BOONE – App State kicker Dominic De Freitas connected on a 23-yard field goal with 2:02 remaining to lift the Mountaineers past Marshall 26-24 on Saturday at Kidd Brewer Stadium in Boone, North Carolina.

The victory improved App State to 5-6 overall and 2-5 in conference play, while Marshall fell to 5-6 and 3-4. The game featured five lead changes and came down to a frantic final quarter that saw both teams commit costly turnovers.

App State's winning drive covered 35 yards in eight plays over 3:31, capitalizing on a Marshall fumble deep in Herd territory. Running back Jaquari Lewis carried the ball 33 times for 175 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Mountaineers' ground attack.

Marshall quarterback Carlos Del Rio-Wilson accounted for two rushing touchdowns and threw for 146 yards, while running back Joshon Barbie added 102 yards and a score on 10 carries. Despite outgaining App State 438-276 in total offense, the Herd could not overcome two lost fumbles in the fourth quarter.

The game turned in the fourth quarter after Marshall had taken a 24-23 lead on Lorcan Quinn's 25-yard field goal with 5:29 left in the third quarter. The Herd appeared poised to extend their advantage when they drove from their own 1-yard line to the App State 40 in a seven-play drive that consumed more than three minutes. But running back Michael Allen fumbled at the App State 42, and Colton Phares recovered for the Mountaineers at the 39 with 5:33 remaining.

App State methodically moved into field goal range, with Lewis gaining 13 yards on first down to the Marshall 9. After three more plays, De Freitas came on for the game-winning kick, his second successful field goal of the afternoon.

Marshall had one final chance after receiving the kickoff at their own 25 with 2:02 to play. The Herd moved the ball to the App State 39 before Allen fumbled again with less than a minute remaining, effectively ending Marshall's comeback hopes.

The first half belonged to Marshall's offense, particularly Del Rio-Wilson. After App State took a 3-0 lead on De Freitas's 32-yard field goal, Marshall answered with an eight-play, 41-yard touchdown drive capped by Barbie's 5-yard run.

App State regained the lead early in the second quarter when Lewis scored from 18 yards out to make it 9-7, but Marshall responded with two quick touchdowns. Del Rio-Wilson rushed for scores of 16 and 4 yards on consecutive possessions, giving the Herd a 21-9 advantage with 8:14 left in the half.

The Mountaineers cut into the deficit before halftime with a 75-yard drive that ended with J.J. Kohl's 19-yard touchdown pass to David Larkins with 53 seconds remaining. The score pulled App State within 21-16 at the break.

App State seized momentum to start the third quarter with a 12-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that consumed 5:33. Lewis capped the march with a 5-yard run, giving the Mountaineers their first lead since the opening quarter at 23-21.

Marshall's response came on a nine-play, 64-yard drive that stalled at the App State 7, forcing Quinn's field goal attempt. The successful kick put Marshall ahead 24-23, setting up the tense fourth quarter.

Wide receiver Demarcus Lacey led all receivers with 12 catches for 134 yards, consistently moving the chains for Marshall. Del Rio-Wilson completed 13 of 21 passes for his 146 yards, while backup Zion Turner added 54 yards on 8-of-9 passing.

For App State, Kohl finished 19-of-27 for 134 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. Sam Mbake caught seven passes for 39 yards, while Lewis added five receptions for 39 yards to complement his rushing performance.

Marshall's defense registered two sacks and five tackles for loss, led by linebacker Jayland Parker's 15 total tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, and two sacks totaling 24 yards. App State's defense forced three turnovers, including the crucial fourth-quarter fumble recoveries, and recorded two sacks.

The statistics told a stark story: Marshall converted just 5 of 12 third-down attempts and averaged 6.3 yards per play compared to App State's 3.9. Marshall possessed the ball for 30:09 to App State's 29:51. But the Mountaineers scored three points off turnovers while Marshall managed none, proving decisive in the close contest.

Marshall's offensive balance was evident with 238 rushing yards and 200 passing yards, but the team went 0-for-2 in the red zone with field goal attempts, including a blocked kick in the fourth quarter. App State converted all five red zone opportunities into scores, including three touchdowns and two field goals.

The loss marked Marshall's third defeat in conference play and fourth in their last six games overall. App State snapped a three-game losing streak with the victory.

Top Performers:

• Jaquari Lewis (App State): 33 carries, 175 rushing yards, 2 TDs; 5 receptions, 39 yards
• Joshon Barbie (Marshall): 10 carries, 102 yards, 1 TD
• Demarcus Lacey (Marshall): 12 receptions, 134 yards
• Carlos Del Rio-Wilson (Marshall): 13-of-21 passing, 146 yards; 14 carries, 71 yards, 2 TDs
• Jayland Parker (Marshall): 15 tackles, 2 sacks, 2.5 TFL

BOONE —  Appalachian State University's Kidd Brewer Stadium, fondly known as "The Rock," witnessed a historic November night game, coinciding with a decisive victory over long-time rival Marshall. Playing their first post-October night game at home against Marshall since 1996, App State secured a 31-9 win before 34,057 fans and a national NFL Network audience. This marked App State's third-largest victory in the series.

App State's quarterback, Joey Aguilar, shone with three touchdown passes, with key receptions by Michael Hetzel and Makai Jackson. App State's defense was a force to be reckoned with, intercepting three passes and securing three sacks. The game showcased App State's dominance over Marshall, with the Mountaineers improving to 5-4 overall and 3-2 in the Sun Belt Conference, while Marshall struggled with a 4-5 record and a 1-4 conference standing.

Marshall initially took the lead with a field goal, but App State came alive with three consecutive scores. Aguilar's stellar performance included 226 yards and three touchdowns. The Mountaineers outperformed Marshall, accumulating 404 total yards compared to Marshall's 243.

Despite Marshall's early lead, App State's strong offense, coupled with an exceptional defensive performance, sealed their resounding victory. Joey Aguilar's leadership and accurate passing were pivotal in this impressive win.

App State's second touchdown of the game was set up by Donovan Spellman's diving pick at the Marshall 17 after Jordan Favors had two interceptions in the fourth quarter, one of which was in the end zone. With assistance from Kevon Haigler, Spellman also recorded a sack; Trenton Alan Yowe and Shawn Collins were in charge of the other two.

Santana Hooper, EJ Jackson, a Marshall transfer, and Andrew Parker Jr. all contributed significantly to the Mountaineers' seven tackles for loss.

Next Week

App State is on the road the next two weeks at Sun Belt East Division rivals Georgia State and #25 James Madison before returning home in three weeks.

In a rare Saturday night matchup, the Appalachian State Mountaineers will face off against Marshall at Kidd Brewer Stadium in Boone. The game, scheduled for 6 p.m., is generating buzz as it is believed to be the first Saturday night home game played in Boone during November or December in recent memory. The last time the Mountaineers played a Saturday night game at Kidd Brewer Stadium was in 2014, their inaugural year as an FBS member. Since then, the team has enjoyed significant success at home, boasting a remarkable 51-10 record and drawing record-breaking crowds, with 2022 seeing ten of the top 12 crowds in stadium history.

The Mountaineers' strong performance at home, coupled with an average attendance of 35,774, has cemented their reputation as a powerhouse in college football. The 2023 season has also seen quarterback Joey Aguilar shine, leading the Sun Belt Conference with 20 touchdown passes and ranking 7th nationally. This upcoming game against Marshall carries added significance as it marks the first league matchup between the two teams in Boone since 1996, a nostalgic encounter for long-time fans. The game serves as a reminder of the rich history between Appalachian State and Marshall, who were both former FCS-level Southern Conference members and only recently reunited on the field in 2020 and 2021 for nonleague games. 

Lenoir-Rhyne vs. Catawba: On Saturday, November 4, 2023, #16 Lenoir-Rhyne (8-1, 6-1 SAC) faces Catawba (4-5, 2-5 SAC) at Moretz Stadium in Hickory. For Lenoir-Rhyne, a win would secure their spot in the SAC Championship next week, thanks to their head-to-head win this season, giving them a tiebreaker over Limestone, and they also control their destiny in the Piedmont Division race. LR can also clinch a championship berth if Limestone loses against Barton. This game is significant as the Bears aim to add to their 24 overall conference championships in program history, with seven won since 2010. Additionally, it marks the 102nd all-time battle between Lenoir-Rhyne and Catawba, one of the most played and closely contested rivalries in NCAA Division II. LR has recently dominated, winning four straight games and seeking to even the all-time series, which currently stands at 49-48-4 in Catawba's favor. The rivalry between the two schools has been a historic and pivotal part of the conference's football history, often deciding championships in their final regular-season game, although this tradition has changed with the introduction of the SAC Championship game after the regular season.

CHARLOTTE – It was Senior Day for Charlotte, and the 49ers were honoring thirty players as they capped off their 2021 home football schedule. Charlotte was wanting to send this year's group of seniors off with a victory on their home field one last time. The 49ers were also looking to become bowl eligible for the second time in program history. Thanks to 21-0 third quarter by Marshall, they got neither. By the time the clock struck all zeros on Saturday night, it was the visiting Thundering Herd leaving Charlotte with the win, a 49-28 victory. With the loss, the 49ers will need a win on the road over Old Dominion next Saturday to secure at least a .500 record for the 2021 campaign.

Things seemed to start the way the 49ers wanted it to after Charlotte opened the game with a long, sixteen-play, seventy-five yard drive, capping it off with a six-yard touchdown pass from Chris Reynolds to Keith Pearson, Jr. Marshall immediately responded with a scoring drive of their own, with Rasheen Ali scoring the first of his three touchdowns on the drive. The redshirt freshman had 203 yards on the night.

It seemed like it would be a slugfest after Charlotte tied the game at 14-14 with the first of two Reynolds to Cam Dollar scores of the night. But, as seems to be the case for much of the second half of the season, the 49ers defense struggled to contain the Thundering Herd the rest of the way. Marshall scored again late in the second quarter and was poised to add another score on top of that, capitalizing on a Charlotte fumble, but the field goal went wide. It was a one-score game going into the half, but the action on the field seemed to indicate that the game was quickly slipping beyond the grip of the home team.

The third quarter belonged to the Thundering Herd in all facets of the game. Offensively, the Herd outgained the 49ers in total yards 236 to 57. Grant Wells was 8-8 passing for the quarter with a touchdown. Sheldon Evans had the first of his two touchdowns during the quarter as well. Scoring twenty-eight straight points, the visitors were leading 42-14 going into the final stanza.

Charlotte scored twice in the final fifteen minutes of the game but was never able to mount a serious comeback bid. Backup quarterback James Foster was able to take a few snaps during the last Charlotte drive, finding success with a scoring strike to ChaVon McEachern, giving fans a preview of what be to come from the former transfer from Texas A&M.

Tonight was Charlotte's one-hundredth game in program history. The 49ers go into the final week of the regular season needing a win in game #101 to become bowl eligible.

Notable North Carolinians

Chris Reynolds (Davie) was 19-34 on the evening with three touchdowns. 

Former East Lincoln standout Cam Dollar caught two touchdown passes on the night, his first two scores of the season.

Up Next

Charlotte (5-6) is on the road at Old Dominion to finish the regular season while Marshall (7-4) hosts Western Kentucky.

BOONE — After a timely touchdown from App State's Camerun Peoples late in the first half, a fired-up Shawn Clark pumped his left fist, flexed from a squat position, and engaged in a friendly tussle with lineman Cooper Hodges before slapping the right tackle on the helmet.

You think that score and this game meant something to the Mountaineers' head coach, a 1998 graduate of App State?

Chandler Staton hit a go-ahead field goal from 45 yards out with 5:45 left, and the defense made a key stand before Nate Noel's open-field running clinched a 31-30 victory over longtime rival Marshall on Thursday night in front of 28,377 fans at a rocking Kidd Brewer Stadium.

"Those were two great football programs, two great universities, that battled to the very end," Clark said. "It was a 15-round heavyweight fight, and we were the last team standing."

The biggest crowd for a midweek game at Kidd Brewer Stadium gave the Mountaineers (3-1) a lift as they climbed out of a nine-point hole and erased a fourth-quarter deficit in a win for the first time since midway through the 2017 season at Idaho.

"That's outstanding," Clark said. "That's what great programs are built upon — the fan support, the support of our community. We can't thank you enough … It's made a big-time difference in our program and made a big-time difference in the game tonight."

Following Staton's field goal, Marshall (2-2) moved into App State territory, but D'Marco Jackson and Jalen McLeod forced a 6-yard loss after Brendan Harrington quickly disrupted the rushing attempt. Caleb Spurlin's second-down pressure forced a throwaway, and a third-down incompletion led to a punt that gave App State possession at its own 8 with four minutes left.

Noel had gains of 11, 14, 41, and 22 yards on the final drive alone, smartly going down short of the end zone in the final two minutes to prevent Marshall from possibly regaining possession with an eight-point deficit. He finished with a career-high 187 yards on 20 carries.

"I kind of felt like it was a little (too) easy," Noel said of the free path he had once he approached the 5-yard line. "I remembered the situation and knew to fall. I was thinking about the Todd Gurley situation that happened when he fell and scored accidentally and they came back and won."

Corey Sutton had 10 catches for 127 yards with one incredible, rally-starting score, and Thomas Hennigan contributed nine catches for 123 yards to help Chase Brice throw for 283 yards. Defensively, Jackson had another monster game with 14 tackles.

Peoples scored three first-half touchdowns, including one on a 2-yard run with four seconds left before the break, to help App State take a 21-20 lead into the locker room.

App State and Marshall played every year from 1977-1996 as SoCon rivals, with the Mountaineers' last victory in the series being a 10-3 win in 1995, when Clark delivered a key block on the game's only touchdown.

"I think we were 'bend but don't break'," Spurlin said. "I think that's from offense to special teams to defense. We compete and play hard. There's nothing else to say about that. You watch the film, offense, defense, and special teams all play hard."

Michael Hughes made a TD-saving tackle on the opening kickoff, and a three-and-out stop by App State's defense preceded a nine-play, 80-yard touchdown drive for the Mountaineers. Hennigan made two catches for 43 yards on the series, and Peoples scored the first of his three short touchdowns with 9:38 remaining in the period.

Marshall accounted for the next three scores, but stops at the App State 4 and App State 15 led to short field goals, and the Thundering Herd took a 13-7 lead on a 56-yard touchdown pass early the second quarter.

App State responded with a 15-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that covered 5:23, as Peoples scored on a 2-yard run midway through the quarter. Marshall immediately retook the lead on a 97-yard kickoff return by Rasheen Ali, but the Mountaineers had time for one more first-half drive following a third-down sack from Jalen McLeod.

Four completions by Brice and a pair of flags for defensive pass interference set up a first-and-goal situation from the 2 with eight seconds left in the half. With two timeouts at their disposal, the Mountaineers put the ball in Peoples' hands, and he scored for the second time on the night with Spurlin providing a lead block.

Marshall capitalized on a defensive interception on a deep throw toward the end zone and a lost fumble near midfield in the third quarter, kicking a 46-yard field goal to take a 23-21 lead and adding an 8-yard touchdown run with 4:16 remaining in the quarter.

Trailing by nine points to start the fourth quarter, App State moved from its 38 to the Marshall 25 thanks to an acrobatic catch by Sutton. Two plays later, he improbably came down with a 24-yard touchdown catch at the left-edge of the end zone.

Officials reviewed the play and confirmed that Sutton dragged his back foot on the black end-zone turf just before his lead foot hit the turf out of bounds. Sutton reacted immediately to the arms-up signal from the official, sprinting roughly 50 yards to celebrate.

"I definitely practice it and feel like I have a good understanding of where my foot is when it's still in bounds a little bit," said Sutton, who used similar footwork on a highlight-reel catch against Troy in 2018. "This was a little closer and I wasn't sure I was in until the replay."

Marshall had an opportunity to extend its lead again, advancing to the App State 15, but a 32-yard field goal sailed wide right with 10:17 left.

App State took over from there, rushing for 111 yards, completing all five of its pass attempts for 86 yards, and limiting Marshall to 71 yards of offense in a dominant fourth quarter. Noel had 104 rushing yards on nine carries in the final 15 minutes.

"We just came out and kept fighting and fighting and fighting," Clark said. "That's what this program is about. We're going to fight to the very end."

Story courtesy of App State Strategic Communications

HUNTINGTON, WV — App State’s impressive winning streak against Group of Five programs from outside the league ended Saturday, as Marshall pulled out a 17-7 home win in front of 12,050 fans.

After a highlight-reel touchdown grab by Jalen Virgil helped tie the game to conclude App State’s first drive of the day, Marshall (2-0) kept the high-powered and 23rd-ranked Mountaineers (1-1) from scoring again, even though they advanced inside the Thundering Herd’s 10-yard line on their first two fourth-quarter possessions.

App State had won its last seven games against Conference USA opponents since falling to Southern Miss in the Mountaineers’ third-ever FBS game in 2014.

The loss snapped a 12-game winning streak against Group of Five conference teams from outside the Sun Belt. UMass, an FBS independent, defeated the Mountaineers in 2017.

App State returns to action next Saturday with a noon home game against Campbell.

Marshall, moving forward from an 8-5 season in 2019, took the lead for good on Shane Ciucci’s 29-yard field goal with 2:28 left in the first half and extended its advantage on quarterback Grant Wells’ 12-yard keeper for a touchdown with 4:44 remaining in the third quarter.

A lost fumble on a fourth-and-1 pass for 41 yards to the Marshall 5 early in the fourth quarter and a missed 26-yard field goal with 2:54 left allowed the Thundering Herd to maintain a 10-point advantage.

App State quarterback Zac Thomas completed 22 of 38 passes for 268 yards, including the early connection with Virgil for an acrobatic, 11-yard score. Camerun Peoples rushed for a team-high 57 yards on 12 carries, and Malik Williams had five catches for 54 yards.

Defensively, linebacker Trey Cobb recorded a career-high 14 tackles, safety Kaiden Smith added 10 and Cobb’s first-half deflection of a pass led to safety Ryan Huff’s first career interception in a game televised nationally by CBS.

Marshall opened the game with a 51-yard touchdown drive, scoring on a 2-yard run from Brenden Knox, and App State responded with an 11-play, 85-yard touchdown drive that lasted more than five minutes.

Backed up to the 11 for a first-and-goal snap, Thomas lofted a pass toward the left side of the end zone, and the ball descended beyond the defender’s reach, into the hands of Virgil. He secured possession and managed to drag his feet inbounds as he fell to the turf.

Ciucci’s short field goal late in the first half, forced by Shemar Jean-Charles’ end-zone breakup of a third-down pass, was the only other scoring in the first half. Daetrich Harrington had a 76-yard touchdown run overturned by a replay that determined his knee touched the ground near the line of scrimmage, and Huff intercepted a pass at the App State 24 following Cobb’s sideline deflection.

The Mountaineers moved into position for a tying or go-ahead score late in the half thanks to two pass interference penalties drawn by receiver Thomas Hennigan, who had made a diving, left-handed-only catch for 36 yards earlier in heavy traffic earlier in the half, but a third-down interception at the Marshall 14 ended that scoring threat.

Marshall moved ahead 17-7 with 4:44 left in the third quarter on Wells’ touchdown run, which followed a 67-yard completion to tight end Xavier Gaines. App State attempted to rally but came up short. 

• Receiver: Has led the team in receptions each of the past two seasons and is leading in 2017 (65 in 2015, 55 in 2016, 15 in 2017)
• Rushing: 90 carries for 566 yards for 6.3 ypc and a TD every 5.9 carries from 2015-17.
• Blocking: Graded out with 73% accuracy on blocking assignments last season.
• Scoring: Ranks sixth in school history with 32 career touchdowns (16 rushing, 16 receiving)