BOONE, N.C. - No. 6 Appalachian State University finished off its third undefeated Southern Conference slate in four years by downing archrival Western Carolina, 19-14, on Saturday afternoon at jam-packed Kidd Brewer Stadium.

Appalachian (9-2, 8-0 SoCon), which clinched no less than a share of its fifth-straight SoCon title with last Saturday's win at Elon, earned the title outright with its 20th conference victory in a row. The triumph was also ASU's 23rd in the last 25 Battles for the Old Mountain Jug versus archrival Western Carolina (2-9, 1-7 SoCon).

With All-America quarterback Armanti Edwards sidelined by a knee injury sustained in last week's 27-10 win at Elon, the Mountaineers relied on their defense and running game to keep the Jug in Boone. While running on 51 of their 67 snaps, the Apps held a comfortable 356-236 advantage in total yardage, including a commanding 255-70 edge in rushing yards.

Junior running back Devon Moore led the way with a career-high 191 yards on 25 carries, good for a 7.6-yard average. He also scored both ASU touchdowns on runs of 25 and one yards.

Despite the guady advantage in the running game, the contest was close throughout. In fact, WCU held a 7-3 lead for much of the first half thanks to a one-yard touchdown pass from Zack Jaynes to Dion Wilson late in the first quarter.

Appalachian finally siezed the momentum when it drove 73 yards on the opening series of the second half and took a 10-7 lead on Moore's 25-yard touchdown scamper.

The Mountaineers were still clinging to their the tenuous 10-7 lead early in the fourth period when their defense turned in the play of the game. On a third-and-eight play from the WCU 15 yard line, defensive ends Jabari Fletcher and Lanston Tanyi chased Jaynes all the way into the ASU end zone. With Jaynes still unable to find an open receiver due to terrific coverage by the Mountaineer secondary, Fletcher and Tanyi reached Jaynes and dropped him for a safety to stretch the Black-and-Gold advantage to 12-7.

B.J. Frazier returned the ensuing kickoff 20 yards and four plays later, the Apps all but put the game away when Moore scored from a yard out to make it 19-7 with 12:57 to play. The touchdown was set up by a 43-yard completion from Travaris Cadet to DeAndre Presley.

The ASU defense made sure the lead would stand up by forcing the Catamounts' seventh and eighth punts of the day on their next two series. The Cats managed to cut the advantage to 19-14 on Michael Johnson's two-yard touchdown run with 39 seconds remaining but the Mountaineers recovered WCU's onside-kick attempt to seal the victory.

Tanyi led Apalachian's stellar performance on the defensive side of the ball with a career-best 13 tackles and two-and-a-half sacks, which matched his career-high set in last year's win at Western Carolina.

All-America linebacker Jacque Roman chipped in with 12 tackles while Fletcher added eight stops, including one-and-a-half sacks.

Making his first-career start behind center, Cadet ran 17 times for 58 yards and completed 8-of-16 passes for 101 yards.

Johnson led the Catamounts with 105 yards on 24 carries. Jaynes completed 20-of-33 passes but managed just 166 yards against ASU's stingy defense. Defensively, WCU's Mitchell Bell topped all tacklers with 14.

Appalachian now awaits word on its opponent and game site for next Saturday's first-round NCAA Division I Football Championship matchup. The 16-team field will be unveiled at 3 p.m. Sunday on ESPNEWS.

NOTES: Appalachian's 20-game winning streak in conference games is tied with Alabama (1924-26) and Tulane (1929-32) for the second-longest in SoCon history, behind only the 30-consecutive league wins compiled by West Virginia from 1952-59 ... ASU had to overcome a halftime deficit to defeat WCU for the second-straight year - last season in Cullowhee, the Mountaineers trailed 10-7 at the half ... the Mountaineers have won 13-straight over Western at home, with WCU's last triumph in Boone coming in 1984 ... WCU's 34-7 win at then-Conrad Stadium in '84 was also the last time that ASU lost to an in-state opponent at home - Appalachian has won 27-straight over in-state foes at home since ... the Apps' 19 points were their fewest in a win since a 13-10 victory over Furman in 2003 ... the fourth-quarter safety was ASU's first since 2006 vs. Furman and the first surrendered by WCU since 2007 vs. Chattanooga ... Saturday's crowd of 30,098 was ASU's largest of the season and the third-largest in school history.