No. 2 Appalachian State 37, No. 13/12 South Carolina State 21
Final Stats
BOONE, N.C. ? Appalachian State University quarterback Armanti Edwards threw for a school-record 433 yards to lead No. 2-seeded Appalachian to a 37-21 victory over visiting South Carolina State in the opening round of the NCAA Division I Football Championship on Saturday afternoon at Kidd Brewer Stadium.
With the win, Appalachian (11-2) advances to next Saturday’s (Dec. 6) national quarterfinals, to host Richmond, a 38-10 winner over Eastern Kentucky in Saturday’s first round. Kickoff time will be determined by the NCAA on Sunday.
The Mountaineers advanced to the quarterfinals for the fourth-straight year on the strength of the best performance by a passer in school history. Edwards completed 29-of-41 passes for four touchdowns and surpassed the previous single-game school record of 413 yards, set by Richie Williams in a 40-of-45 effort versus Furman in 2004.
Despite Edwards’ gaudy numbers, Appalachian needed all four quarters to dispatch of SC State (10-3). ASU trailed twice in the ballgame and held a slim 24-21 advantage after three quarters. Still clinging to the three-point lead early in the fourth quarter and facing third-and-12 from its own 23-yard line, Edwards and wide receiver T.J. Courman turned in the play of the day and, perhaps, the biggest play of the season to this point.
On the spectacular play, Edwards was flushed from the pocket by a swarm of Bulldog linemen. He weaved his way around the backfield to avoid a sack and eventually found Courman over the middle. Courman caught the ball several yards shy of the first-down marker but twisted and turned his way through a maze of defenders and eventually dove for a 13-yard gain and a first down. Nine plays later, Edwards hit Brian Quick on a slant pattern on third-and-goal from the two to stretch the Mountaineer advantage to 31-21.
From there, Appalachian’s defense took over, limiting SCSU to just 56 yards over its final 14 plays to seal the victory.
After the Bulldogs turned the ball over on downs with 2:20 left to play, the Mountaineers appeared to be content to run out the clock. But, in a curious move, SCSU chose to call timeouts with 18 and 12 seconds remaining. With the ?Dogs apparently thinking that the outcome was still in doubt, the Apps put an exclamation mark on the triumph when Edwards found Quick for a highlight-reel-worthy 33-yard touchdown with five seconds to go.
Quick was Edwards’ top target on the afternoon with five catches for 95 yards and the two scores. CoCo Hillary was right behind with 94 yards and a touchdown on five catches, while tight end Ben Jorden scored the Mountaineers’ first TD of the day on an acrobatic six-yard catch and finished with a career-best six receptions for 62 yards.
Defensively, D.J. Smith led all players with a career-high-tying 16 tackles. Fellow linebacker Pierre Banks added 10 stops and broke up five passes and defensive end Jabari Fletcher made eight tackles, had three quarterback hurries and forced a fumble.
For SCSU, William Ford carried 23 times for 117 yards and a touchdown. Quarterback Malcolm Long completed just 17-of-40 passes but threw two touchdowns.
No. 1 James Madison 38, No. 9/8 Wofford 35
Final Stats
HARRISONBURG, Va. ? Wofford College was defeated 38-35 by James Madison on Saturday afternoon at Bridgeforth Stadium-Zane Showker Field in the opening round of the NCAA Playoffs. Dane Romero had four touchdowns, but it was not enough to stop the Dukes.
The Terriers are 9-3 on the season and James Madison is 11-1 overall. Wofford was led by Mike Rucker with 107 yards and a touchdown, Dane Romero with 87 yards and four touchdowns, and Ben Widmyer with 98 rushing yards and a passing touchdown. James Madison was led by quarterback Rodney Landers with 166 yards and a touchdown plus three passing touchdowns, while Eugene Holloman had 116 yards and a touchdown.
“First and foremost we faced a good football team in JMU,” said head coach Mike Ayers. “We knew going in that they had an array of weapons. The difference-maker in the game was the quarterback. That guy can do a lot of things and if we had been able to stop him one more time we might have had a shot. That being said, I thought our football team could come up here and be competitive. I felt we could come up here and have our opportunity and we did.
“I am proud of our kids and I am proud of the way the coaches prepared them. When you look at that game, one play here, one play there - coat of paint difference between the two teams. Last year they shipped us out to Montana and we won that one, this year they gave us the number one team and we were right there, but we did not get the job done. I am proud of the seniors and I thought they did an outstanding job as far as their leadership and the way that they conducted themselves. I am proud of our team.”
The Dukes had the ball first to open the game, but the Terrier defense forced a three-and-out. After the punt, Wofford was able to put together a nine-play, 78-yard drive capped by a two-yard touchdown run by Dane Romero. The Terriers had a 7-0 lead at the 9:23 mark in the first quarter.
James Madison responded with a 34-yard touchdown run by Eugene Holloman just seven plays later for a 7-7 score at 6:25. Wofford was forced three-and-out on their next possession. With the ball back, the Dukes scored on a 15-yard reception by Rockeed McCarter from Rodney Landers for a 14-7 lead with just 23 seconds left in the first half.
With the ball back, Wofford picked up a fourth-and-three by Mike Rucker then were able to march down the field and Dane Romero scored on an eleven yard touchdown run. The score was tied at 14-14 at 10:48 in the second quarter. James Madison returned the kickoff into Wofford territory and needed only six plays to score on a 27-yard touchdown pass from Rodney Landers to Bosco Williams at 8:01 in the second for a 21-14 lead.
Wofford got the ball back in great field possession after penalty and a 29-yard kickoff return by Mike Rucker, however were forced three-and-out. James Madison got the ball back on the eight-yard line and put together a 13-play drive that used 6:04. The scoring play was a fake ball spike by Rodney Landers, who found Rockeed McCarter just inside the end zone for a 23-yard touchdown with 20 seconds left in the half.
The Terriers opened the second half with a 75-yard scoring drive. Along the way Mike Rucker completed a 36-yard half-back pass to Andy Strickland before Dane Romero took a direct snap in from four-yards out for the touchdowns. At 11:32 in the third quarter, the score was 28-21 James Madison.
The Dukes were driving when Tommy Irvin intercepted a pass from Rodney Landers at the two-yard line and returned it to the 27-yard line. The Terriers used the ground game to go 73-yard in 16 plays as Dane Romero scored his fourth touchdown of the day on a one-yard run. The score was tied at 28-28 at 1:11 in the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter, James Madison ended a 55-yard drive with a 24-yard field goal by Dave Stannard to take a 31-28 lead at 11:59. The Terriers got the ball back and picked up two first downs before hitting fourth-and-six. Dane Romero appeared to have gained the first down, however the spot of the ball was inches short. The Dukes got the ball back on downs and put together an impressive drive that was capped by a six-yard touchdown run by Rodney Landers with 3:21 left in the game for a 38-28 lead.
Wofford was not done, getting the ball back with a 34-yard kickoff return by Mike Rucker with 3:21 left in the game. On fourth-and-one from the four, Dane Romero picked up the first and goal. After a sack of Ben Widmyer, Mike Rucker scored on a twelve-yard run to make it a 38-35 game with 1:02 left in the game. The Terriers tried an onside kick, but it was recovered by the Dukes and they ran out the clock for the win.
Wofford had 431 yards of total offense, while James Madison had 469 total yards. James Madison had the time of possession at 32:01 to 27:59. The Terriers were 6-of-12 on third down and 3-of-4 on fourth down. The Dukes were an impressive 10-of-14 on third down and 2-of-2 on fourth down.
James Madison will host Villanova, who was a 55-28 winner over Colgate, next Saturday.