By David Rogers. CONWAY, S.C. — When everything else is pretty equal in football, the outcome often comes down to turnovers. That was certainly the case on Nov. 7 when Coastal Carolina defeated Appalachian State, 38-24.
When all was said and done, it wasn’t that App State could not move the football. They just moved the football too many times with self-inflicted wounds. Three turnovers, a lost fumble and two pass interceptions, were converted into 17 points by the host Chanticleers, who won by 14.
The time of possession was nearly identical, with App State having the ball 29:15, Coastal Carolina for 30:45. The Mountaineers edged the Chanticleers in total yards. 376-353.
But as they have done too many times this season, once again the Mountaineers dug a hole for themselves, starting with the defense giving up a touchdown to CCU on their 7-play opening drive that covered 68 yards and took more than four minutes off the clock.
It looked like the App State offense would storm right back and make amends for the lackluster defensive performance when quarterback Joey Aguilar opened with 12- and 15-yard keepers, then handed the ball off to running back Ahmani Marshall for three consecutive runs that gashed the Chanticleer defense for another 12 yards. On first down from the Coastal 36, a Mountaineer TD looked all but inevitable when Aguilar hit Makai Jackson crossing to the left side, gathering the ball in at the 14-yard line and advancing it 10 more yards before being brought down at the Chanticleer 4-yard line.
But this is where the Mountaineers’ night of post-Halloween turnover horrors began. Under pressure from an untouched linebacker, Clev Lubin, a redshirt sophomore transfer from Iowa Western Community College, Aguilar was technically sacked for a 21-yard loss and lost control of the football for a fumble before being able to get a pass off, the ball fluttering to the teal-hued turf. It was nearly a “scoop and scoot” by Coastal’s defensive lineman Naejaun Barber, but the redshirt junior transfer from South Carolina State could not keep his balance and sprawled to the ground.
However pretty the fumble recovery wasn’t for the Chanticleers, it returned possession to the home team’s Ethan Vasko-led offense — and the redshirt sophomore from Chesapeake, Va. by way of the University of Kansas didn’t waste much time in capitalizing with a 6-play, 68-yard TD drive that consumed another 3:28 of time off the clock.
Suddenly, App State was down, 14-0, and the visitors’ fate seemed all but sealed when Aguilar & Co. could only move the ball 32 yards in four plays before coughing up a first interception. The ball was thrown slightly behind Jackson, bounced off his awkwardly outstretched hands and into the arms of Courtney Eubanks, CCU’s graduate student defensive back who transferred from FCS powerhouse North Dakota State after his junior year.
The Mountaineer defense was able to hold Vasko’s offense to a field goal, but the visitors were looking at a 17-0 deficit just three plays into the second quarter.
App State made the scoring deficit manageable going into halftime, 17-10, thanks to 38-yard field goal and a 10-play, 77-yard TD drive, while the defense produced a couple of three-and-outs, but things hardly improved in the second half.
The Mountaineers got the football to start the third quarter, but could do nothing with it, punting the ball back to Coastal Carolina after just three plays.
The Chanticleers seemed to take command with a couple of TDs that served as bookends for App State’s second pass interception, another Aguilar pass that got tipped in the air on tight coverage by defensive back Matthew McDoom, pulled in by A J Williams and returned to the App State 1-yard line. An initial QB keeper by Vasko was ruled to have been stopped short of the goal line, but the 6-3, 220 lb. quarterback did his best imitation of the “tush push” to slide into the end zone on the next play.
With the Chanticleers up 31-10 and the game clock soon to turn the page into the fourth quarter, App State’s hopes for their fifth win of the season were dimming.
The Mountaineers did manage a 12-play, 75 yard drive early in the final stanza, but it also took almost five minutes off the game clock. The two Sun Belt Conference rivals traded touchdowns in the finals minutes, App State moving the ball 75 yards in four plays, highlighted by a 25-yard TD reception by Kaedin Robinson, but with only 1:40 left on the clock and down by 14 points. Vasko ran one play, then went into victory formation to run out the clock and seal the win for Coastal Carolina.
With App State moving to 4-5 overall and 2-4 in Sun Belt play, and Coastal Carolina at 5-4 overall and 2-3 in conference, it appears that 2024 will be the first year one or the other of them will not be in the Sun Belt title game since the conference split into its East and West divisions, in 2018. The Mountaineers represented the East Division in 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022 and 2023, Coastal Carolina in 2020.
POSTGAME NOTES, compliments of App State Strategic Communications
- Coastal Carolina snapped App State’s two game-win streak. At 4-5 overall, the Mountaineers will need to win their final two games to earn bowl eligibility and avoid their first losing season since 2013 (their last year in the FCS).
- App State lost the turnover battle (3-0) for the seventh time in the last eight games.
- App State holds an all-time series lead of 7-4 against Coastal Carolina, but the Chanticleers have won four of the last five meetings, including three straight in Conway.
- Elijah Mc-Cantos started at nickelback to earn a starting nod for the first time as a Mountaineer.
OFFENSE
- Ahmani Marshall rushed a career-high 28 times for a season-high 124 yards and two touchdowns, while adding a team-high six catches for 36 yards. It was his third straight 100-yard rushing effort and the fourth of his career. His 2-yard touchdown with 3:07 left in the second quarter cut the Mountaineers’ deficit to one score at 17-10. His 2-yard score at the beginning of the fourth quarter turned a three-score deficit back to a two-score deficit at 31-17.
- Joey Aguilar passed for 226 yards and a touchdown, with two interceptions, while running for 30 net yards (95 gained, 65 lost).
- Kaedin Robinson, who led the Mountaineers in receiving yards (76) for the ninth time in nine games, caught his second touchdown of the season on a 25-yard pass from Aguilar for the game’s final score.
- Robinson has caught a pass in 34 consecutive games, which ranks top 15 among all FBS players. He entered the game ranked 10th nationally and first in the Sun Belt in receiving yards per game.
- Makai Jackson had a big first half with two catches for 71 yards.
DEFENSE
- App State’s defense held Coastal Carolina to just 353 total yards and 150 passing yards, but multiple turnovers by the Mountaineer offense gave the Chanticleers a short field.
- Brendan Harrington had a season-high 10 tackles and 1.5 TFLs for his second consecutive season-best game.
SPECIAL TEAMS
- Jackson Moore got App State on the board with a 38-yard field goal to make it 17-3 with 10:23 left in the second quarter. He is now 4-of-6 on field goals since taking over for injured starter and team captain Michael Hughes.
Selected game stats made possible and distribute by Coastal Carolina University and StatBroadcast.
SCORING SUMMARY
TEAM STATS
INDIVIDUAL STATS
DEFENSE
DRIVES (by Team)
DRIVES (Chronological)
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