It was a Senior Night to remember for the Mountaineers (8-3, 6-1 Sun Belt) as running back Marcus Cox became the school’s all-time leading rusher in a 42-17 win over UL Monroe(4-7, 3-4 Sun Belt) whose two game win streak was snapped.
The Good:
Appalachian State is now 8-3 overall and 6-1 in the Sun Belt on the season.
The Mountaineer move to 5-1 at home this season
Marcus Cox became Appalachian’s all-time leading rusher, a mark he stole in the fourth quarter, and scored his 49th, 50th and 51st career touchdowns.
He finished the game with 153 yards and three touchdowns on 21 carries.
Cox highlights a group of 17 seniors who got a send-off fitting their careers including starters John Law, Parker Collins, and Tyson Fernandez.
Team rushing. Cox and Jalin Moore combined for nearly 300 yards by themselves. Quarterback Taylor Lamb tacked on another 92, including a beautiful 25-yard TD run. The team totaled 429 yards on the ground.
Offense. 637 total yards of offense, the most on the season. The Mountaineers won with 42 points, the most they’ve scored this season.
Lamb threw a 60-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Ike Lewis in the first quarter, which just so happens to be his 60th all-time.
Lamb finished the night with two touchdown passes
The TD pass was Lewis’ second of his career and first of the season
With the win in his 48th career game in charge, head coach Scott Satterfield now has his 30th win with the Mountaineers.
Third down adjustments, after the Warhawks started the game in the first quarter 4-of-7 on third down, the Mountaineers were able to hold them to 6-of-11 in the final three quarters.
The Mountaineers only punted twice in the entire game.
App converted a fourth down conversion for a touchdown in the second quarter
The Mountaineers score on three of four red-zone trips
The Bad:
The weather. Boone’s signature cold-and-wind combination made every pass a gamble, every kick seem sub-par, and every punt a spectacle.
Rushing defense. Coming into Saturday’s game, App was first in the Sun Belt in rushing defense, allowing only 113.7 yards per game on the ground. UL Monroe was able to gouge the Mountaineers for 226 total yards on the ground.
UL Monroe’s Austin Vaughn finished the game with 110 yards on the ground. Vaughn on his own was 3.7 yards below the average rushing yards of every team App has played this year.
The downhill, power-back formula could be something that gets picked on in the future.
Dropped interceptions. This was a common occurrence for the Mountaineers, and there was also an interception called back because of pass interference in the first quarter.
This was the last time we’ll ever see these 17 seniors play at the Rock.
Looking Ahead:
The backfield tandem of Jalin Moore and Marcus Cox has proven to be a dynamic duo. This was the third game in the past four that they both had 100 yards in the same game, and they’ll look to continue that against New Mexico State and the bowl game.
Jalin Moore appears more than ready to pick up the slack after the imminent departure of the Mountaineers new all-time leading rusher Marcus Cox.
It’s yet to be seen if this game’s rushing yards allowed was an outlier or an example for teams they will play in the future.
Whats Next?
The Mountaineers will head to New Mexico State for their final regular season game after a Thursday Thanksgiving dinner, to face the Aggies who are eighth in the Sun Belt and will be leaving the conference after this season.
Story By: Ian Taylor, Sports Reporter
Photos By: Halle Keighton, Photo Editor