By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — A brilliant, fourth quarter play call and execution by App State quickly morphed into a fatal nightmare on Oct. 10 at Kidd Brewer Stadium, allowing the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers to craft their first ever win at The Rock, 27-24, on a field goal as time expired.

The outcome of a college football game rarely (if ever) hinges on a single moment, though. Although the Mountaineer defense proved stout against Coastal Carolina’s rushing attack and in protecting the perimeter throughout the game, blown pass coverages in the first quarter were problematic — and led to a 14-point “hole” that App State needed to overcome during the final three quarters. That is a challenge in any game but especially facing a 3X Sun Belt Conference “Player of the Year” quarterback like Coastal Carolina’s Grayson McCall.

CCU built that deficit on four, big-play passes in the opening frame, McCall throwing to three different receivers for 40, 31, 51, and 17 yards. The 51-yarder on 2nd-and-9 to WR Jameson Tucker running alone down the left side, with no defender within 15 yards, was a direct touchdown. The other long aerials led to scoring threats.

After McCall completed another long pass-catch-and-run, a 63-yarder to redshirt junior running back Brayden Bennett in the second quarter, the Mountaineer defense stiffened and allowed only a 33-yard field goal by Kade Hensley — but it kept intact a 14-point CCU advantage, 17-3, with a little more than seven minutes remaining in the first half.

The Mountaineer offense was simply having trouble getting untracked in the first half. Three of App State’s offensive possessions ended with punts. In the first quarter, Coastal Carolina held a 180-36 advantage in total offense.

The margin of error is small in this conference and we have to make sure we eliminate the explosive plays on defense and we can’t turn the football over on offense.

Three Mountaineer penalties didn’t help, including the unusual flag for an “illegal touch” when a Mitchell Lake punt landed atop the helmet of redshirt sophomore special teams player, Andre Hamilton. The ball caromed forward and was downed at the 1-yard line by Milan Tucker, but what was deemed an illegal touch brought the ball back to the CCU 37, giving the Chanticleers better field position.

But get untracked the Joey Aguilar-led App State offense did, erasing the deficit to tie the game at 17-17 midway through the third quarter. A  10-play, 75-yard TD drive at the end of the first half shrank the CCU lead to just 17-10, then a 6-play, 54-yard drive ending with an Aguilar to David Larkins TD pass in Q3 knotted the score (with Michael Hughes PAT kicks).

McCall & Co. responded with yet another TD at the end of the third quarter, retaking the lead at 24-17 on a McCall 32-yard pass-and-run to tight end Kendall Karr. Not to be outdone, the Mountaineer offense duplicated the CCU effort. On the sixth play of an 80-yard drive, Aguilar took advantage of a mismatch on the left side, lofting a TD pass to 6-4 wide receiver Dalton Stroman against a much smaller defender.

A New Ballgame?

With another Hughes PAT kick, the score was knotted at 24-24. Roughly eight and a half minutes remained in the game.

The App State defense did its part. With McCall at the helm, Coastal Carolina started the next possession at its own 17. AppNation got a scare when the redshirt senior McCall hit Jameson Tucker for a 47-yard gain, taking CCU deep into Mountaineer territory. But the App State defense only allowed eight more yards and the visitors from Conway, S.C. were faced with a critical decision on 4th-and-2. Go for it and extend the drive, probably finishing with a winning TD, or kick a chip shot of a field goal and take the lead but remain vulnerable to a loss if App State responded with a TD.

After a timeout, the Chanticleers elected to try and extend the drive. A McCall keeper running right was anticipated by redshirt sophomore linebacker Caden Sullivan, the play ending in a 1-yard loss and the jubilant Mountaineers taking over on downs with 4:58 remaining. If they used up enough clock, either a field goal or a TD would win the day.

But this is where the final drama begins. On the very first play, Aguilar hit Milan Tucker crossing over the middle and down the right sideline for what would have been a 69-yard gain except that CCU cornerback Keonte Lusk punched the ball out of Tucker’s hands. As the ball bounced toward the sidelines another cornerback, Abraham Temoney, dove for the ball and gathered it in on the ground. The referees’ decision on the field was that he had gained possession inside the field of play. The video review by the upstairs officials was inconclusive, so they allowed the referees’ ruling to “stand” without sufficient evidence to overturn the call.

So with 4:43 left on the clock, it was Coastal Carolina’s turn to do what App State had originally tried to do: run out the clock and score a TD or field goal.

With a combination of short McCall passes to veteran receiver Sam Pinckney and rushes by three different running backs, CCU advanced the ball to the App State 7-yard line with three seconds remaining. What for Hensley was a 24-yard chip shot was good and the Chanticleer sideline erupted.

After thanking the App State students and fans who filled Kidd Brewer Stadium for a mid-week, Tuesday night game, head coach Shawn Clark said, “It was a great college football game in a tough conference. The margin of error is small in this conference and we have to make sure we eliminate the explosive plays on defense and we can’t turn the football over on offense.”

Although they accomplished their offensive production primarily in different halves, both McCall and Aguilar threw for more than 300 yards. The Coastal redshirt senior completed 19-of-28 passes for 373 yards and two TDs, the App State junior transfer was 18-31, for 305 yards and two TDs. Coastal deployed seven rushers for 196 yards and one TD, App State used five runners for 111 yards and a touchdown. Notably, one of the FBS rushing leaders, the Mountaineers’ Nate Noel, left the game early with a lower leg injury, rushing just once for one yard.

After the game, Clark praised what he described as a “deep” running back room that stepped up in Noel’s absence, said that Noel would be evaluated by doctors, and shared that Watauga alum and junior converted running back Anderson Castle should be ready to go by the Old Dominion game on Oct. 21, adding additional depth to the RB corps.

Clark indicated that one of the most important needs for his team right now is rest, to get healthy in advance of meeting the Monarchs in Norfolk, Va. in 11 days.

SCORING SUMMARY

POSTGAME NOTES from App State Sports

• App State is 3-3 through six games for the second straight season. The Mountaineers’ three losses are by a combined 12 points, including a double-overtime loss at then-No. 17 North Carolina and three-point losses to Wyoming and Coastal Carolina.
• App State lost on a final-play field goal for the first time since a 2017 double-overtime loss at UMass and on a field goal as time expired in regulation for the first time since 2000 at Chattanooga.
• Coastal Carolina won for the first time in Boone (to move their all-time record in Boone to 1-6). The previous game in Boone was a 30-27 App State win over the 14th-ranked Chanticleers, also on a last-second field goal.
• Official attendance for the sold-out Tuesday game at Kidd Brewer Stadium was 34,252. That’s the seventh-largest crowd in stadium history and the largest for a Tuesday/Wednesday game anywhere since a 2011 game between Pitt and visiting UConn (40,219). The 2021 Wednesday game between App State and Coastal in Boone drew a sold-out attendance of 31,061.
• The Mountaineers played most of the game without the nation’s second-leading rusher. Nate Noel had a 1-yard run and a 4-yard catch on the first drive before a lower body injury kept him from returning.
• App State had a -1 turnover margin in the game. The Mountaineers are now 5-11 under head coach Shawn Clark when losing the turnover battle. They are 17-1 when winning the turnover battle and 7-3 when they have the same number of turnovers as the opponent.

OFFENSE

• App State was a perfect 4-for-4 in the red zone with three touchdowns and a field goal.
• The Mountaineers’ 305 passing yards were the second-most this season, while the 111 rushing yards marked a season low.
• A running-back-by-committee after Noel went down to injury included 48 rushing yards from Kanye Roberts, 41 from Maquel Haywood and 15 from Ahmani Marshall, who notched his first touchdown of the season with a 3-yard score in the second quarter.
• Joey Aguilar completed a pass to a season-high 11 receivers, the fourth time in his five full games to complete passes to nine or more receivers. Aguilar finished the game with 305 passing yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions.
• Makai Jackson and Milan Tucker had career-long catches of 67 and 69 yards, respectively.
• Dalton Stroman’s touchdown catch was his second of the season, and David Larkins’ was his second also.

DEFENSE

• Andrew Parker Jr. tied his career high with 12 tackles to lead all players in the game.
• Caden Sullivan logged a career-high nine tackles. He had 1.5 TFLs, including a huge fourth-down stop of Grayson McCall in the fourth quarter that set up a potential go-ahead App State drive.
• Ethan Johnson and Nate Johnson (no relation) also notched career highs with nine tackles and seven tackles, respectively.

SPECIAL TEAMS

• Michael Hughes made his only field-goal attempt from 29 yards. He has now made 11 of 14 attempts on the year, including every attempt inside 44 yards.
• Two of Mitchell Lake’s four punts landed inside the 20. He averaged 41.2 yards per punt with a season-best long of 56.

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — After Parkway and Hardin Park middle school volleyball teams each breezed through their semifinal matches with 2-0 sweeps, it was “game on” for the Patriots and the Golden Eagles. While Parkway was tested in a second set they lost in overtime, they eventually prevailed to win the championship, 2-1, remaining undefeated in the 2023 season.

No. 1 seeded Parkway all but dominated its semifinal tilt with No. 5 seeded Green Valley, which upset No. 4 Blowing Rock in the quarterfinals to gain a berth in the semis. The Patriots took care of business, 25-8, 25-10.

No. 2 seeded Hardin Park jumped out to a 10-0 first set lead before Cove Creek could get on the board and find themselves. Although the Raiders rallied, the Golden Eagles advanced to a championship date with archrival Parkway with a 25-15, 25-15 semifinal win.

Parkway seemed destined for the championship after a convincing, 25-14 first set victory against Hardin Park in the final, but the Golden Eagles would not go quietly into the night, battling to a 27-25 overtime win in the second set and necessitating a third, deciding set. Both teams battled fiercely in the decider, Parkway surviving with an 18-16 overtime decision.

BONUS PHOTOS

By David Rogers. HUDSON, N.C. — Watauga played a good, even dominating first half of soccer on Oct. 9 against South Caldwell but could not finish (read, score goals), leading to a halftime score of 0-0. The second half turned worse — until the last eight minutes.

Call it a whirlwind effort by the Pioneers. Trailing 1-0 with just over eight minutes to go, Watauga wing forward Lade Oguntoyinbo found the back of the net to tie the game at 1-1. Four minutes later, Ben Myers put the Pioneers ahead with a goal of his own. Then, perhaps just to make a point about Watauga’s dominance, Oguntoyinbo scored a final Pioneer goal with just 13 seconds left on the clock to give the visitors from Boone a 3-1, Northwestern Conference win.

Assists were credited to Jossue Alcaraz, Thomas Moss and Myers.

“We played excellent the first half except for not being able to finish six great opportunities. We felt great tied 0-0 at half but we didn’t play well in the second half at all. Then there was that last eight minutes. I am proud of how our guys fought and never quit to pull out the win despite not giving our best effort in the second half,” said Josh Honeycutt, Watauga’s head coach.

Now 4-2 and No. 3 in Northwestern Conference (6-10 overall) standings, behind undefeated Hibriten (13-2-3 overall) and 4-1-1 Alexander Central (10-3-2 overall), Watauga travels to Taylorsville on Oct. 11 to take on the Cougars with a chance to move into second place with a win. The Pioneers return home to face Hibriten on Monday, Oct. 16.

By Jacob Plecker. CLEVELAND, Ohio – Fifth-year App State field hockey goalkeeper Addie Clark has been named the MAC Defensive Player of the Week after her exceptional performance in the cage against Kent State on Oct. 6.

“We are so proud of Addie and her effort this past weekend,” head coach Emily Dinsmore said. “This is not only an honor for her but for our entire defensive unit.”

Clark and the Mountaineer defense held a potent Kent State offense to just one goal in 80 minutes of play. The Louisville, Ky., native saved nine shots and held Kent State to just one score on five attempts in the shootout period as she played hero on her home turf in a crucial MAC matchup.

I’m thankful for the journey…

Most notably, Clark surpassed 250 saves for her career at App State after racking up her sixth save of Friday’s contest in the first overtime period.

“Reaching 250 saves means a lot to me,” Clark said. “This milestone means a lot in terms of the quantity, but more importantly, it means a lot to me because of the work I have put in to get to that number. I’m thankful to Coach Dinsmore and Coach Fernsler for trusting me to lead the defensive unit, and I’m thankful for the journey I’ve had to get here.”

This is the third time that Clark has been honored as the MAC Defensive Player of the Week in her career and first time this season. She has been a staple in the cage for the Mountaineers over her five years in Boone, as she has started in every game except two this season and has made 60 starts for her career.

Clark has saved 59 shots so far this year and currently has the second-lowest goals-against average in the MAC, posting a 1.952 GAA over 10 games. She has held her opposition scoreless in 10 halves this season.

Clark and the Mountaineers embark on a season-long, four-game road trip Oct. 13 against MAC rival Longwood, in Farmville, Va., with first touch scheduled for 5 p.m. App State continues on the road at Queens (Oct. 15), at Ball State (Oct. 20), and at Louisville (Oct. 22) before returning home to face Ohio on Oct. 27 and Saint Louis on Oct. 29.

By David Rogers. BOONE, N.C. — After a couple of dominating road games, Watauga volleyball returned to the friendly confines of Lentz Eggers gym to put an exclamation mark on the 2023 Northwestern Conference season, defeating Hibriten in straight sets, 3-0 (25-16, 27-25, 25-14).

With the win, Watauga (8-0 in Northwestern Conference, 16-2 overall) have a firm hold on the NWC league championship, with regular season conference matches remaining vs. Freedom (0-7, 4-15) on Oct. 11 and at regional rival Ashe County (6-1, 14-3) on Oct. 16. In between, they have a non-conference encounter vs. St. Stephens on Oct. 12.

SELECTED INDIVIDUAL PLAYER STATS

• Brooklyn Stanbery: 16 kills, 1 service ace, 10 digs
• Emma Pastusic: 15 kills, 9 digs
• Evie Robbins: 14 digs, 1 service ace, 1 assist
• Madi Combs: 22 assists, 6 digs, 2 service aces
• Olivia Kop: 9 digs, 1 service ace
• Lainey Gragg: 17 assists, 1 service ace, 3 digs
• Kasey Gragg: 4 kills, 1 stuff block, 1 service ace, 5 digs
• Grace Twillery: 2 kills, 2 stuff blocks, 1 dig
• Kora Knight: 2 kills, 2 stuff blocks, 3 digs

By Matt Present. BOONE, N.C. —BOONE, N.C. – Freshman Olivia Simon tallied the sixth hat-trick in Mountaineer program history Sunday, part of a five-goal second half, helping App State to a dominant 5-1 victory over Marshall to remain unbeaten at home.

App State (6-4-3, 3-1-2), went into halftime trailing 1-0, but wasted little time flipping the switch. Off a corner kick three minutes into the second stanza, Simon pounced on a Marshall (6-6-1, 1-5-0) clear attempt at the top of the box, and drilled a low line drive shot through traffic into the bottom left corner of the net, to tie the score at 1-1.

The equalizer was Simon’s first career goal, but she was just getting started on the afternoon. Later in the second half, Simon buried the go-ahead goal, curling a shot from the far side of the field, just inside the near post, to give the Mountaineers their first lead, in the 65th minute.

Just two minutes later, Izzi Wood carried the ball down the near side of the field and drew the Marshall defense forward before feeding a pass in front to Simon who completed her second-half hat-trick in the 67th minute of play.

Simon’s three goals tie an individual program record for goals in a match, and she becomes the first App State player since Sam Childress in 2014 against Liberty to tally a hat-trick.

The Mountaineers kept their foot on the accelerator, looking to build on their 3-1 lead. In the 79th minute, Wood notched her team-leading sixth goal of the season, using her left foot to fire home a goal, following a beautiful thru-ball from Felicia Erkenfeldt.

Then, following the ensuing kickoff, the Mountaineers won possession right back, and Katie Fuller played a ball to Shannon Studer along the far side of the field. Studer dribbled past her defender before firing a shot into the top-right corner from 30 yards out, to put the exclamation mark on the win.

The five goals that App State scored in the match are the most since 2019 when the Mountaineers topped UNC Asheville, 6-0 on Sept. 1. App State is now 5-0-2 at home this season and have outscored their opponents 13-2 on the turf at The Valley. Sunday’s win was the Mountaineers’ sixth of the season, which equals their win total from 2022 with four games still remaining in the regular season.

App State will travel to Norfolk, Va., Friday where they will face off with Old Dominion at 6 p.m. The match will be broadcast on ESPN+.

By David Rogers. CHICAGO, Ill. — A perfect day for road racing produced an astonishing world record and four course records for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon on Oct. 8. Blowing Rock-based ZAP Endurance’s elite professional running team also came away with new club records and two personal best times.

Kenya’s Kelvin Kiptum, just 23 years old, flirted with a new world record in Valencia, Spain, in December 2022 and again at the London Marathon just over four months later. This time, on the streets of Chicago, he became the first person in world history to run the 26.2 mile marathon distance under 2:01, smashing the world marathon record in 2:00:35.

“It was a perfect day for a marathon,” said ZAP Endurance head coach Pete Rea, watching the world record performance at the finish line. “The temperature was in the mid-40s, low humidity, the lightest of winds. It was a thrill for me to witness Kiptum’s performance.”

Rea, of course, had other interests in the race. ZAP team members Andrew Colley, Tristin Van Ord and Annmarie Tuxbury were competing and he anxiously awaited their finishes — and it was worth the wait.

Colley and Van Ord each set new personal records while finishing in the top 15 of their respective divisions. Both also established new ZAP club records.

Colley’s 2:11:22 allowed him to finish No. 15 among the estimated 47,000 runners participating in the event, no longer having to share with teammate Josh Izewski the club record of 2:11:26 he achieved in Rotterdam, in April.

Van Ord finished No. 14 among the women, her 2:25:58 improving on her previous club record of 2:27:07, set in Houston this past January. Tuxbury developed some back troubles during the race, Rea explained, and faded to 2:38:49, well off her personal best of 2:36:59 set in April’s Rotterdam Marathon.

“Andrew set a new personal and club record but I know he is frustrated,” said Rea. “With about 5,000 meters to go, he was running with some guys who ended up finishing two minutes ahead of him. We’ll get that figured out, why he is falling off so much at the end.

“Tristin will take her new personal record, improving by well over a minute, as a positive,” added Rea, “but she had some trouble at the end, too. With about four miles to go she began to slow, but gutted it out to the end.”

Van Ord knows where any trouble began.

“I got a little excited, a little impatient,” she said. “I ran a 5:20 and a 5:22 mile pace for miles 18 and 19, which is about 10 seconds faster per mile than I had been running and it cost me a bit.”

Even so, Van Ord bettered the Olympic standard by almost a full minute. That means if she can finish in the top three in Orlando at the February trials, she gets to go to Paris. In Chicago, there were only five other American women who finished ahead of her.

Sifan Hassan of The Netherlands finished No. 1 among the women, setting a course record of 2:13:44, which is the second fastest women’s time in marathon history. Kenya’s Ruth Chepngetich was No. 2 (2:15:37) and Ethiopia’s Megerti Alemu was No. 3 (2:17:09).

Emily Sisson was the top U.S. woman, finishing No. 7 in 2:22:09, with Molly Seidel of the U.S close behind at No. 8 (2:23:07).

Ford, the “Rabbit” 

An unofficial side note from the Chicago Marathon, ZAP Endurance’s middle distance specialist Ryan Ford ran as a hired pace setter.

“The original pace setter hired by the Chicago organizers had gone back to home in Africa and had some trouble with his visa in returning,” said Rea. “So they called me last week to see if we had anyone who might be available to serve as a replacement. As it turned out, Ryan was supposed to run on Oct. 1 in a Twin Cities 10-miler up in Minneapolis-St. Paul, but the race was cancelled two hours before the start because of the heat. So, for Chicago he was hired to run about a 1:04:00 pace for the first half of the race, with bonuses if he reached certain benchmarks. He did great, when he finally pulled off the course at about 18 miles, he was running a 2:08:00 marathon pace, which is pretty remarkable. He said afterwards, ‘I think I am a marathoner now’.”

Rea added that Ford will be trying to qualify for running in February’s U.S. Olympic Trials by competing in the Indianapolis Monumental Half Marathon at the end of October.

VIDEO CLIP

Zap Endurance head coach Pete Rea offers encouragement to team member Andrew Colley among some of the second group of elite runners in the Bank of America Chicago Marathon. Video clip by Sean Rea.

CLICK HERE to view brief clip.

BOONE N.C. – The App State volleyball team swept Georgia State, 3-0 (25-16, 25-22, 25-17), in Saturday’s rematch against the Panthers at the Holmes Convocation Center.

“I am so proud of our response today,” said head coach Sarah Rumely Noble. “We executed at a really high level and our serve and pass game was the difference in this match.”

App State 3, Georgia State 0

Fifth year senior McCall Denny led the team in kills, tallying 11, in addition to nine digs. Redshirt freshman Katie Cruise posted a team-high 18 assists and senior Sophie Cain posted 12. Sophomore Kenady Roper posted 13 digs on the night, while junior Lauren Pledger led the Mountaineers for a second consecutive match in the blocks category, tallying five (two solo, three assists).

App State outpaced the Panthers in the kills category (38-27), aces category (5-1), and assists category (34-26). The Mountaineers and Panthers each had nine blocks apiece.

Back and forth in first set

The two Sun Belt Conference adversaries went point-for-point in the first set until Georgia State gained a 13-10 edge. App State answered with a 6-0 run that included kills from Denny and junior Lulu Ambrose, a block from sophomore Maya Winterhoff/freshman Ava Leahy, and an ace from Denny that put App State up, 16-13. The Mountaineers posted four more unanswered points that included a kill from Leahy, a solo block from Pledger, and a block from Pledger/Ambrose, to jump ahead 20-14. Back-to-back kills from Leahy and Ambrose gave the Mountaineers a 22-15 advantage. Ambrose and Denny slammed down kills to close out the set, 25-16, in favor of the Mountaineers.

Second set features 7-0 runs

In the second set, App State tied things up at five all in another tight start. Georgia State broke the tie with a 3-0 run to lead 8-5, but the Mountaineers went on a 7-0 run to take a 12-8 lead. The run featured a pair of kills from Leahy, a pair of kills from Ambrose, and an ace from Winterhoff. Georgia State tied things up at 13 all, then App State answered with another 7-0 run that put the Mountaineers ahead, 20-13. The second 7-0 run included a solo block from Pledger, a trio of kills from Denny, an ace from McBean, and a block from Pledger/freshman Delanie Grevengoed. Georgia State came within one of App State’s lead (23-22), but a Denny kill and Georgia State error sealed the second set for App State, 25-22.

Third set features Farthing collegiate debut

App State and Georgia State stayed close early in the third set. The Mountaineers broke away with a 6-0 run that included back-to-back kills from Ambrose and a block from Pledger/Ambrose to take a 12-5 lead. The Panthers worked to erase the deficit before App State extended it to 18-9 after a Roper ace, Winterhoff kill, and block from Winterhoff/Grevengoed. A kill from Denny, ace from Cain, and solo block from Winterhoff extended App State’s lead to 21-12. With a 22-13 lead, freshman and Boone native Caroline Farthing made her first collegiate appearance, subbing in for her first collegiate serve. The Panthers tried to chip away at the Mountaineers’ lead, but after a pair of Georgia State errors, App State won the set, 25-17, and the match, 3-0.

UP NEXT

App State will host ULM on Oct. 13 and 14. Friday’s match is set for 6 p.m. and will be Friday the 13th Night, where fans are encouraged to wear Halloween costumes. The Mountaineers will honor their graduating seniors at Saturday’s 1 p.m. match.