All week, leading up to Appalachian's home opener versus Coastal Carolina at 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Kidd Brewer Stadium, www.GoASU.com will take a look back at some of the Mountaineers' most memorable home openers. The series continues with Appalachian's 17-13 come-from-behind win over archrival Western Carolina in 1986. APPALACHIAN 17, WESTERN CAROLINA 13 ?€˘ Aug. 30, 1986 Future NFL standout John Settle scored the second of his two touchdowns with 9:52 to play as Appalachian State University claimed its first home victory over archrival Western Carolina in six years with a 17-13 triumph before 22,618 fans at Conrad Stadium. Less than two-and-a-half minutes after the Catamounts reclaimed a 13-10 lead with a 36-yard field goal by Kirk Roach, Settle gave the Mountaineers their first advantage of the afternoon with a two-yard touchdown plunge. Settle's score capped a six-play, 80-yard drive that was highlighted by 61-yard pass from Todd Payton to Wardell Jefferson. Jefferson's only reception of the ballgame put the Apps on Western's five yard line, and Settle crossed the goal line with the game-winning score three plays later. Early on, it looked as though Western would leave Boone for the third-straight time with the Old Mountain Jug in hand, as WCU took an early 10-0 lead on a first-quarter Roach field goal and a 14-yard touchdown connection between Willie Perkins and David Mayfield less than five minutes into the second period. It appeared that the Catamounts would take the 10-point advantage into halftime, as they pinned the Mountaineers on the ASU two yard line with 3:56 remaining before the intermission. However, Appalachian marched 61 yards in 11 plays and all-American kicker Bjorn Nittmo drilled a 54-yard field goal as time expired in the first half to cut the deficit to 10-3. An interception by defensive back Jimmy Armstrong midway through the third period set up Settle'ss first touchdown run of the game, a 15-yarder that tied the contest at 10-10 with 6:34 to go in the third and set up ASU's fourth-quarter heroics. Settle finished the afternoon with 103 yards on 36 rushes and three receptions for 11 more yards, to go along with his two touchdowns. Payton enjoyed an efficient day at quarterback, completing 10-of-18 passes for 135 yards and no interceptions. Appalachian's defense also turned in an impressive outing, holding the Catamounts to just 66 yards on 30 attempts. The home-opening victory boosted the Mountaineers to a championship season, as they claimed the Southern Conference title and their first-ever I-AA Playoff berth with a 6-0-1 league mark. Despite a first-round loss to Nicholls State, head coach Sparky Woods' Apps finished the campaign with a 9-2-1 overall record and top-10 national ranking.

SCORING SUMMARY

Western Carolina		3	7	0	3	-	13

APPALACHIAN		0	3	7	7	-	17

Attendance: 22,618



FIRST QUARTER

11:06	WCU	Kirk Roach 46 field goal 



 SECOND QUARTER

11:36	WCU	David Mayfield 14 pass from Willie Perkins (Roach kick)

0:00	ASU	Bjorn Nittmo 54 field goal



 THIRD QUARTER

6:34	ASU	John Settle 15 run (Nittmo kick)



 FOURTH QUARTER

12:43	WCU	Roach 36 field goal 

9:52	ASU	Settle 2 run (Nittmo kick)

	

TEAM STATISTICS	Western Carolina		Appalachian	

First Downs		14		11

Total Offense		297		267

Rushes-Net Yards	30-66		44-132

Passing Yards		231		135

Passes (Att-Comp-Int)31-21-1	18-10-0

Fumbles - Lost	2-0		1-1

Penalties--Yards	5-35		5-30

Punts-Avg		4-37.5		8-39.1

Punt Returns-Yards	5-27		2-5

Kickoff Returns-Yards	2-35		4-66

Time of Possession	32:56		27:09

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS Rushing-WCU: Beck 12-46; Mayfield 10-13; Nix 3-12; B.R. Jones 2-4; Griffin 1-2; Nowell 1-(-10); Perkins 1-(-1) ASU: Settle 36-103; Payton 6-22; Melchor 1-6; Wesley 1-1 Passing-WCU: Perkins 20-30-1, 218 yds.; Beck 1-1-0, 13 yds. ASU: Payton 10-18-0, 135 yds. Receiving-WCU: Carmichael 7-82; Nowell 3-63; Beck 2-31; Washington 2-23; Mayfield 2-18; Jones 2-11; Nix 1-10; Griffin 2-(-7) ASU: Jefferson 1-61; Beaty 2-37; Douglas 3-18; Settle 3-11; Payne 1-8 APPALACHIAN 41, EAST CAROLINA 25 ?€˘ Sept. 13, 1975 Appalachian State University ran out to a 27-0 lead early in the third quarter and never looked back en route to a 41-25 season-opening victory over Southern Conference-rival East Carolina at Conrad Stadium on Sept. 13, 1975. Four Mountaineers ran for at least 60 yards, as Appalachian ran a school-record 82 times for an astounding 394 yards on the ground in the victory. Sophomore halfback Calvin Simon led the rushing attack, running 18 times for 92 yards. Simon also made his presence felt as a thrower, as he completed all three passes he attempted for 43 yards, including 20-yard touchdown toss to Emmitt Hamilton that gave ASU its 27-0 advantage just 6:30 into the third period. In addition to Simon's 92 rushing yards, Hamilton ran for 84, quarterback Robbie Price tallied 72 and fullback Richard Patrick tacked on 62 yards on the ground to pace the Apps. ASU attempted just 10 passes on the evening, completing six for 152 yards. Equally impressive was Appalachian's defense, which held ECU to just 120 yards on the ground. Eighteen of the head coach Pat Dye's Pirates' 25 points were scored in the fourth quarter after the Mountaineers had already staked themselves to a 41-7 lead. Appalachian went on to sport an 8-3 record in 1975.

SCORING SUMMARY

East Carolina		0	0	7	18	-	25

APPALACHIAN	7	13	14	7	-	41

Attendance: 13,781



FIRST QUARTER

10:31	ASU	Price 31 run (Davis kick)



 SECOND QUARTER

9:46	ASU	Hamilton 2 run (Davis kick)

3:42	ASU	Patrick 1 run (Davis kick failed)



 THIRD QUARTER

8:30	ASU	Hamilton 20 pass from Simon (Davis kick)

8:13	ECU	Gallaher 82 pass from Weaver (Conaty kick)

2:33	ASU	Yeager fumble recovery in end zone (Conaty kick)



 FOURTH QUARTER

14:49	ASU	Ford 82 pass from Price (Davis kick)

8:47	ECU	Gallaher 59 pass from Conaty (PAT failed)

6:05	ECU	Gallaher 72 pass from Conaty (PAT failed)

4:39	ECU	Burnett 6 pass from Conaty (PAT failed)

	

TEAM STATISTICS	East Carolina		Appalachian	

First Downs		9		22

Total Offense		390		546

Rushes-Net Yards	32-120		82-394

Passing Yards		270		152

Passes (Att-Comp-Int)17-10-0	10-6-0

Fumbles - Lost	1-1		2-2

Penalties--Yards	4-29		6-66

Punts-Avg		7-33.7		3-48.0

Net Return Yardage	15		16

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS Rushing-ECU: Strayhorn 10-51; Hawkins 4-28; Weaver 7-11; Jones 4-10; Dane 5-8; Hightower 1-8; French 1-4 ASU: Simon 18-92; Hamilton 18-84; Price 15-72; Patrick 12-62; Dobbins 4-40; Craig 5-20; Swecker 3-10; Haugabrook 3-7; Brown 2-4; Going 1-3; McConnell 1-0. Passing-Conaty 5-7-0, 166 yds.; Weaver 4-9-0, 112 yds.; Dane 1-1-0, -8 yds.; ASU: Price 3-6-0, 109 yds.; Simon 3-3-0, 43 yds.; Swecker 0-1-0, 0 yds. Receiving-ECU: Gallaher 3-218; Burnett 2-15; Strayhorn 1-19; Williamson 1-15; Hawkins 1-6; Johnson 1-5; Dross 1-(-8) ASU: Hamilton 3-43; Ford 1-82; Simon 1-15; Holt 1-12 APPALACHIAN 70, ELON 26 ?€˘ Oct. 5, 1968 Quarterback Pat Murphy threw for three touchdowns and ran for another as Appalachian State University clobbered Elon College, 70-26, in ASU's 1968 home opener at Conrad Stadium. Murphy, who was the leading passer in school history until current Appalachian Sports Network analyst Steve Brown surpassed his 5,141 passing yards in 1980, completed 12-of-22 passes for 201 yards and added 31 yards on three rushes in the romp. Murphy's favorite target on the evening was wide receiver Bob Agle, who caught six Murphy passes for 103 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The Mountaineers' ground attack was paced by a pair of 100-yard rushers, Jack Roten (123) and Dwight Kerr (104). Clayton Deskins, the first African-American football player in ASU history, added 65 yards and the game's final touchdown on just five attempts, as the Apps rolled up an astounding 365 yards on the ground. Despite the amazing offensive output, the story of the evening may have been the Appalachian defense, which intercepted a school-record five passes and held the Fighting Christians to just 82 yards rushing. David Neeld returned one of the interceptions 18 yards for a touchdown to make the score 63-26 in the fourth quarter. In all, the Mountaineers racked up 566 yards of total offense en route to the 70-point output, the second-largest point total in school history. Appalachian went on to post an 8-2 record, including a 4-1 mark at Conrad Stadium, as an independent in 1968.

SCORING SUMMARY

Elon			6	12	8	0	-	26

APPALACHIAN	21	21	14	14	-	70

Attendance: 6,500



FIRST QUARTER

	ASU	Roten 5 run (Wood kick)

	ASU	Agle 25 pass from Murphy (Wood kick)

	ASU	Kerr 33 run (Wood kick)

	EC	Sharpe 7 run (Helsley kick)



 SECOND QUARTER

	ASU	Agle 11 pass from Murphy (Wood kick)

	EC	McGeorge 10 pass from Beale (run failed)

	EC	O'Brien 5 pass from Beale (pass failed)

	ASU	Kerr 14 pass from Murphy (Wood kick)

	ASU	Roten 1 run (Wood kick)



 THIRD QUARTER

	EC	Waller 50 pass from Beale (Holder pass from Beale)

	ASU	Murphy 3 run (Wood kick)

	ASU	Kerr 18 run (Wood kick)



 FOURTH QUARTER

	ASU	Neeld, D. 18 yard INT return (Wood kick)

	ASU	Deskins 41 run (Wood kick)

	

TEAM STATISTICS	Elon		Appalachian	

First Downs		15		24

Total Offense		341		566

Rushes-Net Yards	34-82		51-365

Passing Yards		259		201

Passes (Att-Comp-Int)39-17-5	23-12-1

Fumbles - Lost	3-2		1-1

Penalties--Yards	3-35		11-75

Punts-Avg		8-41.4		7-49.4

Punt Returns-Yards	5-42		5-27

Kickoff Returns-Yards5-42		5-64

Interceptions-Yards	1-22		5-50

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS Rushing-Elon: Sharpe 16-55; Crews 4-31; E. Moore 5-9; Green 1-3; Roberts 3-1; Rinaca 2-(-2); Beale 3-(-15) ASU: Roten 15-123; Kerr 15-104; Deskins 5-65; Murphy 3-31; Queen 2-23; McDonald 7-12; McGlamery 2-7; Nash 1-1; Ferrell 1-(-1) Passing-Elon: Beale 16-34-4, 254 yds.; Green 1-5-1, 5 yds. ASU: Murphy 12-22-1, 201 yds.; Quyeen 0-1-0, 0 yds. Receiving-Elon: McGeorge 7-130; Waller 6-113; O'Brien 2-8; Everett 1-5; Holder 1-3 ASU: Agle 6-103; Kerr 2-37; Ferrell 2-35; McDonald 1-15; DeBary 1-11 NO. 5 APPALACHIAN 36, NO. 16 EASTERN KENTUCKY 28 ?€˘ Sept. 14, 2002 After a slow first half, Appalachian's offense woke up to claim a come-from-behind 36-28 victory over Eastern Kentucky in the Mountaineers' 2002 home opener at Kidd Brewer Stadium. It took a defensive touchdown to provide the alarm. Trailing 21-7 with 13:15 left in the third quarter, Appalachian cornerback Derrick Black scooped up a fumble on C.J. Hudson's first carry of the second half and raced 48 yards untouched for a score. The touchdown sparked the Mountaineers in a second half that saw them outscore the Colonels 29-7. After a Jerry Beard 4-yard touchdown run 8:01 into the contest, the Mountaineers' offense struggled. Eastern Kentucky punter Phil Kuhl turned a bad snap on a punt into a touchdown run to make it a 7-6 contest. Kuhl got past one Mountaineer and snuck down the right side of the field for the score. Hudson rushed for scores from six and 44 yards out midway through the second quarter to make the score 21-7 before Black's return closed the gap to 21-13. After forcing the Colonels to punt on consecutive possessions, the Apps marched 79 yards in 12 plays on a drive capped by a 5-yard run by redshirt freshman Richie Williams. Sean Jackson's PAT run tied the score, at 21-21. Williams, starting place of the injured Joe Burchette, finished 9-of-17 passing for 113 yards, including a 25-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Jermane Little early in the fourth quarter to give the Mountaineers a 28-21 lead. Eastern Kentucky struck back with a 22-yard touchdown run by Hudson to tie the game at 28-28. But Appalachian State answered with Wright's 42-yard field goal and then a safety when Sam Smalls made a tackle in the end zone after a catch. Up 33-28, Wright's 47-yard field goal closed the scoring with 4:10 left.

SCORING SUMMARY

Eastern Kentucky	6	15	0	7	-	28

APPALACHIAN	7	0	14	15	-	36

Attendance: 11,211



FIRST QUARTER

	5:59	ASU	J. Beard 4 run (M. Wright kick)

	2:57	EKU	P. Kuhl 39 run (Team rush failed)



 SECOND QUARTER

	8:00	EKU	C. Hudson 6 run (T. Turner rush)

	5:28	EKU	C. Hudson 44 run (A. Smith kick)



 THIRD QUARTER

	13:15	ASU	D. Black 48 fumble recovery 

			(M. Wright kick failed)

	2:26	ASU	R. Williams 5 run (Sean Jackson rush)



 FOURTH QUARTER

	13:52	ASU	J. Little 25 pass from R. Williams 

			(M. Wright kick)

	12:27	EKU	C. Hudson 22 run (Adam Smith kick)

	10:01	ASU	M. Wright 42 field goal

	8:27	ASU	S. Smalls safety

	4:10	ASU	M. Wright 47 field goal

	

TEAM STATISTICS	E. Kentucky	Appalachian	

First Downs	16	19

Total Offense	354	297

Rushes-Net Yards	43-217	50-184

Passing Yards	137	113

Passes (Att-Comp-Int)	20-7-1	17-9-2

Fumbles-Lost	1-1	1-0	

Penalties--Yards	8-71	3-42

Punts-Avg	6-42.3	5-40.8

Punt Returns-Yards	2-3	4-46

Kickoff Returns-Yards	7-105	4-139

Interceptions-Yards	2-18	1-0

Fumble Returns-Yards	0-0	1-48

Third Down Efficiency	6 of 15	6 of 14

Fourth Down Efficiency	1 of 1	1 of 1

Time of Possession	27:58	32:02

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS Rushing-EKU: C. Hudson 28-168, P. Kuhl 1-39, C. Marks 6-19, T. Turner 7-18, A. Evans 1-(-9). Appalachian: J. Beard 24-99, S. Jackson 12-52, R. Williams 9-25, D. Fowlkes 2-7, J. Hoover 2-2, Team, 1-(-1). Passing-EKU: T. Turner 20-7-1, 137 yds. Appalachian: R. Williams 17-9-2, 113 yds., 1 TD. Receiving-EKU: M. Miller 4-108, C. Pritchard 1-17, A. Evans 1-13, A. Brooks 1-(-1). Appalachian: J. Little 2-37, J. Hoover 2-30,