We're here at ASU for a doubleheader of sports action as the ASU football and basketball teams are in action today.First off, it's the Mountaineer football squad hosting South Carolina State. We'll be blogging all day from Boone with the latest from the game.
12:10 - App. had the opening possession of the game and drove inside the SCSU 5-yard line, but a fumble turned the ball over to the Bulldogs. SCSU's first pass play was picked off by Mark LeGree to give the Mountaineers the ball at the Bulldogs 45 yard line.
Just 2 plays after getting the ball back, an ill-advised Armanti Edwards pass off balance and off his back foot was intercepted by SCSU to give the Bulldogs their second possession of the game via turnover.
The Bulldogs are able to capitalize on the second gaffe with a 50 yard scoring drive, capped by a touchdown pass of 13 yards to Octavus Darby, putting the Bulldogs on the board first. With 6:29 left in the first period, the Bulldogs are up 7-0 over ASU.
The Mountaineers answer quickly with a 73-yard drive, culminating with a 6-yard passing strike from QB Armanti Edwards to tight end Ben Jorden. The PAT ties it at 7-7 with 3:28 left in the first period.
App forces a SCSU punt on its ensuing drive, giving the Mountaineers back at its own 12. The Mountaineers run two plays for 23 yards to close out the first period. Game tied 7-7. The Apps get inside the Bulldog 10-yard line, but the SCSU defense holds, forcing ASU to settle for a 26-yard Jason Vitaris field goal. 12:44 to go in the half, ASU leads 10-7.
SCSU takes advantage of beginning a drive at its 40 yard line to move 60 yards for a go-ahead touchdown. A 16-yard pass from Long to Darby puts the Bulldogs up 14-10 with just over 8 minutes left in the half.
1:20 PM - The Mountaineers get back on the board to re-take the lead. The teams exchanged punts, then the Apps drove a short field, capping a drive with a 27-yard Edwards TD pass to CoCo Hillary, giving ASU the lead again at 17-14 in this back-and-forth affair. 2:28 left before intermission.
SCSU is held to a three-and-out, with the Mountaineer offense back on the field. Two plays later, Edwards is picked off for the second time in the half. SCSU takes over just inside ASU territory with under two minutes left. A last second heave to the end zone falls incomplete, ending the half with the Mountaineers leading 17-14. Looks like an exciting second half to come.
2:00 PM - Appalachian holds SCSU to a three and out, then scores with its first series on a one-yard run by Edwards, set up by a long pass play. Appalachian leads 24-14 with 8:42 left in the third quarter.
2:20 PM - The Bulldogs drive into ASU territory, but attempt a fourth down conversion pass that falls incomplete, giving the Mountaineers back the football at its own 40 yard line. 4:33 remains in the third quarter with the Mountaineers still leading by 10.
The Mountaineers were held and forced to punt, but Neil Young was unable to get a punt away on a blocked punt. SCSU takes over inside the ASU 15, where the Bulldogs convert with a touchdown run on the very next play. The PAT cuts the lead back to a field goal at 24-21 with 3:34 left in the third quarter. The game has tightened as the rain steadily falls on the stadium.
2:35 PM - Three quarters in the books. ASU 24 SCSU 21 as the game goes into its final 12 minutes with SCSU holding possession at its own 35 yard line.
SCSU is forced to punt, but ASU can't move the football either and kicks it back to the Bulldogs with 13:07 remaining.
Following an exchange of punts the Mountaineers get a huge third down conversion deep in its own territory on a scramble by Edwards who found TJ Courman to move the chains. The play sparked the Black and Gold, as they marched downfield with the running of Robert Welton and a pair of passes. Edwards found Quick for a touchdown pass on third and goal to add to the ASU lead, making the score 31-21 with 7:21 left in the contest.
On SCSU's ensuing possession, a fumble was caused by the App defense, and Jacque Roman fell on the football to give the Mountaineer offense the ball at the Bulldogs 30 yard line. App moved the football inside the 10, but the Bulldogs defense stiffened, forcing ASU to settle for a field goal attempt. ASU tried to fake the attempt with the holder flipping the football to kicker Vitaris, but he was unable to run for the first down yardage, giving the football back to SCSU at its own 8 yard line. 5:14 remains in the contest with ASU leading 31-21.
3:10 PM - South Carolina State moves the football inside ASU territory, but the defense holds SCSU to three straight incompletions to turn the ball over on downs with 1:40 to go. Appalachian picks up a pair of first downs to drive to the SCSU 40 yard line. Appalachian runs the football to force SCSU to use timeouts to stop the clock, but the game is effectively over as the Mountaineers will move on to take on the winner of today's Eastern Kentucky/Richmod game. That contest will be next weekend at Kidd Brewer Stadium.
Following the timeout Edwards finds Brian Quick for a 30-yard touchdown pass with 4.7 seconds remaining. A celebration penalty forced the Apps to kick an extra point from the 25-yard line, but the insurance has been provided as the Mountaineers put an exclamation point on a hard-fought 37-21 win.
After a short intermission, we'll be back on the Blog for coverage of this afternoon's basketball game between Appalachian State and Campbell from the Holmes Center.
