On Saturday, App State football went to Statesboro, Georgia, to take on the rival Georgia Southern Eagles in a matchup that carries the nickname “Deeper than Hate.”
When the final whistles blew, App State lost 29-20. This loss moved the Mountaineers to 5-6 on the year, officially making them bowl-ineligible.
The Eagles won the coin toss and elected to receive to open the game. They immediately went on a 75-yard scoring drive that relied on their ability to make plays out of the shotgun formation they used 11 times during their 12-play drive.
Following a touchdown to their wide receiver Josh Dallas, they took an 8-point lead on a two-point conversion.
All eyes were on the Black and Gold whose opening drive started out promising with a 32-yard reception from junior wide receiver Makai Jackson, but they were soon halted due to an interception.
Both teams traded punts on the following drives and as the game progressed into the second quarter, Georgia Southern held an 8-0 lead.
The Mountaineers’ first drive of the second quarter fared much better as they immediately were given 15 yards on a punt return due to a kick catch interference penalty.
Senior running back Ahmani Marshall was the standout on this drive as he tallied 50 rushing yards on just 7 carries, firmly planting the offense in the red zone.
The Black and Gold were able to capitalize this time as junior tight end Eli Wilson caught a 9-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Joey Aguilar.
However, this was followed by a failed two-point conversion. The defense continued to struggle as on the ensuing drive, and Georgia Southern once again marched down the field and into the end zone. While extending their lead to 9, the Eagles left nearly three minutes on the clock which was enough time for App State’s offense to drive down the field. However, they were stopped on the goal line and went into halftime with a score of 6-15.
The Mountaineers hoped to capitalize on getting the ball after halftime but were left disappointed after yet another promising drive, this one reaching the red zone, ended in a costly interception.
As the defense took the field once again, things started to look bad. Back-to-back big plays for the Eagles had put them on the Black and Gold’s 35 and it seemed as if more points were inevitable until redshirt senior defensive end Michael Fletcher broke through the line and forced a big fumble, recovered by junior transfer Joshua Donald.
The ensuing offensive drive modeled perfectly the potential of this offense as two large plays by Wilson and Jackson set the Mountaineers up nicely on the goal line. A quick pass caught in the end zone by Jackson put App State back in the game and cut the deficit back to just 2 points.
Two of the next four drives ended in touchdowns for both teams as they grappled for control in the game; App State’s touchdown came from a run up the middle by Marshall.
Despite only being down by two points with eight minutes left, everything began to fall apart for the Black and Gold as they gave up a touchdown that drained nearly six minutes of clock.
Down two possessions with three minutes left in the game, the Mountaineers did not have the luxury of running the ball which they had done quite effectively on the night, and ultimately were unable to score again, resulting in a final score of 29-20 in favor of Georgia Southern.
There were some bright spots to the otherwise disappointing loss. Ahmani Marshall rushed for over 125 yards and a touchdown on the night while Jackson had 8 receptions for 157 yards and a score. Both led in their respective categories for both teams on the night. Sophomore outside linebacker Nate Johnson had a pair of sacks as well as a forced fumble.
There were too many mistakes made for the Black and Gold to come out on top, such as the goal line stand in which they left points on the board going into halftime.
“You come here to win a football game,” said head coach Shawn Clark. “We’re going to be aggressive when we’re on the one-yard line. Multiple things could’ve happened but didn’t.”
The struggles this season were far from contained to this singular game as the team finished with their first losing record since 2013 and their second since 1993.
“There’s been a lot of tough moments,” Clark said. “Some people may say that’s an excuse but that’s the reality.”
Despite the early exit, Clark stated how proud he was of his players.
“Our kids have represented this university the right way and I’m proud of them,” he said.
While it’s safe to say this is not the outcome players, fans or the coaching staff were looking for, the only thing to do now is to look forward to the offseason.
