Boone, NC: Between 2005 and 2019, the rivalry between Coastal Carolina and Appalachian State in football was nonexistent. That’s because the Mountaineers won all six of the meetings during that span. Boy, how times have changed.
CCU got a pair of touchdown runs from freshmen Dominic Knicely and Jevon Edwards in the final four minutes on Saturday to rally past Appalachian State 45-37 in front of nearly 34,000 fans on “Homecoming” in Boone. The victory was Coastal’s fourth straight over the Mountaineers and the fifth in the last six meetings with ASU. The win also kept the Chanticleers in the chase for the Sun Belt East Division championship, as CCU (4-3/3-1) sits one game behind division-leading James Madison (6-1/4-0) heading into a bye week.
Game Recap Courtesy of CCU & App State Media Relations: App State led most of the way in a Sun Belt Conference showdown at Kidd Brewer Stadium, but Coastal Carolina moved ahead for the first time in the final four minutes and prevailed 45-37 on Saturday.
Wearing throwback “Flying Yosef” helmets with many of the 33,862 fans in attendance dressed in gold, the Mountaineers (4-3, 1-2) held a 31-17 advantage after Jaden Barnes’ 77-yard punt return for a touchdown early in the third quarter, but Coastal limited App State to a pair of field goals the rest of the way. The Chanticleers scored two touchdowns in the third quarter and added two more in the closing minutes to complete a comeback victory in which they averaged 6.0 yards per carry while totaling 246 yards on the ground against one of the nation’s top statistical run defenses. It was the second consecutive game Coastal’s offense rushed for over 200 yards, and the third time this season the Chants have eclipsed 200 yards rushing. CCU is now 4-0 when grounding out at least 100 yards.
App State quarterback JJ Kohl completed 27 of 41 passes for two touchdowns and 278 yards, including 148 during the opening quarter. Meanwhile, CCU QB Samari Collier paced the Chanticleers with a game-high 73 rushing yards and two touchdowns in his first start for the team, replacing the injured Tad Hudson. He also threw for 118 yards, including a 37-yard touchdown strike to Mauldin native Jameson Tucker. Backup QB MJ Morris added another touchdown pass in the win.
In addition to delivering App State’s first punt return for a touchdown since 2018, Barnes caught a touchdown pass, and Davion Dozier hauled in a scoring pass from Kohl for the third straight game.
Trailing 45-37 with just under two minutes to play, the Mountaineers mounted one final drive in an effort to tie the game. However, the sequence ended with a strip sack by Zeke Campbell, recovered by Noah Arinze, sealing the win for the Chants.
Coastal will return to action on Thursday, October 30th, as the Chanticleers host reigning Sun Belt Conference champion Marshall at 7:30pm on ESPN2.
