App State football opened Sun Belt Conference play with a 38-22 loss to Southern Miss in Hattiesburg, Mississippi Saturday. Three quarterbacks took the field for App State, and three interceptions inside the 7-yard line spoiled the Mountaineers’ chance to start the season 3-0.
Redshirt junior quarterback AJ Swann marched the offense down the field and to the 4-yard line on the opening possession. Swann floated a pass to the back right corner of the end zone intended for redshirt senior wide receiver Dalton Stroman, but it was picked off by Golden Eagles cornerback Anthony Richard, Jr., and App State came away empty handed.
The Mountaineers defense forced a punt, and Swann led the team down the field once more. Senior running back Rashod Dubinion bulldozed his way into the end zone for a 2-yard touchdown run to get the early lead.
Southern Miss running back Jeffery Pittman answered the Mountaineers’ touchdown with one of his own, tying the game at 7 late in the first quarter. The Golden Eagles then kicked a field goal a minute into the second quarter to take the lead.
Swann drove the Mountaineers all the way to the 4-yard line again on App State’s next possession until disaster struck. An off-target throw to Dubinion bounced off his hands at the 1-yard line and into the grasp of Golden Eagles defender Ian Foster, who ran the ball to the Southern Miss end zone for a touchdown.
App State got the ball back after the pick-six and methodically made their way inside the 10-yard line again, but the scoring struggles continued. Swann targeted redshirt senior tight end Izayah Cummings in the end zone but was picked off by Golden Eagles linebacker Mathias Haygood, his third interception of the night.
“I was really happy with the way we were moving the football, but you’re not going to win games no matter how well you move the football if you throw 3 interceptions inside the 7-yard line,” head coach Dowell Loggains said postgame. “We’ve got to get that cleaned up.”
Swann was sidelined for the remainder of the game with a reported injury, making way for freshman quarterback Noah Gillon to take the field for his collegiate debut with the Mountaineers trailing 17-7 at halftime.
Southern Miss running back Robert Briggs caught an 8-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Braylon Braxton early in the third quarter, extending the lead to 24-7.
Redshirt junior defensive back DJ Burks snagged a tip-drill interception after the ball deflected off his teammate, redshirt junior defensive back Emory Floyd, to get some momentum back for App State.
Later in the quarter, freshman kicker Dominic De Freitas missed a 37-yard field goal, but Golden Eagles cornerback Josh Moten ran into De Freitas after his kick, resulting in a penalty. On the next play, freshman running back Jaquari Lewis punched it in for the score to make it a 10-point game.
Redshirt junior defensive back Elijah Mc-Cantos recovered a surprise onside kick after the score, but the offense could not capitalize on the extra possession and punted the ball away.
Southern Miss scored 2 more touchdowns early in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach for the Mountaineers.
Redshirt senior quarterback Billy Wiles came onto the field with 4 minutes left, the third quarterback of the game for the Mountaineers. Wiles made the most of his opportunity, finding junior wide receiver Jaden Barnes for a 3-yard touchdown pass, then completing the 2-point conversion with a pass to Lewis.
However, with App State trailing by 16 points with a minute left, Southern Miss ran out the clock to hand App State their first loss this season.
Loggains addressed the struggles on both sides of the ball postgame.
“They kept us off-balance all night on defense,” Loggains said. I think the storyline of the game was the 3 red zone turnovers. They averaged 9 yards a pass, and they completely controlled the game on offense as well.”
App State has a bye week to work on a game plan for Boise State. The Mountaineers will travel to Idaho to face the Broncos for the first time since 1994 on Sept. 27. The game will kickoff at 7:30 p.m. EST and will be televised on FS1 channel.
