Behind sophomore quarterback Travaris Cadet, Appalachian State University football rallied from a 22-point fourth-quarter deficit with 17 points in the final period, but the comeback came up just short in a 29-24 season-opening loss to East Caroli
na on Saturday afternoon at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.Appalachian fell into a 24-0 hole less than 17 minutes into the contest and trailed 29-7 going into the fourth quarter. Three plays into the final period, ASU running back Devon Moore trimmed the deficit to 29-14 when he capped a 12-play, 55-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown plunge.
On East Carolina's ensuing possession, the ASU defense posted an impressive three-and-out and Cadet gave the Apps their best field position of the day when he returned a punt by former Mountaineer Matt Dodge 19 yards to the ECU 38. Seven plays later, Cadet made it a one-possession ballgame when he scored from a yard out to cut ECU's advantage to 29-21.
The volume from the thousands of Black and Gold-clad faithful in attendance at sold-out Dowdy-Ficklen reached a fever pitch when Cortez Gilbert intercepted ECU's Patrick Pinkney at the ASU 33 yard line and returned it 16 yards to the 49.
Cadet marched the Mountaineers all the way to the 22 yard line but had to settle for a 43-yard field goal by Jason Vitaris with 3:24 to go after a misplayed snap exchange on second-and-seven stalled the potential game-tying drive.
Once again, the Mountaineer defense came up with a huge three-and-out and ASU got the ball back on its own 24 yard line with 1:28 left to play. The Apps moved to midfield with three-straight completions but Cadet was sacked on first-and-10 from the ASU 48 with less than a minute remaining. After killing the clock with a spike, Cadet found Blake Elder for an eight-yard gain but a pass to CoCo Hillary on fourth-and-10 was just out of his reach and the Appalachian comeback and upset bid ended with 16 seconds to go.
Making the loss even more heartbreaking for the Mountaineers is the fact that two second-half miscues cost the Apps the decisive five points. Vitaris pushed a 37-yard field-goal attempt wide right on Appalachian's first possession of the second half and punter Sam Martin was forced to concede a safety when he couldn't corral a high snap on ASU's next series. After a disastrous first half in which ECU rolled up 267 yards of offense and 14 first downs en route to a 27-7 halftime lead, Appalachian's defense put the clamps on Pinkney and Co., limiting the Pirates to only 53 yards and four first downs after the break, while shutting out the Pirates in the second half.
It was story of two haves on both sides of the ball, as ASU racked up 183 yards and 14 first downs and held a 20:05-9:55 advantage in time of possession in the second half.
But ultimately, it was the slow start that thwarted the Mountaineers' chance at its eighth win over an NCAA Division I FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision - formerly Division I-A) since 1982. East Carolina scored on four of its first five possessions to grab a 24-0 lead with 13:21 still left to play in the first half.
ASU finally stopped the bleeding with an 11-play, 71-yard drive on the first possession following the Pirates' third and final touchdown of the afternoon. Brian Quick highlighted the series with an acrobatic 31-yard reception and starting quarterback DeAndre Presley capped the drive with a three-yard touchdown run that made it 24-7.
ECU's Ben Hartman kicked his second field goal of the game with 57 seconds to go in the second period to give the Pirates the 20-point halftime advantage and set up the wild second half.
Cadet, who replaced Presley at quarterback with 5:28 to go in the third quarter, finished with 35 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries, 55 yards on 7-of-9 passing and 43 yards on two punt returns. Making his second career start, Presley completed 7-of-15 passes for 89 yards and rushed 12 times for 12 yards. Moore led the Mountaineers with 37 rushing yards on 17 carries and Quick led all receivers with 47 yards on three catches.
ASU's defense limited Pinkney, a Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award candidate, to 131 yards on 12-of-27 passing, but ECU's Dominique Liindsay rushed for 105 yards on only 15 carries to pace the Pirates. Mountaineer linebackers D.J. Smith and Jacque Roman led all tacklers with 13 and 11 stops, respectively.
Top-ranked Appalachian opens NCAA Division I FCS (Football Championship Subdivision - formerly Division I-AA) play next Saturday when it hosts No. 15 McNeese State at Kidd Brewer Stadium. The home opener kicks off at 3:30 p.m. and will be televised on WMYA Ch. 40 in Asheville.
