(courtesy Appalachian Sports Information)BOONE, N.C. — Josh Lewis’ 18-yard field goal with four seconds remaining was the difference in No. 2 Appalachian State University’s 40-35 loss to No. 16 McNeese State on Saturday at Kidd Brewer Stadium.
Lewis’ kick snapped a 35-35 tie and capped McNeese’s 10-play, 79-yard drive that began with 2:05 left to play. Appalachian lateralled the ensuing kickoff three times in hopes of a miracle return but MSU’s Kentrel Butler dragged down Travaris Cadet (Miami, Fla./Central) in the end zone for a safety to end the game and account for the final margin.
The Cowboys’ game-winning drive was indicative of the entire second half, as the teams combined for eight scores in 10 second-half possessions. Trailing 14-7 at halftime, the Mountaineers took the opening kickoff of the second half and marched 77 yards in eight plays to knot the score at 14-14 on an eight-yard touchdown run by Armanti Edwards (Greenwood, S.C./Greenwood). From there, the squads traded touchdowns on the next four series, all within a span of 8:42. However, Lewis was wide right on an extra-point attempt following McNeese’s second touchdown of the period, which allowed Appalachian to grab its only lead of the game at 28-27.
With the one-point lead in hand, the Apps appeared to take a firm grasp of the momentum when Ed Gainey (Winston-Salem, N.C./Mount Tabor) intercepted McNeese’s Derrick Fourroux and returned his first-career pickoff four yards to the MSU 38 yard line. The Mountaineers subsequently moved within field-goal range but on third-and-10 from the 27, MSU’s Josh Ellison nabbed a blind-side sack of Edwards for an eight-yard loss that forced the Mountaineers to punt instead of adding to their slim lead.
Sam Martin’s (Fayetteville, Ga./Starr’s Mill) punt pinned the Cowboys at their own five yard line but they proceeded to march 95 yards in 10 plays and capped the seven-minute-and-55-second drive with a two-yard touchdown dive by Fourroux to regain the lead. Running back Todd Pendland took a direct snap and converted the two-point-conversion attempt to make it 35-28, McNeese.
Once again, the Appalachian offense responded and, highlighted by a 26-yard run from Devon Moore (Mebane, N.C./Cedar Ridge), drove 62 yards to knot the game at 35-35 with 2:05 to play. Cedric Baker’s two-yard touchdown dive sealed the six-play drive.
However, 2:05 proved to be too much time to give the McNeese offense. The Cowboys converted a fourth-and-seven play with a 12-yard completion from Fourroux to Pendland and moved to the two yard line on a 27-yard connection from Fourroux to Corday Clark. After one attempt to punch it in the end zone, Lewis came on to punch a knuckleball threw the uprights for the 18-yard game-winner.
The story of the game was the Apps’ inability to corral McNeese on third and fourth downs. MSU converted 10-of-16 opportunities on third and fourth down on the afternoon, including 6-of-9 in the second half.
The other storyline was the Mountaineers squandering a pair of scoring opportunities in the first half to leave a potential 10 points on the field. Jason Vitaris (Seneca, S.C./Seneca) hit the right upright on a 22-yard field-goal attempt in the first quarter and Brian Quick (Columbia, S.C./Ridge View) fumbled on the one yard line while stretching for the goal line with 32 seconds to play in the half.
The highlights for ASU included the play of Edwards and Moore. In his first game after injuring his right foot in a lawn-mowing accident on Aug. 5, Edwards amassed 307 yards of total offense — 235 on 19-of-25 passing and 72 on 13 rushes, including two scores. Moore added a career-high 155 rushing yards on 23 carries (6.7 avg.).
However, Appalachian’s 493 yards of offense was overshadowed by the Cowboys’ 522 total yards. Fourroux and Pendland did the lion’s share of the damage with Fourroux throwing for 341 yards and three touchdowns and Pendland racking up 248 all-purpose yards (127 rushing, 121 receiving) and three scores (one rushing, two receiving. Clark chipped in with 137 yards on six receptions.
Facing an 0-2 hole for the first time since 2003, Appalachian has a bye next Saturday before opening Southern Conference play on Sept. 26 at home versus Samford. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m.
NOTES: McNeese snapped Appalachian’s string of 16-straight victories in games that immediately followed a loss ... the Mountaineers had not lost back-to-back games in the same season since opening ‘03 with losses to Hawaii and Eastern Kentucky ... after winning 42-of-44 home games, ASU has lost consecutive outings at Kidd Brewer Stadium for the first time since falling in the 1999 NCAA Division I-AA first round to Florida A&M and the 2000 home opener to Troy State ... the loss to Troy was also the last time the Apps dropped a home opener ... ASU fell to 58-19-2 all-time in home openers, including 18-3 under head coach Jerry Moore ... the Mountaineers are 0-8 all-time versus teams from the state of Louisiana and 1-7 versus current members of the Southland Conference ... Saturday’s crowd of 27,914 was the eighth-largest in Kidd Brewer Stadium history ... Edwards upped his career total offense total to 11,081, moving him from 19th to 16th on the NCAA Division I FCS all-time list ... Moore’s 100-yard effort was the second of his career (100 vs. Eastern Washington, 2007).
