GREENVILLE, S.C. - Senior quarterback Armanti Edwards accounted for 461 yards of total offense and six touchdowns to lead No. 7/8 Appalachian State University to a 52-27 romp over Furman on Saturday afternoon at rain-soaked Paladin Stadium.
 
Edwards passed for 355 yards and rushed for 106 more to lead Appalachian (6-2, 5-0 SoCon) to its sixth-straight win overall and its 17th in a row in Southern Conference play.
 
In the process, Edwards became the first player in NCAA Division I history (FCS or FBS) to amass 9,000 passing yards and 4,000 rushing yards in a career. He achieved the historic feat when he broke the 9,000-yard passing barrier with a 14-yard completion to CoCo Hillary midway through the second quarter.
 
Edwards' record-setting performance highlighted what was a rout from the get-go. Thanks to Furman's ill-fated onside-kick attempt to open the game, Appalachian needed just five plays to grab a 7-0 lead on a 16-yard pass from Edwards to tight end Ben Jorden.
 
Thanks in large part to a pair of personal-foul penalties assessed to the Mountaineers on the ensuing kickoff, Furman (4-4, 3-3 SoCon) answered Appalachian's quick strike by driving inside the ASU 20 on its first possession. However, Mountaineer defensive back Dominique McDuffie turned the tide of the game when he forced a fumble by Furman's Tyler Maples, which was recovered by Appalachian's Malcolm Bennett at the ASU 14. Thirteen plays later, Edwards scored the first of his four rushing touchdowns from three yards out to make it 14-0 and the rout was on.
 
The Mountaineers found the end zone on three of their final five possessions of the first half and seven of their next nine series overall. They led by as many as 29 points on two occasions and rested the majority of their starters after Jason Vitaris' 25-yard field goal made it 52-27 with 1:29 to go in the third quarter.
 
Despite being one of the many Mountaineer regulars that watched the final period from the sideline, Edwards completed 25-of-36 passes, including touchdowns of 16 and 21 yards, and matched a career high with four scoring runs that covered three, four, one and five yards.
 
Wide receiver Matt Cline was Edwards' top target, catching eight passes for a career-high 122 yards. Hillary added 83 yards and a touchdown on six catches while Brian Quick chipped in with four receptions for 70 yards.
 
ASU finished with 554 yards as a team, 489 of which came in the first three quarters. Despite falling short of the 600-yard plateau for the first time in four weeks, ASU broke the 50-point barrier for the third time in four games.
 
Defensively, McDuffie sparked the Mountaineers' quick start with his forced fumble and a first-quarter interception while linebackers Jacque Roman and Justin Lloyd led the squad with seven tackles apiece.
 
Furman featured a 100-yard rusher in Tersoo Uhaa (114 yds., TD) and a 100-yard receiver in Adam Mims (102 yds., TD) but the Mountaineers limited the rest of the Paladin squad to just 124 total yards (4.0 yards per play).
 
Appalachian returns home next Saturday (Nov. 7) to face upstart Chattanooga. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. at Kidd Brewer Stadium.
 
NOTES: Appalachian's 17-consecutive conference wins are the most by a  SoCon program in 50 years (West Virginia's record 30-game SoCon winning streak was snapped in 1959) … the 17-game SoCon winning streak is tied for the fourth-longest in conference history (besides WVU's 30-game run from 1952-59, the other three SoCon winning streaks of 17 games or longer  occurred prior to World War II) … the Mountaineers have claimed consecutive wins in Greenville for the first time in the history of the ASU-Furman series, which dates back to 1971 … ASU defeated FU for the fifth-straight time, extending its longest winning streak in series history … Furman fell to 1-8 against the Mountaineers under head coach Bobby Lamb … the Apps wore gold jerseys and moved to 3-0 all-time in “alternate” uniforms … the game was played in a steady rain throughout, marking the fifth time in eight games this season that Appalachian has braved the rain … Appalachian is 5-0 in conference play for the fifth time in 38 years in the SoCon … ASU has finished undefeated in SoCon play each time that it has opened the season with at least four-straight conference wins … Edwards vaulted from sixth to fourth in NCAA Division I FCS history with 13,316 yards of total offense in his career  (9,184 passing, 4,132 rushing) … just last week, Edwards had joined Missouri's Brad Smith (2002-05) as the only players in Division I history with 8,000 passing yards and 4,000 rushing yards in a career.