Appalachian State revved the offensive engine early and often as it dialed up an early 14-0 first quarter lead behind a 10-yard Armanti Edwards touchdown run on the Mountaineers' opening drive. The Apps' second drive resulted in a score as Armanti Edwards used a Josh Johnson block to scamper 28 yards to give ASU a 14-0 lead.
Late in the period Chattanooga capped a 10 play, 78-yard drive with a Joseph Pitman 3-yard touchdown reception, cutting the Mountaineer lead to 14-7 at the 1:39 mark of the opening period.
Appalachian immediately answered on its next drive using only three plays, as Edwards raced 40 yards on an option keeper to stake the Black and Gold to a 21-7 advantage with only seconds remaining in the first quarter.
Chattanooga continued to hang in the game midway through the second quarter as Spencer Nolan booted a 35-yard field goal to cut the Mocs deficit to 21-10.
Chattanooga had an opportunity to cut further into ASU's lead around the four minute mark of the half, but a Nolan 34-yard FG attempt was partially deflected, turning the Mocs away.
The Moc defense forced a three-and-out and looked to again dent the App deficit. A two-yard touchdown pass with 17 seconds left at the half made it a ballgame at 21-17. The Mountaineers managed to move into field goal range in the final dozen seconds of the half, but a Julian Rauch 52-yard attempt was wide right, keeping the Mocs in the contest.
The majority of the third period was a jockeying for field position between the two clubs, as the teams exchanged punts. A key Chattanooga fumble was recovered by ASU at the Chattanooga 30 yard line. A reverse to Dexter Jackson moved App to the UT-C 10 yard line as the third quarter expired with no further scoring by either club.
Appalachian converted the turnover into points as the fourth period began, with Edwards capping the drive with a two-yard run for his fourth TD of the day. The PAT was blocked, leaving athe Mountaineers with a ten-point bulge at 27-17 with 13:52 remaining.
A shanked Chattanooga punt gave the Mountaineers favorable position inside the UTC 30. Appalachian cashed in on the good fortune to the tune of a 23-yard Rauch field goal to up the ASU lead to 30-17 at the 8:54 mark.
The Black and Gold defense put the finishing touches on the victory with 36 seconds remaining, when Buck Buchanan Award candidate Corey Lynch drilled Moc receiver Clint Woods as he caught a pass and Justin Woazeah scooped up the loose ball and returned it 32 yards for his first-career touchdown to close out the scoring.
Offensively, Edwards and Richardson both went over the 100-yard rushing mark for the fifth time in the last 11 games they’ve played in together, with Edward rolling up a game-high 157 yards on the ground and Richardson chipping in with 103. Richardson’s record rushing total now stands at 4,486 yards while Edwards became the fastest player in school history to reach the 2,000-yard rushing plateau. In just 22 career games, Edwards has rushed for 2,081 yards, already the ninth-highest mark in school history and most ever by an ASU quarterback.
Appalachian State University’s defense of its back-to-back NCAA Division I football national championships begins on Saturday at Kidd Brewer Stadium versus James Madison. Appalachian (9-2, 5-2 SoCon) is not one of the four seeded teams in the 16-team Division I Championship field, despite winning its third-consecutive Southern Conference championship and looking to become the first team to ever claim three-straight national titles at the Division I FCS (Football Championship Subdivision — formerly Division I-AA) level. James Madison comes into the postseason with an 8-3 overall record and finished 6-2 in the Colonial Athletic Association’s South Division, a game behind Richmond. Between them, the Mountaineers and Dukes have won the last three national titles (JMU in 2004, ASU in ‘05 and ‘06). “James Madison is one of the best teams in the 16,” ASU head coach Jerry Moore said. “We’ll start off against a great football team.”
Information from Appalachian State University Sports Information was used in compiling this report.
