BOONE, N.C. — Led by 386 yards of total offense from DeAndre Presley, No. 3 Appalachian State University football overcame its second-straight slow start to rout visiting Jacksonville, 45-14, on Saturday afternoon at Kidd Brewer Stadium.

Presley became the first player in Appalachian history to rack up 300 yards of total offense in three of his first four career starts by throwing for 285 yards and rushing for 101 in the home-opening win. The junior completed 20-of-31 passes without an interception and threw for a career-best four touchdowns. His 386 yards of total offense were a career high and rank 20th all-time at ASU.

Despite Presley's heroics, Saturday's victory did not come easy at first, as first-half turnovers plagued the Mountaineers for the second-straight week. ASU did not punt in the first half but led only 17-7 at halftime thanks to losing two fumbles, like it did in last Saturday's opener at Chattanooga, and having a third drive stall on downs inside the Jacksonville 20.

The slim lead became even more tenuous when Jacksonville marched 78 yards on its first possession of the second half and scored on a two-yard run by J.J. Laster to cut the deficit to 17-14.

From there, however, it was all Appalachian (2-0, 1-0 SoCon). Each of the Mountaineers' next four possessions ended in touchdowns, with the first three drives all covering at least 82 yards. The highlight of the onslaught was a diving 41-yard touchdown catch by Brian Quick, his third score of the afternoon. The junior finished with 132 receiving yards on six receptions, including the career-high-tying three touchdowns. The 100-yard receiving effort was the sixth of his career and his second in two games this season, giving him back-to-back 100-yard performances for the first time. He also hauled in multiple touchdown passes for the fourth time in his career.

ASU's defense also played a huge role in the late surge, as it limited JU's dangerous offense to just 52 yards over the final 25:02 of the ballgame. Buck Buchanan Award candidate Mark LeGree led the defensive effort with a team-high eight tackles and an interception in the ASU end zone that thwarted the Dolphins' final scoring opportunity of the afternoon.

In all, Appalachian out-gained Jacksonville (1-1), 620-257, and held a 36-13 edge in first downs.

Besides Quick's three touchdowns, tight end Ben Jorden hauled in Presley's fourth scoring strike from six yards out and Devon Moore and Jamal Jackson found paydirt on runs of two and three yards, respectively, to round out the scoring for the Apps.

However, the player of the game may have been true freshman walk-on Patrick Blalock, who enjoyed a spectacular day on special teams. Blalock recorded ASU's first punt block in three years and nearly became the just the third player in school history to notch two blocked punts in a game, only to have his second block negated by an offsides penalty. In addition to the blocked punt — ASU's first since current Tampa Bay Buccaneer Corey Lynch did it at Elon in 2007 — and the near block, Blalock also registered four tackles on special teams.

Jacksonville quarterback Josh McGregor completed just 13-of-30 passes for 169 yards, 142 less than he posted in last week's win over Old Dominion. Running back Rudell Smith was limited to just 44 yards — 74 less than he had at ODU — and wide receiver Josh Philpart, who caught six passes for 115 yards last week was held without a reception.

Standing at 2-0 for only the second time in the past 12 seasons, Appalachian closes out a two-game homestand next Saturday when it hosts in-state rival North Carolina Central. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. at Kidd Brewer Stadium.

NOTES: Appalachian moved to 59-19-2 all-time in home openers, including wins in 10 of its last 11 ... the Mountaineers avoided dropping consecutive home openers for the first time in 27 years ... a crowd of 28,708 — the sixth-largest in school history and the third-biggest for a home opener — saw ASU win for the 49th time in its last 52 home games overall ... the Mountaineers have played in front of over-capacity crowds at Kidd Brewer Stadium for 29-straight regular-season games ... ASU is 2-0 for only the second time since 1998 — the Apps also began 2007 with a 2-0 record following wins over Michigan and Lenoir-Rhyne ... LeGree's interception was the 18th of his career, moving him into a tie with former all-American Matt Stevens for fourth all-time at ASU ... Quick became the first Mountaineer to catch three touchdown passes in a game since he did it in a nationally televised 70-24 win over Wofford in 2008 ... Moore's touchdown run was his first of the season after sitting out of last week's opener at UTC with a quadriceps injury and the 31st of his career ... on the ninth anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001, Appalachian honored the victims of the attacks with a moving pregame ceremony that included a salute by the ASU ROTC Pershing Rifles and the playing of Taps by the ASU Marching Band.