App State Rallies Late for Win in Emotional Return to The Rock

Oct. 26, 2024

Contact: Joey Jones (jo*****@ap******.edu)

Secondary contact/Lead writer: Bret Strelow (st******@ap******.edu)

FINAL STATS: PDF Attached

RECAP: https://appstatesports.com/news/2024/10/26/football-app-state-rallies-late-for-win-in-emotional-return-to-the-rock.aspx

COACH CLARK PRESS CONFERENCE: https://youtu.be/XF77jJEht70

AGUILAR/HOPPER/HAMLETT/MARSHALL INTERVIEWS: https://youtu.be/lbz94sXg3_Q

POSTGAME NOTES: https://appstatesports.com/news/2024/10/26/football-postgame-notes-from-app-states-win-vs-georgia-state.aspx

BOONE, N.C. — A hardened football team reunited with its hungry fan base, eager to entertain a community with a long recovery effort ahead in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
 
A rainbow can be a reminder that storms end, giving way to hope for a brighter future.
 
As fans from a crowd of 33,783 departed Kidd Brewer Stadium following App State’s 33-26 victory against Georgia State on Saturday, an actual rainbow appeared above The Rock.
 
Excuse the Mountaineers for maybe being a bit too eager to reconnect with their fans — head coach Shawn Clark accepted blame for the wall-climbing “Rock Hop” celebration with students on Miller Hill following App State’s first Boone touchdown in 37 days — but this was a long time coming.
 
Both seeing an App State game in the High Country and witnessing an emotional win from the home team.
 
With App State (3-4, 1-3) seeking its first Sun Belt victory following the back-to-back road losses that had occurred since a Sept. 28 home date with Liberty was canceled because of the storm damage from Helene, which hammered western North Carolina on Sept. 27, the Mountaineers scored a go-ahead touchdown on Joey Aguilar’s 4-yard pass to Kanen Hamlett with 1:51 left and then made a defensive stand to regain possession for a victory formation finish.
 
“Just like our community has battled their tails off for the last four weeks to get some kind of normalcy in their lives, our program is doing the same thing,” said Clark, sporting a Mountain Strong sweatshirt. “Our community is behind us 100 percent, and we’re behind our community 100 percent. It’s still going to be a long haul for our community, and we’re going to be there every step of the way. I’m just very proud of everyone involved in our program and hope today’s win gave everyone in western North Carolina and Watauga County something to be proud of.”
 
Aguilar passed for 299 yards and three touchdowns during an interception-free performance that included seven receptions for 121 yards by Kaedin Robinson, plus scores by Hamlett, Makai Jackson and Dalton Stroman. Aguilar threw for 245 yards in the first half, with Robinson going over the century mark before the break, and a strong effort on the ground after halftime resulted in Ahmani Marshall rushing for 115 yards with one score.
 
He accounted for App State’s first eight points thanks to an early safety on a blocked punt, and Santana Hopper had a hand in three sacks to lead the defense. He had one solo sack and also contributed to a pair of sacks, working with Michael Fletcher on one and Thomas Davis on another.
 
After Hamlett rushed onto the field as an injury replacement and broke multiple tackles to score on just his second career reception — on a play that is often wide open for App State’s tight ends — Aguilar reached the end zone on a two-point run to help turn a 26-25 deficit into a seven-point advantage. Georgia State (2-5, 0-4) started its final drive at its own 12 because of strong coverage from the Mountaineers’ kickoff unit.
 
Sixth-year linebacker Brendan Harrington broke up a long pass while covering running back Michel Downs out wide on a deep throw down the right sideline, and Ronald Clarke made an important tackle short of the chains following a second-down completion.
 
Davis spun Georgia State’s Zach Gibson around on third down, forcing the quarterback to stumble backward while Hopper finished off another sack, and a fourth-down throw sailed incomplete thanks to pressure from Shawn Collins.
 
After each of App State’s first three touchdowns, Georgia State answered with a touchdown drive of its own. The defense made sure the Panthers didn’t have a successful response for the fourth Mountaineer touchdown.

“Having the enthusiasm and crowd behind us, having a lot of passion and excitement, I think it fed us to keep playing and keep battling when the game got tight at the end,” said Harrington, who had five tackles, including one of App State’s six tackles for loss. “I was so happy to pull out the dub with my teammates.”
 
Similar to the first home game following Hurricane Katrina for the New Orleans Saints, who scored an early touchdown on a blocked punt, App State opened its first home game after the storm with a blocked punt that Marshall swatted through the back of the end zone for a safety.
 
The famous Steve Gleason block for the Saints against a team from Atlanta occurred with 13:30 remaining in the first quarter. Marshall’s block gave App State a 2-0 lead with 13:27 remaining in the first quarter.
 
That safety was the difference in an 18-16 halftime lead for the Mountaineers, as both teams had two touchdowns (with one failed two-point try) and a field goal in the second quarter.
 
App State started with good field position after the safety-causing free kick, failed to connect on a potential touchdown because of an overthrown pass and missed a 34-yard field goal.
 
Georgia State opened the second quarter with a 26-yard field goal after facing a fourth-and-1 scenario from the 4, but Marshall rushed six times for 41 yards on a 75-yard touchdown drive that ended with his 1-yard score. A celebration penalty that was enforced on the kickoff preceded an unsuccessful two-point pass, and Georgia State responded with a 63-yard touchdown drive.
 
Robinson’s 50-yard catch and run to the Georgia State 21 set up Aguilar’s 18-yard touchdown pass to an open Jackson in the end zone, and Jackson Moore’s extra point extended the lead to 15-10 with 3:57 left before the break.
 
Georgia State needed only five plays to answer with a 68-yard touchdown drive, capped by a 9-yard run and an incomplete two-point pass. The Mountaineers turned a 16-15 deficit into an 18-16 halftime lead by putting together a 10-play, 60-yard drive in the last 1:09, finishing the half with a 33-yard field goal from Moore.
 
A third-down sack from Hopper and Fletcher forced Georgia State to punt on its first series of the third quarter, and Robinson gained 30 yards on a rare punt return from App State. Notable gains on a run by Anderson Castle (17 yards) and pass interference led to Aguilar’s 23-yard touchdown pass to Stroman.
 
The Panthers pulled within 25-23 thanks to a 75-yard touchdown drive — the third time they had immediately followed an App State touchdown with one of their own — and a run-heavy possession from the Mountaineers delivered no points because of a fumble on a rush to the Georgia State 10.
 
The Panthers chewed up 6 minutes, 47 seconds with a drive that reached the App State 8 before Hopper recorded a third-down sack to force a 38-yard field goal, which Liam Rickman made to give Georgia State a 26-25 lead with 6:39 remaining.
 
Aguilar directed a 10-play, 75-yard touchdown drive from there, with a pass interference penalty, a 10-yard run by Kanye Roberts, a leaping catch by Stroman, a 15-yard reception by Robinson and a 13-yard run by Roberts moving the Mountaineers into position for the decisive score as they improved their all-time record to 11-0 against the Panthers.

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