Last Updated on November 8, 2024 9:30 am
CONWAY, S.C. — App State Football’s winning streak against Sun Belt East Division opponents came to a close Thursday night in a 38-24 loss at Coastal Carolina.
The Mountaineers, who arrived at Brooks Stadium for the ESPN midweek game with back-to-back division victories at home against Georgia State and Old Dominion, were led by 124 rushing yards on a career-high 28 attempts and two fourth-down rushing touchdowns from Ahmani Marshall. He posted his third straight 100-yard game and had a team-high six catches.
Joey Aguilar gained 95 yards on his positive runs, including a 49-yard keeper, but lost 65 yards on four sacks before finishing with 226 passing yards and one touchdown. Kaedin Robinson made five receptions for a team-high 76 yards and a score.
App State (4-5, 2-4 Sun Belt) has 16 days between games, with its next contest scheduled for Nov. 23 at home against James Madison.
Both halves started in forgettable fashion for the Mountaineers.
Coastal Carolina (5-4, 2-3) scored two touchdowns and a field goal on its first three drives, helped by a pair of App State turnovers on its first two possessions, including a lost fumble off a sack on a first-and-goal play from the 4.
App State fought back to within 17-10 at the break and received the ball to open the third quarter. Coastal followed a three-and-out punt with a 17-play, 87-yard touchdown drive that lasted nearly nine minutes, then free safety AJ Williams picked off a pass on the first play of the Mountaineers’ next series and returned the ball 35 yards to the 1. Just like that, on quarterback Ethan Vasko’s 1-yard scoring run, the Chanticleers had a 31-10 lead with 4:05 left in the third quarter.
After the quick post-interception touchdown extended the margin to 21 points, App State did answer with a 12-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that included a fourth-down penalty for pass interference and Marshall’s 2-yard touchdown run on a fourth-and-goal carry.
The Mountaineers forced a punt with 8:48 remaining and had a first down at the Coastal 20 with roughly five minutes left in a 31-17 game before a grounding penalty and back-to-back sacks created a turnover on downs with a combined three-play loss of 44 yards to the App State 36. The Chanticleers added an insurance touchdown with 2:26 remaining, and Aguilar’s 26-yard touchdown pass to Robinson closed the scoring.
App State had to play from behind the entire night.
A pair of first-quarter touchdown runs from Braydon Bennett, who had three scores during an 88-yard night preceded a 29-yard field goal, with a third-down stop inside the 15 by the Mountaineers’ defense limiting the early damage to a 17-0 deficit. App State’s first turnover had occurred on a fumble-causing sack for a 21-yard loss on the first-down snap from the 4, and an interception on a tipped throw gave Coastal possession at the App State 49 with a 14-0 lead.
Aguilar’s 39-yard completion to Makai Jackson highlighted a scoring drive that ended with Jackson Moore’s 38-yard field goal, and an errant Coastal snap contributed to a three-and-out punt. Aguilar’s career-long run of 49 yards on a third-and-2 keeper from the App State 31 put the Mountaineers back in scoring range, and Marshall’s third-and-goal carry of 4 yards from the 6 gave them a manageable fourth-down situation. Marshall then plowed into the end zone for a 2-yard score to help cut the deficit to 17-10.
App State forced another three-and-out punt with two minutes remaining before halftime, and the Mountaineers advanced to the Coastal 35 on a third-down conversion before ending the half with four straight incompletions.
App State received to open the second half while trailing by seven, but a quick punt forced by a third-down incompletion led up to Coastal’s marathon touchdown drive that began at its 13-yard line. Third-and-5 completions for 6 yards and 11 yards early in that series, shy of the Coastal 30, set the stage for a clock-draining drive.
App State gained 221 yards on the ground but lost 70 yards on the four sacks and a bad snap. Brendan Harrington led the Mountaineers’ defense with 10 tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss.
