By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Baby, it was cold outside but hot, hot, hot inside Kidd Brewer Stadium on Nov. 19, as Appalachian State defeated new Sun Belt Conference East Division rival Old Dominion, 27-14.
Two fourth quarter touchdowns and PATs by the Monarchs made the game seem closer than it was as App State scored early and often to take a 24-0 lead into halftime.
The Mountaineer defense set the tone early, too, with a three-and-out defensive effort on Old Dominion’s opening drive. Faced with a 90-yard field upon taking possession, the App State offense wasted little time in shrugging off the challenge of bad field position when quarterback Chase Brice hit wide receiver Kaedin Robinson for a 57-yard aerial on the first play from scrimmage. Although good rushes by Nate Noel and Daetrich Harrington got the ball into the red zone, Harrington fumbled just before going out of bounds at the Monarch 6-yard line. It was recovered by lineman Cooper Hodges at the 9-yard line to keep possession with the Mountaineers, but the drive stalled and they had to settle for a 27-yard field goal.
Turnovers are often drive killers and a fumble by Old Dominion at the Mountaineer 20 spoiled a promising Monarch possession, recovered by App State’s Hansky Paillant.
Appalachian could not capitalize, but neither could Old Dominion get much done before turning the ball back over to the Mountaineer offense. This time Brice hit Robinson again for a 35-yard TD pass and, with a Michael Hughes PAT kick to go along with his earlier field goal, App State sported a 10-0 lead, still inside the first quarter.
For a team known for its powerful rushing attack and a deep running back room, Appalachian was quick to dispel any doubts about its ability to pass — or to go long. Early in the second quarter, Brice connected with Christian Wells for a 75-yard bomb, which made it 17-0 with Hughes’ PAT. Then, midway through the second quarter, sophomore transfer (from Wake Forest) ambled to the left side and to the end zone from 17 yards out. Again, Hughes’ PAT kick was successful, making the score 24-0 with more than seven minutes left in the first half. Hughes added a 40-yard field goal just five minutes into the second half, to make it 27-0, and that was the end of the Mountaineer scoring on the day.
Playing against several App State defensive reserves (getting valuable game experience), the Mountaineers gave up consecutive TD passes of 36 and 25 yards from ODU quarterback Hayden Wolff to wide receiver Javon Harvey in the 4th quarter.
With the win, App State is still in a must-win situation next week at Georgia Southern in order to become bowl eligible. Although they have six wins after their dominance of Old Dominion, two of those wins are against FCS opponents, The Citadel (Oct. 1, 49-0) and Robert Morris (Oct. 29, 42-3). Per bowl eligibility requirements, only one win may be against an FCS team and the other five must be against an FBS opponent. As if the rivalry contest against Georgia Southern wasn’t already a headliner for the Mountaineers’ regular season, now it takes on even greater significance.
SELECTED TEAM STATS
- Net Total Yards – APP 498, ODU 394
- Net Rushing Yards – APP 207, ODU 86
- Net Passing Yards – APP 291, ODU 308
- Penalties – APP 3/17, ODU 7/55
- Turnovers – APP 0, ODU 1
- 3rd Down Conversions – APP 3/11, ODU 7/14
- 4th Down Conversions – APP 1/1, ODU 0/2
- Time of Possession – APP 32:42, ODU 27:18
SELECTED INDIVIDUAL STATS
Passing
- ODU Hayden Wolff 22-39, 309 yards, 2 TDs
- APP Chase Brice 15-22, 291 yards, 2 TDs
Rushing
- APP Ahmani Marshall 19 carries, 137 yards, 1 TD
- ODU Blake Watson 10 carries, 69 yards
- APP Daetrich Harrington 7 carries, 33 yards
- APP Nate Noel, 6 carries, 25 yards
Receiving
- ODU Javon Harvey 4 catches, 133 yards, 2 TDs
- APP Kaedin Robinson 3 catches, 90 yards, 1 TD
- ODU Blake Watson 7 catches, 73 yards
- APP Christian Wells 1 catch, 75 yards, 1 TD
- ODU Marqeese Dietz, 3 catches, 50 yards
- APP Henry Pearson 2 catches, 41 yards
