SPARTANBURG, S.C. – No. 3 Appalachian State University squandered a pair of red-zone opportunities and allowed Wofford to convert 11-of-18 third downs and 4-of-4 fourth downs in a 28-14 loss to the eighth-ranked Terriers on Saturday afternoon at Gibbs Stadium.
Appalachian's second loss in its last 30 Southern Conference games snapped a three-game winning streak and dropped the Mountaineers to 3-2 overall and 1-1 in SoCon play.
With Wofford (3-1, 2-0 SoCon) controlling the ball for 38:30, ASU had only eight offensive possessions and was in position to score on five of them. However, the Mountaineers, who came into the game tied for fourth nationally with an 85.7-percent red-zone touchdown rate, came away empty-handed twice after driving the ball inside Wofford's 20 yard line. ASU left at least nine points on the field by missing all three of its field-goal attempts from 33, 52 and 33 yards.
Despite the ineffectiveness in the red zone, Appalachian, which trailed 14-0 in the first quarter and 21-7 after three periods, pulled within a touchdown at 21-14 on Andrew Peacock's nine-yard touchdown catch less than a minute into the fourth quarter. Momentum appeared to be shifting to the Mountaineers when on the ensuing kickoff, Wofford's Stephon Shelton picked up an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for firing the ball at an ASU tackler after the play, leaving the Terriers backed up to their own 17 yard line.
However, Wofford put the game away by driving 83 yards on 12 plays, capped by a 19-yard touchdown run that gave the Terriers a 28-14 lead with under eight minutes to play. Like they did throughout the ballgame, the Terriers did their biggest damage on third and fourth downs during the game-clinching series, converting a third down and a fourth down during the 12-play drive.
In all, 157 of Wofford's 407 total yards came on 22 third and fourth down plays. The proficiency allowed the Terriers to punt only once in the entire ballgame and run 17 more plays than the Mountaineers, which led to a 407-247 advantage in total yardage.
Boone native Eric Breitenstein led all rushers with 173 yards on 33 carries but it was Donovan Johnson, who carried 10 times for 75 yards (7.5 avg.) and two touchdowns, and Derek Boyce, who amassed 49 yards on just four rushes (12.2 avg.) that were the Mountaineers' biggest nemeses throughout the afternoon.
The Mountaineers were led offensively by DeAndre Presley, who completed 19-of-32 passes without an interception for 146 yards. Five of those passes were hauled in by tight end Ben Jorden, who had a season-high five receptions for 55 yards. Peacock chipped in with four catches for 37 yards. Senior Brian Quick, who had 17 catches for 426 yards and seven touchdowns in three previous meetings with Wofford, was limited to just 15 yards on two receptions.
Defensively, linebacker John Rizor and Demery Brewer led all players with 10 tackles apiece. Brandon Grier and Lanston Tanyi added seven tackles each and Demetrius McCray intercepted one of Wofford's four attempts.
Appalachian has a bye week to regroup before starting the second half of the regular season on Oct. 15 at The Citadel. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. at Hagood Johnson Stadium in Charleston, S.C.
NOTES: ASU is 1-1 after two SoCon games for the third time in seven seasons — the previous two times (2005 and 2007), the Mountaineers went on to win SoCon and national championships ... Appalachian lost to Wofford for the first time since 2007 and only the fourth time since 1973 ... ASU dropped to 34-11 in its last 45 games versus nationally ranked NCAA Division I FCS opponents ... Jorden's five receptions were one short of his career high of six, set versus South Carolina State in the first round of the 2008 NCAA Division I Football Championship ... despite a rough day on field-goal attempts, ASU punter/place kicker Sam Martin downed a punt inside the five yard line for the sixth time this season when his 53-yard kick late in the second quarter was downed on the Wofford two ... Rizor and Brewer both set career highs with their 10 tackles ... Tanyi and Ed Gainey both saw significant minutes and were effective in their first action since Sept. 10 versus N.C. A&T ... the duo had a suspension lifted on Friday morning ... the Mountaineers were without the services of starting middle linebacker Jeremy Kimbrough, who was serving a SoCon-issued one-game suspension for excessively celebrating on two occasions in last week's emotional 14-12 win over Chattanooga ... defensive lineman Gordy Witte, Jr. and linebacker Jamal Ware left the game with ankle and shoulder injuries, respectively — their conditions will be re-evaulated next week in Boone.
