App State football kicked off their 2025 campaign with a 34-11 win against in-state opponent UNC-Charlotte in the Queen City. Redshirt junior quarterback AJ Swann tore up the 49ers’ defense with 3 touchdowns through the air. Junior wide receiver Jaden Barnes was the main target for Swann, catching 6 passes for 134 yards and a touchdown.  

Even though the 49ers were in their own backyard at Bank of America Stadium, the Mountaineers filled the seats.While the highlights were there for the offense, 9 penalties for 98 yards is not the way Head Coach Dowell Loggains wants to see his team operate.

“It would be hard for us to not be excited about the game when you walk out with all the black and gold in the stands,” Loggains said. “We have lots to improve, but time to celebrate a win. Way too many penalties.”

A huge play on the Mountaineers second drive occurred when Swann found Barnes deep down field and seemed to waltz into the endzone for the game’s first points. As Barnes ran into the end zone, a Charlotte defender poked the ball out at the last second and the 49ers recovered the ball into the end zone. 

The rest of the quarter saw the 49ers keep possession until late in the clock, using small chunk plays to advance into the Mountaineer side of the field. Charlotte was unable to find the endzone and settled for a field goal to take an early 3-0 lead. 

The second quarter was kinder to the Mountaineers as they scored 17 of their 34 points. One scoring play came from senior running back Rashod Dubinion as he ran in a 2 yard touchdown to put the Mountaineers up 7-0. That touchdown gave Dubinion his first touchdown in a black and gold jersey since transferring from University of Arkansas. 

“Great atmosphere, great people,” Dubinion said. “I ran out of the tunnel and I just felt like I was supposed to be here. I had fun.” 

The rest of the second quarter saw another touchdown, this time through the air as Swann found Barnes in the end zone. True freshman kicker Dominic De Freitas kicked his first career college field goal as time expired in the half. De Freitas was set up by an interception from redshirt junior Ja’Den McBurrows with only 23 seconds left in the half.

The Mountaineers came out of the locker room hot after halftime, as Swann immediately found redshirt senior Dalton Stroman for a 13-yard completion, bringing App State to midfield. Afterwards, Swann scrambled for a 19-yard gain, which brought them into field goal range, where De Freitas kicked his second field goal of the game from 35-yards.

The Mountaineer defence forced a quick three and out from the 49ers offence. The Black and Gold forced 5 punts on a struggling 49ers offense. App State’s defense allowed just over 100-yards in the second half, but penalty flags flew for the Black and Gold. On the 49ers next drive, two App State players were ejected for targeting.

“We got to eliminate the penalties. We had two targeting plays that one of them took back a sack. We’re going to have the ball on the 5-yard line,” Loggains said. “It’s a killer mentality of putting people away, and we let them hang in the game way too long.”

As the fourth quarter began, Charlotte was able to put up a high caliber drive for the first time since the first quarter, scoring their first touchdown of the night. Swann led the Mountaineers down the gridiron for a scoring drive of their own, making the final score 34-11. This was the end of Swann’s night as he went 31-46 with 368 passing yards. 

Redshirt sophomore quarterback JJ Kohl took over late in the fourth quarter. Kohl and Swann were in a quarterback battle from the Spring Game up until the final day before the game.

“Fun, fun, winnings fun and footballs fun. So it’s a good time,” Swann said. “I don’t really think I had an expectation. I think I was just going in there with a game plan and kind of whatever happened, happened.”

App State will hit the field at Kidd Brewer Stadium for the first time this season on Saturday as they welcome the Lindenwood Lions. Kickoff is slated for 3:30 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+.