Heartbreak at The Rock with season-ending 30-29 loss

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — A missed field goal for the would-be game winner as time expired spelled heartbreak for the App State Mountaineers on Nov. 29, losing to the Arkansas State Red Wolves, 30-29, in Kidd Brewer Stadium.

This Sun Belt Conference matchup of two 5-6 teams needing a win to become bowl eligible and prospectively add another game to their respective 2025 campaigns was about as close a contest as could be. Pregame, oddsmakers had Arkansas State a 1.5-point favorite and the teams lived up to the tight billing. The score was tied 3-3 at the end of the first quarter, 16–16 at halftime and 23-23 at the end of the third quarter.

The Mountaineers’ star freshman placekicker, Dominic De Freitas, made five of six field goal attempts earlier in the game when App State offensive drives stalled, with one blocked, but on the decisive seventh attempt pushed the ball just outside the right upright, allowing the Red Wolves to win the game and, in the process, become bowl eligible.

While the freshman placekicker may have reservations about his performance at game’s end, a sometimes sputtering Mountaineer offense that required them to settle for seven field goal tries must share a good portion of any blame. That said, on the final drive with only 42 seconds remaining to work with, QB J J Kohl led an impressive advance to get De Freitas and the special teams unit into range. Starting from their own 29-yard line, in seven plays Kohl hit three different receivers, including senior tight end David Larkins twice, to move the ball 44 yards to the Arkansas State 27-yard line. The 45-yard attempt was certainly in the mix of his earlier successful efforts from 43-, 38-, 45-, 48- and 29-yards, but the fickle finger of fate — and a strong, swirling wind — denied the potential game winner.

Although the offense had difficulty in scoring touchdowns, not all of the blame can fall on the shoulders of sophomore quarterback J J Kohl, who completed 26 of 39 passes for 271 yards, two TDs, and suffered zero interceptions. His favorite receivers on this day were Sam Mbake (9 receptions, 68 yards, 1 TD), David Larkins (6-72-0) and Dalton Stroman (3-64-1).

The Red Wolves QB, Jaylen Raynor, completed 32 of 47 passes for 363 yards and 3 TDs, offset by one interception. While senior wide receiver Corey Tucker caught 10 Raynor passes on 16 targets for 90 yards and 2 TDs, junior wide receiver Chauncy Cobb was the “big play” target with five receptions for 117 yards. Cobb’s yardage came in chunks of 43-, 22- and 37-yard gainers.

Credit Arkansas State’s defense for keeping the Mountaineers out of the “red zone” and forcing long field goal attempts by De Freitas, who made five (the team record is six), had one blocked and then suffered the fatal miss at the end. The Red Wolves defenders were disruptive, tallying four tackles for loss, 3 pass breakups, and eight quarterback hurries to go with one sack.

By comparison to the Mountaineers having to settle for seven field goal attempts, almost all outside of the “red zone,” the visitors did their scoring with TDs (4) and only two field goal tries, one from 24 yards out and the other missed from 52 yards.

At the end of the day, Arkansas State now awaits its potential post-season bowl opportunity. Meanwhile, App State looks ahead to next season, the upcoming “National Signing Day” on Feb. 4, 2026, with early signing opportunities Dec. 3-5.

Scoring Summary