By David Rogers. CLEMSON, S.C. — Plays to celebrate were few and far between for App State’s football team at Clemson on Sept. 7. Down 35-0 at the end of the first quarter and 56-13 at halftime, the Mountaineers fell victim to an historic offensive performance by the Tigers in losing by a final score of 66-20.
For Clemson, it was the most yards of total offense (525 yards) in the first half in the program’s history, 349 of them in the first quarter. The Tigers’ starting quarterback, Cade Klubnick, only played the first half but achieved career highs in passing yards, passing TDs, and rushing TDs. He finished with 378 passing yards, a whopping five passing TDs and, oh yeah, two rushing touchdowns.
On the third play from scrimmage, Klubnick connected with wide receiver Bryant Wesco, Jr. just past midfield and the much talked about freshman took it to the house for a 72-yard catch-and-sprint TD.
While the Clemson defense kept the Mountaineers’ offense off-balance and punting, Klubnick and Wesco combined for another 52-yard big gain to the 1-yard line, from which the nimble QB took the ball to the end zone all by himself (through a gaping hole made possible by his offensive line).
After more App State misadventures, Clemson running back Phil Mafah found nothing but daylight ahead of him and ran for an 82-yard score.
With the Tigers scoring three TDs on their first three possessions and the orange-and-white uniformed defensive unit all but putting a stranglehold on the Mountaineers’ Joey Aguilar-led offense, the hosts’ 21-0 lead with still 7:08 remaining in the first quarter had written on the proverbial wall how this contest was going to turn out.
To their credit, even though schooled by Clemson’s starters, App State played gamely until the final whistle blew. As the game wore on, Aguilar finally began to connect with receivers Christan Horn, Kaedin Robinson and others.
Among the most impressive Mountaineer performances from the start was that of running back Anderson Castle, who seemed to be able to move the football when hardly anyone else among the visitors could. The Watauga High School alum finished the night with seven rushes for 80 yards, an 11.4 average, with his longest a 21-yard run. On each occasion, he proved difficult for the Tigers to bring down. A highlight was his 4-yard power drive into the end zone for his first TD of the year. Of the Mountaineers’ eight rushing plays of 10 yards or more, Castle had five of them, for 11, 12, 17, 21, and 10 yards. To round out his “big play” night, the redshirt junior had one of the Mountaineers’ six pass plays of 15-plus yards, a 19-yard gain coming out of the backfield with under a minute to go in the first half.
Robinson was targeted 10 times by Aguilar, eventually catching three passes for 58 yards. Christan Horn caught three of five targets for 47 yards, while Makai Jackson proved to be the most proficient Mountaineer on the night, catching six of 11 targets for 54 yards, including a touchdown on a twisting, 17-yard catch-and-tumble into the end zone, in the third quarter.
After struggling in the first half, Aguilar seemed to get back in sync with his receivers in the second half, finishing the game with 18 completions in 41 attempts, including one TD and not interceptions.
Facing a powerful Clemson offensive line, the App State defense recorded no sacks and only three tackles for loss, one each by linebacker Derrell Farrar and defensive backs DJ Burks and Jordan Favors.
Underscoring Clemson’s offensive performance against the Mountaineers, the Tigers scored touchdowns on all eight of their first half possessions.
App State will look to rebound next week at East Carolina, a 20-14 winner over another Sun Belt Conference East Division member, Old Dominion. Although Clemson might wish they could play again soon to reinforce the winning momentum, the Tigers will have to wait for a Sept. 21 date vs. the North Carolina State Wolfpack, in Death Valley.
