By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — Appalachian State’s (4-3 overall, 2-2 Sun Belt) crazy college football season was given new energy on Oct. 19, and on national TV, no less. After failing to show up (figuratively speaking) at Texas State just 10 days ago, the Mountaineers ducked into a phone booth, twirled around a couple of times, then re-emerged as the Running Back U of days gone by — and with a disruptive, stingy defense, too. The High Country’s favorite sons reestablished themselves as a force to be reckoned with in 2022’s topsy-turvy Sun Belt Conference, defeating Georgia State (2-5, 1-2) going away, 42-17.
In the first quarter, the Mountaineers’ defense seemed to be rolling out a red carpet for the Panthers, who are led by senior QB Darren Granger. On Georgia State’s first possession, the Panthers went 79 yards in 11 plays, taking four minutes off the clock. More than half of that yardage was rolled up by senior running back Tucker Gregg, the former walk-on known for his hard-nosed running style. The Chatsworth, Ga. native finished off the drive with a 4-yard plunge into the end zone, giving the visitors an early, 7-0 advantage with the successful PAT kick by teammate Michael Hayes.
As in App State’s game-opening first drive, the Mountaineer offense could do little or nothing in response. It was five plays and punt it back to the Panthers, who again orchestrated a TD-scoring drive, this one comprised of 7 plays to cover 78 yards, ending with a 26-yard, touchdown-producing “QB keeper” by the speedy, athletic Granger.
Suddenly, the Mountaineers found themselves down, 14-0, with more than four minutes remaining in the first quarter. App Nation was getting restless. There was even a sprinkling of “boos” heard around Kidd Brewer Stadium.
And then momentum shifted, punctuated by a 16-yard rumble to the goal line by redshirt junior running back Camerun Peoples, followed by a PAT kick by Michael Hughes to shrink the deficit to 14-7.
“Perhaps the most impressive thing about our team,” said Mountaineer head coach Shawn Clark in his press conference opening statement, “is that we found out who we were tonight. When all the outside noise is happening, we believe in ourselves. We played for each other tonight, and for this team. The numbers show it, that we played big boy football on both offense and defense. After the first two drives, we settled in.”
It is hard to argue with the numbers. What appeared to be a gridiron disaster in the making suddenly changed. App State morphed into the Sun Belt powerhouse for which the team has come to be known. By game’s end, they had rolled up 466 yards of total offense, 404 of them on the ground, rushing. Just as important, after letting Georgia State pretty much have its way in the initial quarter, the Mountaineer defense pulled together to allow just 291 yards of total offense for the game and only a late, 4th quarter field goal for the final three periods.
When everyone is healthy, few FBS-level universities have the stable of running backs that Appalachian State can feature. Led by Peoples’ 168 yards rushing on 23 carries, with two TDs, the Mountaineers were two yards short of having four more running backs with 50 yards-plus on the ground. Last year’s Sun Belt-leading rusher, Nate Noel, carried the ball 15 times for 69 yards. Daetrich Harrington toted the ball 11 times for 52 yards. And local native Anderson Castle reeled off 50 yards in 7 consecutive plays when everyone in the stadium knew he was getting the ball each and every time. His 7.1 yard average per carry produced the final touchdown of the game, putting App State up, 42-17. Wake Forest transfer Ahmani Marshall raced into the end zone from 37 yards out to open the Mountaineers’ scoring outburst after intermission, finishing the night with four carries for 48 yards and the TD. Even QB Chase Brice got in on the rushing barrage, keeping the ball 5 times for 17 yards, including two on-the-ground TDs.
The Mountaineers forced two turnovers on Georgia State’s first three drives of the second half, allowing them to take control with three consecutive scoring drives of their own, beginning with Marshall’s sprint to the end zone. That was followed by a 10-play, 67-yard drive culminating with a Brice keeper from one yard out. Then, after Mountaineer linebacker Tyler Bird intercepted a Granger pass with 3:01 in the third quarter and returned it 12 yards, to the Georgia State 9-yardline, Brice finished off the short five-play drive with a one-yard keeper to the right side.
“After those first two Georgia State drives, we played really well on defense,” Clark pointed out. “We talked all week about discipline, details and fundamentals and that we had to draw a line in the sand, to stop the bleeding. To stop having self-inflicted wounds that cost us football games. Overall, I think we did that. Our guys said, ‘The time is now and let’s go make a statement. And we did.”
Georgia State’s offense produced 157 yards in its first two drives, then barely 100 for the rest of the game. App State did just the opposite, only with even bigger improvement.
“We settled down and we played Gap Town defense, and we tackled better,” said Clark, indicating that the previous week of practice paid dividends. “We worked a lot on tackling, pursuit drills with proper angles. We weren’t trying to make plays for someone else, but doing our (respective) jobs, relying on one another. It really helped out.”
After the Texas State performance, Clark admitted that a number of things had to change.
“There was a lot of angst or anxiety to perform well. Our kids want to do the very best they possibly can. Sometimes it doesn’t happen, but it doesn’t mean we aren’t a good football team. We were embarrassed in how we played and how we coached last week (at Texas State), and we came back and changed some things,” Clark added. “That was the beauty of it. (With the extra days between games) We got extra work. We got back to the basics and that was the reason we won tonight.
Clark said when they came in at halftime, he said to Kevin Barbay, the offensive coordinator, “Run the football. We are going to find out what we are made of.”
And run they did.
Because of the mid-week, nationally televised game against Georgia State, App State has another 10-day break before celebrating Homecoming at Kidd Brewer Stadiium against Pittsburgh, Penn.-based Robert Morris University, which competes in the Big South Conference at the Division I FCS level. The Colonials are 0-6 overall all on the season, 0-2 in conference after a 41-10 loss to Campbell University on Oct. 15.
SCORING SUMMARY
| FIRST QUARTER | GAST | APP | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
TD
8:43
Tucker Gregg 4 Yd Run (Michael Hayes Kick)
11 plays, 79 yards, 4:00
|
7 | 0 |
|
TD
4:20
Darren Grainger 26 Yd Run (Michael Hayes Kick)
7 plays, 78 yards, 2:05
|
14 | 0 |
| SECOND QUARTER | GAST | APP | |
 |
TD
3:13
Camerun Peoples 16 Yd Run (Michael Hughes Kick)
12 plays, 75 yards, 5:30
|
14 | 7 |
| THIRD QUARTER | GAST | APP | |
|
TD
10:24
Ahmani Marshall 37 Yd Run (Michael Hughes Kick)
6 plays, 69 yards, 2:48
|
14 | 14 |
|
TD
3:59
Chase Brice 1 Yd Run (Michael Hughes Kick)
10 plays, 67 yards, 4:56
|
14 | 21 |
|
TD
1:10
Chase Brice 1 Yd Run (Michael Hughes Kick)
5 plays, 13 yards, 1:51
|
14 | 28 |
| FOURTH QUARTER | GAST | APP | |
|
FG
13:45
Michael Hayes 47 Yd Field Goal
7 plays, 43 yards, 2:25
|
17 | 28 |
|
TD
9:42
Camerun Peoples 7 Yd Run (Michael Hughes Kick)
8 plays, 30 yards, 4:03
|
17 | 35 |
|
TD
3:24
Anderson Castle 2 Yd Run (Michael Hughes Kick)
10 plays, 75 yards, 5:29
|
17 | 42 |
SELECTED TEAM STATS
-
- Total Offense – GSU 291, APP 466
- Passing Yards – GSU 73, APP 62
- Rushing Yards – GSU 218, APP 404
- Interceptions Thrown – GSU 1, APP 0
- Fumbles Lost – GSU 3, APP 1
- Penalties – GSU 4/46, APP 5/60
- 3rd Down Conversions – GSU 5/14, APP 4/13
- 4th Down Conversions – GSU 0/0, APP 3/4
- Time of Possession – GSU 23:12, APP 36:48
SELECTED INDIVIDUAL STATS
Passing
-
- GSU Darren Granger 9/23, 73 yards, 0 TDs, 1 INT
- APP Chase Brice 7/17, 62 yards, 0 TDs, 0 INTs
Rushing
-
- APP Camerun Peoples 23 carries, 168 yards, 2 TDs
- GSU Tucker Gregg 11 carries, 93 yards, 1 TD
- GSU Darren Granger 19 carries, 90 yards, 1 TD
- APP Nate Noel 15 carries, 69 yards
- APP Daetrich Harrington 11 carries, 52 yards
- APP Anderson Castle 7 carries, 50 yards, 1 TD
- APP Ahmani Marshall 4 carries, 48 yards, 1 TD
- GSU Marcus Carroll 6 carries, 25 yards
- APP Chase Brice 5 carries, 17 yards, 2 TDs
- GSU Jamyest Williams 5 carries, 10 yards
Receiving
-
- APP Henry Pearson 1 catch, 31 yards
- GSU Ahmon Green 2 catches, 24 yards
- GSU Robert Lewis 2 catches, 23 yards
- APP Nate Noel 2 catches, 12 yards
