On a jam-packed day in Boone North Carolina, the Appalachian State Mountaineers came away with a thrilling 32-28 victory over the Troy Trojans.
The Mountaineers struck early with a touchdown early in the first quarter on a trick play that had wide receiver Dashaun Davis toss the ball to fellow wide receiver Christian Wells on a 17-yard strike. Troy did not back down after this though as they would score the next 2 touchdowns with a DK Billingsley 19-yard scamper and then a Gunnar Watson run on the goal line put the Trojans up 14-7.
Anderson Castle would score his first touchdown on the season on a pass from Chase Brice to tie it up 14-14 at Kidd Brewer Stadium. As time expired in the first half, Gunnar Watson takes it himself again to give Troy the lead going into halftime 21-14.
Not long into the third quarter, the Mountaineers tied it up 21-21 on a Daetrich Harrington 19-yard sprint. This was the 6th-year senior’s first touchdown since last year versus Troy. A good third quarter by the Mountaineers was capped off by a Michael Hughes 23-yard field goal to take a 24-21 lead heading into the 4th.
Troy flexed their muscle on offense and defense in the fourth quarter, taking a 28-24 lead after a Kimani Vidal goal line run. Things looked bleak for the Mountaineers when their long drive stalled out inside the 5-yard line as Troy’s goal line defense believed they had won the game for the Trojans. However, a questionable safety by the Trojans gave the Mountaineers life. With the score being 28-26 in favor of Troy, and with no time left on the clock, Chase Brice threw up a prayer towards the endzone in the hopes of a touchdown. The prayer was answered as the ball was batted around then caught by Christian Horn who then had the ability to take it into the endzone as the Mountaineers win on a walk-off touchdown to beat the Trojans 32-28.
The fans rejoiced, commentators went wild, and the “Miracle on the Mountain 2” capped off a wild Saturday in Boone that started with College Gameday.
Appalachian State moves to 2-1 on the season and 1-0 in the Sun Belt conference.
Troy moves to 1-2 on the season and 0-1 in the Sun Belt conference.
Chase Brice goes 22 for 34 with 278 yards and 2 touchdowns on the day. Camerun Peoples had 17 carries for 84 yards while Daetrich Harrington had 7 carries for 58 yards and a touchdown. Christian Horn led the way for the Mountaineers in receiving going for 5 receptions for 98 yards and the game winning touchdown. Dexter Lawson Jr came down with the pick for the Mountaineers.
Gunnar Watson went 23 for 37 with 302 yards and an interception but had 2 rushing touchdowns for the Trojans. The 2-man rushing attack of Dk Billingsley and Kimani Vidal both went for touchdowns with Billingsley having 38 yards on 6 carries and Vidal having 29 yards on 11 carries. Leading the receiving for the Trojans was Deshon Stoudemire with 6 receptions for 70 yards. Craig Slocum Jr starred on defense having 13 total tackles on the day.
Appalachian State will stay in Boone next week, taking on new Sun Belt member James Madison. Troy will head back home to take on the Marshall Thundering Herd next Saturday.