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Appalachian State proved to have too much offense and overpowered Troy’s defense in a 45-7 win at the Vet.

Troy held an early 7-3 lead, but the Mountaineers got the offense rolling late in the first half and scored on six straight possessions en route to a 38-point win. The Mountaineers tallied 445 yards of total offense compared to the Trojans 142. App State out rushed the Trojans 233-33 and also outgained the Trojans 212-109 through the air. 

The Trojans got off to a quick start, grinding out 63-yards on six plays after the opening kickoff. The drive opened with an 11-yard completion from Gunnar Watson to Demontrez Brown. Then,  the Trojans were helped by a defensive holding and offsides penalties by App State to get the ball inside Mountaineers territory at the 47-yard line. However the drive came to an abrupt halt when Kimani Vidal was stripped of the ball at the App State 12-yard line. Trey Cobb was able to recover for the Mountaineers. 

App State was able to take advantage of the Troy miscue and put together a 12-play, 81-yard drive that ended in a 24-yard field goal by Chandler Staton at 7:36 of the first quarter. The drive ate up 5:02 and gave the Moutnaineers an early 3-0 lead. 

After a fair catch on the kick, the Trojans set up shop from their own 25-yard line. Watson completed a 26-yard pass to Tez Johson across the middle, then connected with Johnson on a 10-yard pass to the left sideline to the App State 39-yard line. Vidal picked up a couple of yards on first down and Watson threw a strike to Deshon Stoudemire in the middle of the field. Stoudemire slipped past the Mountaineer secondary and sprinted into the end zone for a 37-yard TD reception. Brooks Buce added the point after at 6:15 in the first to give the Trojans a 7-3 lead. 

After the Troy touchdown both defenses stiffened for the remainder of the half. App State attempted a 30-yard field goal, but Staton’s attempt was wide right – Staton’s first missed field goal of the season. The Mountaineer’s next drive stalled when Kyle Nixon intercepted a Chase Brice pass at the Troy 39-yard line to end the scoring threat.

Troy’s next four possessions in the first ended on a three-and-out. 

App State’s final possession of the first half sparked the Mountaineer offense. After a Troy punt, the Mountaineers took over on their own 39-yard line with 1:21 left in the half. Nate Noel started the drive with a 24-yard run and then the Mountaineers drove the ball to the Troy 21-yard line on a series of short gains. 

On third-and-six, Chase Brice completed a 21-yard touchdown pass to Corey Sutton with 21 seconds left in the half. Staton kicked the point after to give the Mountaineers a 10-7 lead. Troy closed out the half by taking a knee and heading to the locker room trailing by three. 

App State received the kick to start the second half and scored on six straight possessions 

Kyle Coale returned the opening kick 39-yards to jump start a six-play, 64-yard drive that ended with a 6-yard TD pass from Brice to Thomas Hennigan. Staton added the point after. After the kick, TD Roof intercepted a pass from Watson at the Troy 20-yard line and returned it 10 yards to set up a 10-yard TD pass from Brice to Eli Wilson. Staton added the PAT to give the Mountaineers a 24-7 lead with 12:00 left in the third quarter. 

The Trojans turned the ball over on downs at their own 45-yard line and App State put together an eight play drive that ended in a 5-yard TD run from Nate Noel. Staton kicked the PAT to give App State a 31-7 lead. 

App State extended its scoring streak to five straight possessions early in the fourth quarter when Daetrich Harrington scored on a 2-yard TD run just 47 seconds into the final quarter. Staton’s PAT put App State up 38-7. 

The Mountaineers capped off another 11-play, 32 yard scoring drive with a 1-yard TD run from Jahmir Smith with 5:06 remaining in the game. The score put the Mountaineers up 45-7.