postgame celebration on Havelock's field last season with the words “Never again” written across the bottom. It had literally hung over Havelock's players in the weight room ever since.

“We kind of used that as our rallying cry: never again would we lose in the eastern finals at Havelock,” Bryant said.

The Rams didn't leave much to chance. With an offense that averaged about 50 points and 470 yards per game on the year, Havelock romped through the state playoffs – the Rams had three straight 60-point performance – to reach the final. Then, facing three-time defending champion West Rowan, Havelock rolled to a 38-6 win for the school's second state title.

Bryant's award comes a day after Havelock became one of two schools to have two players make the 2011 AP all-state team for North Carolina.