By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — With Halloween just a few days in the rearview mirror, Appalachian State buried a few 2023 football demons on Nov. 4 with a dominating, 31-9 win over the Thundering Herd of Marshall. The game was played in front of a sold-out crowd of 34,057 filling Kidd-Brewer Stadium in front of a national TV audience on the NFL Network.
After a scoreless first quarter, and a Marshall field goal early in the second period, quarterback Joey Aguilar led the Mountaineer offense on three consecutive TD-scoring drives to put the home team firmly ahead. They followed up with another TD midway through the third quarter to lead the Herd gridders, 28-3, all but putting the game away. Marshall scored its first and only TD with roughly three minutes remaining in the third quarter to tighten the deficit, but the Mountaineers took command and didn’t let up.
While Aguilar and his offensive mates rolled up 404 yards of total offense and controlled possession of the football for 33:45, including being successful on 3-of-3 opportunities inside the red zone, the Mountaineer defense may well have won the day for App State. Marshall was limited to just 243 yards of total offense, was intercepted by the Mountaineers three times, and held to just 3-of-9 conversions on third down, none on fourth down.
The win gives the Mountaineers five wins on the season vs. four losses. They need just one more win in their remaining three regular season games to become bowl eligible but the path is challenging. They travel to Georgia State (6-3 overall, 3-3 in Sun Belt) on Nov. 11, then to undefeated Sun Belt Conference leader James Madison (9-0, 6-0, ranked No.23/24) on Nov. 18. They return home to finish the regular season against longtime rival, Georgia Southern (6-3, 3-2) on Nov. 25.
SELECTED TEAM STATS
- Total Offense: APP 404, MU 243
- Net Yards Rushing: APP 178, MU 106
- Net Yards Passing: APP 226, MU 137
- 3rd Down Conversions: APP 5/11, MU 3/9
- 4th down Conversions: APP 2/3, MU 0/1
- Penalties: APP 4-52, MU 7-61
- Points off Turnovers: APP 10, MU 0
- Time of Possession: APP 33:45, MU 20:55
SELECTED INDIVIDUAL STATS
Passing
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- APP – Joey Aguilar, 19-26, 226 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INTs
- MU – Cam Fancher, 13-24, 137 yards, 1 TD, 3 INTs
Rushing
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- MU – Rasheen Ali, 11 carries, 68 yards
- APP – Nate Noel, 11 carries, 51 yards
- APP – Joey Aguilar, 10 carries, 44 yards
- APP – Maquel Haywood, 5 carries, 42 yards
- MU – Cam Fancher, 7 carries, 39 yards
- APP – Kanye Roberts, 6 carries, 23 yards
- APP – Ahmani Marshall, 2 carries, 11 yards
- APP – Anderson Castle, 3 carries, 7 yards
- Â APP – Milan Tucker, 1 carry, 3 yards, 1 TD
Receiving
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- APP – Kaedin Robinson, 4 catches, 55 yards, 1 TD
- APP – Michael Hetzel, 4 catches, 46 yards, 1 TD
- APP – Miller Gibbs, 2 catches, 37 yards
- APP – Makai Jackson, 1 catch, 29 yards, 1 TD
- MU – Caleb McMillan, 3 catches, 28 yards
- MU – Sean Callis, 2 catches, 19 yards, 1 TD
SUN BELT CONFERENCE SCORES, NOV. 4
- @Arkansas State 37, Louisiana 17
- James Madison 42, @Georgia State 14
- Coastal Carolina 28, @Old Dominion 24
- @Southern Miss 24, ULM 7
- @Texas State 45. Georgia Southern 24
- @App State 31, Marshall 9
- @Troy 28, South Alabama 10
SUN BELT STANDINGS – EAST DIVISION
- James Madison (9-0 overall, 6-0 SBC)
- Coastal Carolina (6-3, 4-2)
- Georgia Southern (6-3, 3-2)
- App State (5-4, 3-2)
- Georgia State (6-3, 3-3)
- Old Dominion (4-5, 3-3)
- Marshall (4-5, 1-4)
SUN BELT STANDINGS – WEST DIVISION
- Troy (7-2, 4-1)
- Texas State (6-3, 3-2)
- Arkansas State (5-4, 3-2)
- Louisiana (5-4, 2-3)
- South Alabama (4-5, 2-3)
- Southern Miss (2-7, 1-5)
- ULM (2-7, 0-6)
