By David Rogers. HUNTINGTON, W. Va. — Much of what was seen in Appalachian State’s 28-21 loss to Sun Belt Conference rival Marshall on Nov. 12 was evenly matched. Perhaps telling are some of the defensive statistics.
Both teams had a fumble recovery and a pass interception, but that is where the defensive similarities end. Marshall held a 7-3 advantage in tackles for loss, 2-1 in QB sacks, 6-4 advantage in pass breakups, and 12-5 in quarterback hurries. In short, the Thundering Herd applied more pressure to the Mountaineer quarterback and made more key plays to disrupt App State’s offensive possessions.
Marshall took the opening kickoff and with it made a statement, driving 80 yards in 15 plays and keeping Appalachian State’s offense off the field for almost seven minutes. Oh, and they scored a touchdown to take the early lead, 7-0, when star running back Khalan Laborn got into the end zone from one yard out. It was perhaps fitting that Laborn get the scoring credit after playing a key role in almost half of the Herd’s 15 plays on the drive, including 6 rushes and a pass reception.
In response, the Mountaineers were able to get two first downs on their ensuing offensive possession, but were only able to gain 34 yards in 6 plays before having to punt.
The rest of the first quarter was a defensive slugfest, the two longtime adversaries exchanging three-and-outs.
After each team made defensive stands to open the second quarter, App State caught a break when Marshall’s special teams player, Jadarius Green-McKnight, was flagged for interfering with the Mountaineer punt returner’s called fair catch. It gave Appalachian a short field for the next offensive possession, starting at the 50-yardline. Unfortunately, they could only gain one first down while moving the ball just 22 yards in 6 plays before turning it over on downs at the Marshall 28. Rather than attempt a field goal on 4th-and-2, the Mountaineers elected to send running back Camerun Peoples on a mission to gain the necessary yardage, but a stalwart Herd defense was able to stop him short of the objective.
In a strange series of events, App State and Marshall exchanged pass interceptions, still early in the second quarter. First, App State seemed to get another opportunity when linebacker Logan Doublin intercepted a Marshall pass that was broken up initially by Jalen McCloud but, on the very next play, the Thundering Herd’s redshirt junior defensive back Micah Abraham picked off a Chase Brice pass in the end zone to return the favor.
Marshall took advantage, staging a 9-play, 80-yard drive to a TD and PAT that doubled the Herd’s first half advantage to 14-0.
App State was held to a 3-and-out, but the offensive effort was given another opportunity when punter Clayton Howell’s punt was fumbled by Marshall’s Caleb McMillan at the Thundering Herd 32-yardline. In spite of incurring three penalties on the extended offensive possession, App State took advantage with a 10 play, 32 yard drive featuring runs by Peoples and Daetrich Harrington. And it was Harrington who gathered in a short pass in the right flat and romped down to the one-yard line, then on the next play took the ball into the end zone. With the Michael Hughes PAT, the Mountaineers had closed the deficit to a single touchdown, at 14-7, which they carried into intermission.
App State’s hopes for a quick resurgence with receiving the second half kickoff faded when it was mishandled by redshirt freshman tight end David Larkins and recovered by Marshall’s Dainsus Miller at the Mountaineers’ 30. Appalachian’s defense turned back the Herd’s offense, with a 16-yard loss on a QB sack pushing Marshall out of field goal range and they punted down to the App State 7-yardline. The Mountaineer offense couldn’t move the ball either and the situation worsened when Clayton Howell’s punt was blocked by the Herd’s Shadeed Ahmed and recovered by Miller in the end zone, putting Marshall ahead, 21-7.
The Mountaineer fans scattered about Joan C. Edwards Stadium among the reported attendance of 24,312 didn’t have long to wait for renewed hope when redshirt sophomore Milan Tucker returned the Thundering Herd’s next kickoff 96 yards for a TD, again narrowing Marshall’s lead to just one touchdown at 21-14.
But in response, the Thundering Herd’s no-huddle offense produced yet another TD after an 8-play, 82-yard drive featuring the arms and legs of redshirt freshman quarterback Cam Fancher, including two long passes to redshirt junior wide receiver Corey Gammage. First. there was 32 yard pass play from Fancher to Gammage over the middle, then a 19-yard aerial from the QB to WR on the right side that found the end zone, expanding Marshall’s lead to 28-14, midway through the third quarter.
Toward the end of the third quarter, Appalachian started a 9-play, 50-yard drive that featured Brice passes to receivers Kaedon Robinson and Dalton Stroman for sizable gains, but it was a Brice-to-tight end Henry Pearson that reached paydirt, a 14-yard aerial on the right side. With Michael Hughes’ successful PAT kick, the Mountaineers were again within a touchdown but now the game was early in the final quarter.
Neither team scored in the final 14 minutes of the game, although App State came close, manufacturing a 13-play, 50-yard drive that stalled on the Marshall 13-yardline. The ball was turned over on downs with just over five minutes remaining.
Appalachian’s defense allowed the Herd to only gain 21 yards in just over two minutes before getting the ball back into the Mountaineer offense’s hands, so the Boone boys had one more chance to tie the game or go ahead with a 2-point conversion. They were able to run 11 plays, but only got the ball to the Marshall 45 before turning the ball over on downs with only 36 seconds left on the clock. It only required a kneel down by Fancher to preserve the Thundering Herd’s sixth win of the season, their overall record improving to a bowl eligible 6-4 and 3-3 in Sun Belt Conference play. Meanwhile, Appalachian fell deeper in the SBC East Division standings at 2-4 in conference play (tied for the East cellar with Georgia Southern and Old Dominion) and will have wait another week for a chance to get a sixth overall win and become bowl eligible. At 5-5 overall, they are not quite there.
“It was a gut-wrenching loss,” said App State head coach Shawn Clark after the game. “I told our team that I was proud of the way they fought, but we have to find a way to win the football game. We are all hurting, but we have to find a way to win. We can’t have turnovers. Marshall has a very solid defense. It is high risk, high reward and they just made more plays than we did today.”
Appalachian State now has two games remaining in the regular season to try and become bowl eligible. Both contests are against the teams with whom they are tied at the bottom of the Sun Belt’s East Division. First is a home game on Nov. 19 against Old Dominion on Senior Day, with a 2:30 p.m. kickoff. Then they close the regular season on Saturday, Nov. 26, under the lights in Statesboro, Ga., at Georgia Southern. Kickoff is at 8 p.m.
