by ROB JENKINS
Sports Editor
McNeese State made a field
goal with four seconds left on the clock, and Appalachian State’s
Travaris Cadet was tackled in the end zone for a safety on the ensuing
kickoff as the Cowboys defeated the Mountaineers 40-35 Saturday afternoon.
On their first possession,
MSU marched down the field to the Appalachian 28-yard line before kicker
Josh Lewis missed a 45-yard field goal attempt.
After Appalachian took over,
Armanti Edwards completed his first pass of the year to running back
Devon Moore for a 13-yard completion.
Later in the drive, Edwards
was sacked, forcing the Mountaineers to punt.
On the ensuing McNeese drive,
the Cowboys converted two straight third downs to set up Todd Pendland
for a 25-yard touchdown run to make the score 7-0.
ASU kicker Jason Vitaris missed
a 22-yard field goal off the right upright on the next drive.
The Mountaineers finally got
on the board in the second quarter when Moore scampered 12 yards for
a touchdown. The extra point was good, pushing the score to 7-7 with
5:00 minutes left.
Pendland capped the next Cowboy
drive with a nine-yard touchdown catch from quarterback Derrick Fourroux,
making the score 14-7 at halftime.
Both offenses exploded in the
third quarter, combining to score five touchdowns. Edwards scored two
rushing touchdowns in the quarter.
Because of a missed PAT, Appalachian
led 28-27 at the end of the third.
On the first play of the fourth
quarter, ASU cornerback Ed Gainey picked off a pass from Fourroux for
his first career interception.
The Mountaineer offense was
unable to capitalize on the turnover, as Edwards was sacked for a loss
of eight yards on third down and ASU was forced to punt.
The Apps were able to down
the punt at the five-yard line, but the poor field position could not
stop the Cowboys.
McNeese went on a 16 play,
95-yard drive that took nearly eight minutes off the game clock. The
drive ended when Fourroux forced his way through the ASU defense for
a two-yard touchdown run. Pendland was successful on the two-point conversion
attempt.
Trailing 35-28 with only 4:43
left in the game, Appalachian started their drive from the ASU 38-yard
line.
After a 26-yard run by Moore
and a pass interference call against the Cowboys, the Mountaineers were
at the MSU 11. Two plays later, Cedric Baker plowed into the end zone
and Vitaris made the PAT to tie the score at 35 with 2:05 remaining.
MSU executed their two-minute
drill perfectly, driving the ball to the one-yard line before kicking
the winning field goal.
Pendland led the way for the
Cowboys, rushing for 127 yards on 19 carries and catching 10 passes
for 121 yards. He scored three touchdowns on the day.
Moore ran for 155 yards and
a touchdown. Edwards racked up 298 yards of passing and rushing.
With the loss, the Mountaineers
dropped to 0-2 for the first time since the 2003 season.
Trackback(0)
 |
TrackBack URI for this entry
Show/Hide comments