By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Toward the end of what had been a moribund first half, App State head coach Shawn Clark needed a spark. It would be an understatement to say that he didn’t get it.
Instead, backup quarterback Joey Aguilar delivered a firestorm, powering the Mountaineers to a convincing, 45-24 season-opening win over the Gardner-Webb Bulldogs. There was drama aplenty to sate the gridiron appetites of 36,075 fans filling the grandstands and grassy knolls of Kidd Brewer Stadium.
With 2:13 on the first half clock, Aguilar made his entrance. Whether starting quarterback Ryan Burger’s injured finger or Clark’s professed need for a “spark” held greater sway in the decision to bring in the backup QB is debatable, of course, but one play and seven seconds later the Mountaineers took the lead, 14-10, when Aguilar hit wide receiver Kaedin Robinson for a 32-yard TD reception.
The last time a quarterback debuted for App State with a completion on his first career pass attempt in such a dramatic setting was Peyton Derrick, at Penn State in 2018, when then QB Zac Thomas left for one play with a presumed injury. Derrick promptly connected with wide receiver Dominique Heath for a 22-yard completion to keep the Mountaineer drive alive in Happy Valley — and the near-victory in overtime.
This time, Aguilar’s first pass — for a TD, no less — was just the beginning of his debut performance. Taking the reins in the second half, Aguilar finished the game completing 11 of 13 passes for 174 yards, including four touchdowns and no interceptions. It was a performance good enough to collect a near-perfect 298.6 passer rating, according to StatBroadcast.
Aguilar’s execution was sharp, confident, and decisive. In the decisive third quarter, he marched the App State offense down the field for three TDs and a field goal. The longest drive took just 3:17 off the clock, covering 65 yards in eight plays and finished with a 26-yard pass down the middle to WR Deshaun Davis. The Mountaineers’ next drive was just four plays covering 64 yards, culminating with Aguilar finding Dalton Stroman down the right side for a 43-yard TD pass.
While the Mountaineer defense seemed to have mostly figured out the Bulldogs’ up-tempo, short passing offense by the middle of the third quarter and turned back all GW drives for the rest of the game, the Aguilar-directed offense wasn’t done. App State recorded two more touchdowns and a field goal to put the finishing touches on the scoring.
Including Burger’s first quarter TD pass of 12 yards to tight end Eli Wilson for the game’s first scoring, the two App State QBs combined for five touchdowns passes to five different receivers, including Robinson, Davis, Wilson, Stroman and Christan Horn. Through the air, the QBs completed 18-of-24 passes for 244 yards, five TDs and no interceptions.
In one sense, the pass-heavy attack was uncharacteristic of the Mountaineers’ run-first approach. That said, lead running back Nate Noel averaged almost five yards (4.9) per carry, toting the ball 24 times for 117 yards and a rushing TD near the beginning of the fourth quarter. A junior transfer from Navy, running back Maquel Haywood added 46 yards on 11 carries (a 4.2 avg.).
Even during App State’s second half resurgence, the Bulldogs were not idle. In fact, they took their last lead of the game late in the third quarter when quarterback Matthew Caldwell tossed a pass to running back Jayden Brown that he took to the house for a 41-yard TD scamper. With just over five minutes remaining in the third quarter, Brown’s catch-and-run put the Bulldogs ahead for the last time, 24-21.
Call it a momentum changer if you will, but Watauga High School alum Jackson Greene’s interception of a Caldwell pass with less than 20 seconds left in the third quarter, including a 25-yard return, all but put a stop to GW’s upset aspirations. Now a fifth-year redshirt junior according to COVID-19 eligibility math, Greene displayed the kind of athleticism and fleet-of-foot speed that he showcased throughout a decorated high school career as a Pioneer. And perhaps it was just what the Mountaineers needed to inspire the defense for the remainder of the game.
Credit the upset-minded Bulldogs for a sparkling performance through the first three quarters of this game. The team’s up-tempo, short passing attack mixed in with some well-designed runs by Brown (9 carries, 45 yards and 2 TDs) and Narii Gaither (10 carries, 54 yards) nearly won the day, facilitated by a well-disciplined offensive line that at times owned the line of scrimmage.
For his part, the Bulldog QB, Matthew Caldwell was impressive in directing the Bulldog offense. He completed 30-of-46 passes for 231 yards and a TD, offset by two INTs. In addition to Greene’s interception, the Mountaineers’ Jack Scroggs followed up with his own first career INT early in the fourth quarter, putting a stiff-arm to any hopes GW had of completing the upset.
In his post-game press conference, Clark was quick to credit Gardner-Webb while acknowledging that it was great to start 1-0, but there was plenty of work to do to get ready for next week’s tilt at North Carolina.
Of the decision to bring in Aguilar, Clark said, “It was my call. It came in a situation where Ryan (Burger) had jammed his finger a little bit and I felt we needed a spark to get us going. Joey came in and his first at App State was completed for a touchdown. That gave us the spark we needed.”
Clark added that Burger will be evaluated by team doctors and the coaching staff will know more about his availability at that time.
Clark reiterated and reinforced his opening statement, too.
“Gardner-Webb is a good football team,” he said. “That quarterback (Caldwell) is a good player. That running back (Brown) could play anywhere in the Sun Belt. They gave us a lot of challenges by formation, by motion and different types of screens.”
Clark also reminded the media that one of the coaching staff’s priorities in the offseason was to strengthen the defensive side’s roster depth, including through the transfer portal.
“We produced three turnovers. You look at Jack Scroggs (transfer from Wofford), Jackson Greene and Montez Kelley (transfer from Tiffin University), those are guys who aren’t starters but when their number was called, they made a play,” said Clark.
In speaking about his performance as the mid-game replacement QB who provided Clark’s needed spark, the soft-spoken Aguilar said, “Honestly, it comes from our training in practice. Whether you are first, second, or third, it is always ‘next man up.’ You always have to be prepared. It is part of the job.”
For a young man who grew up in California wanting to be a linebacker or tight end, Aguilar’s transition to quarterback as he got older also allowed him to be appreciative of the Kidd Brewer Stadium environment.
“It was unbelievable,” said Aguilar. “I have never played in a stadium this big, this sold out and with this many people before, so it was awesome. To throw my first touchdown pass and hear everyone cheer, it was awesome. My biggest crowd (in junior college) might have filled one side of bleachers. It was nothing like this.”
Whether Burger returns to his starting role in next week in Chapel Hill or the coaches decide to roll with Aguilar will be the pressing question of the week, perhaps. Either way, the Mountaineers learned a lot about themselves in this season-opening tilt vs. Gardner-Webb.
SELECTED TEAM STATS
- Total Offense: GW 360, APP 394
- Rushing Yards: GW 129, APP 140
- Passing Yards: GW 231, APP 244
- First Downs: GW 19, APP 24
- Total Plays: GW 75, APP 67
- Rushing vs. Passing Plays: GW 29-46, APP 43-24
- Time of Possession: GW 28:18, APP 31:42
- Penalties: GW 5-50, APP 2-20
- Turnovers
- Fumbles-Lost: GW 1-1, APP 2-0
- Interceptions by: GW 0, APP 2
- 3rd Down Conversions: GW 7-17, APP 4-13
- 4th Down Conversions: GW 2-3, APP 3-3
SELECTED INDIVIDUAL STATS
Passing
-
- GW – Matthew Caldwell, 30-46, 231 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs
- APP – Ryan Burger, 7-11, 70 yars, 1 TD, 0 INTs
- APP – Joey Aguilar, 11-13, 174 yards, 4 TDs, 0 INTs
Rushing
-
- APP – Nate Noel, 24 carries, 117 yards, 1 TD
- APP – Maquel Haywood, 11 carries, 46 yards
- GW – Narii Gaither, 10 carries, 54 yards
- GW – Jaylen Brown, 9 carries, 45 yards, 2 TDs
Receiving
-
- APP – Kaedin Robinson, 4 catches, 64 yards, 1 TD
- APP – Christan Horn, 4 catches, 50 yards, 1 TD
- APP – Dalton Stroman, 2 catches, 49 yards, 1 TD
- APP – Deshaun Davis, 2 catches, 26 yards, 1 TD
- APP – Eli Wilson, 2 catches, 15 yards, 1 TD
- GW – Narii Gaither, 7 catches, 22 yards
- GW – Brennen McGuire, 5 catches, 32 yards
- GW – Jonathan Burns, 4 catches, 51 yards
- GW – Karim Page, 4 catches, 28 yards
- GW – Ephraim Floyd, 4 catches, 18 yards
- GW – Jayden Brown, 3 catches, 67 yards, 1 TD
