Mountaineers survive Warhawks, 41-40, on last gasp field goal

By David Rogers. MONROE, La. — Turnovers giveth, turnovers taketh away — then they giveth again. In between a combined six turnovers (four by App State, two by Louisiana-Monroe), 1,007 yards of combined total offense resulted in a 41-40 shootout victory by the Mountaineers in Malone Stadium, in front of 19,919 mostly Warhawk fans.

The victory was about as uncomfortably dramatic as App State could tolerate. Placekicker Michael Hughes’ 54-yard field goal as time expired was just enough to push the Mountaineers ahead. It came at the end of a 6-play, 43 yard desperation drive that started with just 1:02 left on the clock and the Warhawks leading, 40-38. In the previous six offensive possessions in the second half, App State had scored a TD, fumbled the ball away, punted, kicked a field goal, had a pass intercepted, and turned the ball over on downs, essentially squandering opportunities to put the game away with turnovers and errors.

Mountaineer quarterback Joey Aguilar shook off any earlier mistakes and was near perfect on the final drive, completing 4-of-5 passing to keep moving the chains with no timeouts remaining. Faced with 3rd-and-11 on the App State 19-yard line and less than 30 seconds on the clock, Aguilar hit wide receiver Kaedin Robinson for consecutive completions of 14,16, and 14 yards, the redshirt junior from Asheville getting out of bound each time with a first down to stop the clock. Just four seconds remained when Robinson was pushed out of bounds on the final completion, at the ULM 37-yard line. Hughes’ kick, the longest of his career, cleared the crossbar with plenty of room to spare.

How the Mountaineers survived four turnovers may well be a monumental question considering how evenly played this football game was. In the first quarter, each team scored 14 points, with App State having a narrow, 142-138 edge in yards of total offense. Both teams gave up the ball on a turnover, the Mountaineers  with a fumble, the Warhawks a pass interception.

The second quarter was more of the same. Each team scored 14 points, with ULM holding a narrow, 146-140 advantage in yards of total offense and with App State surviving the only turnover of the period, an INT. When you look at the 28-28 score at intermission and the near identical yards of total offense — 282 for APP, 284 for ULM — it is as if the first half never happened and the whole affair would be decided in the second half.

While it may not at first glance look like it with 1,007 yards of combined total offense, it may very well be App State’s defense at critical junctures that saved the day, along with Hughes’ big boot in the final seconds.

App State’s offense suffered only one 3-and-out possession in the course of the entire game. App State’s defense forced ULM into five 3-and-outs, resulting in the Warhawks punting the ball back to the Mountaineers five times. Two of those ULM punts came in the pivotal fourth quarter, including the last one with 1:07 left on the clock. The defensive effort, combined with App State using their timeouts effectively, used up only 19 seconds for that particular Warhawk possession. Had ULM gotten even a single first down, it likely would have been game over with a 2-point Warhawk victory.

After the game allowing App State to start 1-0 in Sun Belt Conference play, Mountaineer head coach Shawn Clark expressed pride in everyone in the App State Football organization.

“It showed resilience,” said Clark. “The odds of us winning that football game were not good when you have (four) turnovers. We didn’t play our best football, but everyone stuck together. Those guys love each other…

“We won a game. We are 1-0. Monroe is a tough place to play,” Clark concluded.

It was a one-point game, so a lot of attention will be given, in retrospect, to Jordan Favors’ blocked extra point with approximately 8:20 left in the third quarter, to keep the Mountaineer advantage at 35-34.

Now with a 3-2 overall record, 1-0 in Sun Belt Conference play, App State will host Coastal Carolina on a rare, Tuesday night game at Kidd Brewer Stadium, nationally televised on ESPN2, with kickoff slated for 7:30 p.m.

GAME NOTES FROM APP STATE SPORTS

• App State won its ninth straight Sun Belt opener and its second straight on the final play (following last year’s Hail Mary win over Troy).
• The Mountaineers won on the road for the first time this season after last-second losses to then-No. 17 North Carolina (40-34 in 2OT) and Wyoming (22-19). The Mountaineers’ 33 road wins since moving up to the FBS level in 2014 are sixth-most in the country behind Boise State, Ohio State, Clemson, Oklahoma and Alabama.
• App State trailed 40-35 at the end of the third quarter before a pair of Michael Hughes field goals sent them to a win. It’s the first comeback win after trailing at the end of three quarters since a 31-30 win over Marshall in 2021.
• This is the Mountaineers’ first win when giving up 40+ points since a 56-41 win over Charlotte in 2019.
• App State earned its first win of the year when losing the turnover battle. Under head coach Shawn Clark, the Mountaineers are 17-1 when winning the turnover battle, 5-10 when losing, and 7-3 when they have the same number of turnovers as the opponent.
• The Mountaineers’ season-high 536 yards of total offense marked the fourth time in five games that App State has had more yards of offense than the opponent.
• App State’s 82 wins since 2015 are tied with Notre Dame for sixth-most among all FBS teams behind only Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, Ohio State and Oklahoma.

OFFENSE

• The Mountaineers’ offense posted a season-high 536 total yards with 201 rushing and 335 passing.
• Nate Noel rushed for 109 yards on 18 attempts, his fifth 100-yard effort in five games this season and his sixth straight over the century mark dating back to last year. He’s the first App State player with six straight 100-yard games since Jalin Moore had six straight in 2016.
• Three of Kaiden Robinson’s career-high 10 catches came in the final minute of play as the Mountaineers marched into field goal range for the game-winner. Those three catches accounted for 44 of his career-high 112 yards. He also scored a second-quarter touchdown that put App State ahead 21-14.
• Christan Horn had touchdown grabs of 52 and 22 yards for his second career multi-touchdown game. He finished with a career high-tying six catches for 124 yards.
• It’s the first time two Mountaineers went over 100 receiving yards since the 2021 win over Coastal Carolina (Malik Williams and Corey Sutton).
• Joey Aguilar threw for a career-high 335 yards on 27-of-39 attempts with three touchdowns and two interceptions. He also ran for 49 yards on seven carries.
• Aguilar completed a pass to nine different receivers.
• Kanye Roberts rushed for his second touchdown of the year.

DEFENSE

• App State’s defense held ULM to 3 of 11 third-down conversions.
• Tyrek Funderburk scored on a 23-yard pick six to become the first App State player with pick sixes in back-to-back games since Steven Jones Jr. in 2021.
• The Mountaineers’ 131 interceptions since 2015 are third-most among FBS schools behind San Diego State and Iowa.
• True freshman Nate Johnson recorded a sack for the third straight game.
• Nick Ross had a team-high 10 tackles and 1.5 TFLs, including a huge one to help hold ULM to a three-and-out on its final drive that led to App State’s ensuing game-winning drive.
• Shawn Collins had a sack among his two tackles and two quarterback hurries.

SPECIAL TEAMS

• Michael Hughes nailed a 54-yard field goal as time expired to clinch the victory. It’s App State’s first game-ending field goal since 2021 (Chandler Staton vs. No. 14 Coastal Carolina) and the longest game-ender in school history. It’s the Mountaineers’ longest field goal since 2000 (Mark Wright’s school-record 57-yarder vs. Troy).
• Hughes also made a 28-yarder to pull App State to within two at 40-38. He connected on all five PATs and had four touchbacks on seven kickoffs.
• Jordan Favors blocked an extra point to maintain App State’s 35-34 lead with 8:24 left in the third quarter. The saved point proved to be critical in the 41-40 victory.

SCORING SUMMARY

SELECTED TEAM STATS

SELECTED INDIVIDUAL STATS

Passing

• APP – Joey Aguilar: 27-39, 335 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INTs
• ULM – Jiya Wright: 18-27, 268, 4 TDs, 1 INT

Rushing

• APP – Nate Noel: 18 carries, 109 yards
• ULM – Jiya Wright: 17 carries, 74 yards, 1 TD
• ULM – Isaiah Woullard: 9 carries, 52 yards
• APP – Joey Aguilar: 7 carries, 49 yards
• APP – Ahmani Marshall: 4 carries, 30 yards
• APP – Kanye Roberts: 7 carries, 17 yards, 1 TD

Receiving

• APP – Christin Horn: 6 catches, 124 yards, 2 TDs
• APP – Kaedin Robinson: 10 catches, 112 yards, 1 TD
• ULM – Dariyan Wiley: 4 catches, 80 yards, 1 TD
• ULM – Bugs Mortimer: 2 catches, 65 yards
• ULM – Tyrone Howell: 8 catches, 62 yards, 3 TDs
• APP – Dalton Stroman: 2 catches, 31 yards