BOONE, N.C – Marcus Cox started the “Whiteout” white hot and the Appalachian State defense did the rest. Cox rushed for three first-half touchdowns, and the Appalachian State defense held Old Dominion to a lone second-quarter touchdown in the Apps' home opener on Saturday in front of 23,374 fans at The Rock.
Cox had a pair of short TD runs in the first quarter as App State (1-1) roared to an early 17-0 lead. He opened with a 1-yard score to cap an explosive 72-yard opening drive and followed with a 2-yard plunge late in the first to push the lead to 14-0.
The defense did the rest.
The Apps held ODU to 2-of-13 on third-down conversions and 0-of-2 in the red zone. ODU amassed only 140 yards of total yards in the second half and never really mustered enough offense to threaten the Mountaineers' lead. Tee Sims had two sacks and Kennan Gilchrist (11 tackles) and Eric Boggs (12 tackles) kept ODU quarterback David Washington on the run all afternoon.
Ray Lawry's 27-yard run in the second quarter cut the lead to 17-7 for a brief moment, but Cox answered with 10-yard score to close out the half and put the Monarchs in a deep hole at the break, 24-7.
Cox carried the load for an App offense that piled up 230 yards rushing and had 318 yards of offense at the half. Taylor Lamb was 14-of-21 for 181 yards and found Barrett Burns and Jaquil Capel in key spots early. Capel had a 40-yard reception on the opening drive to set up Cox TD run and Burns had a pair of long receptions to set up App State in the red zone.
Cox finished with 133 yards on 18 carries, posting his sixth career three-touchdown game. It was also his school-record 24th 100-yard game.
Lawry had 119 yards on 15 carries and the Monarchs' only score. ODU's Anthony Wilson had three sacks and 11 tackles to lead the Monarchs' defense.
App State hosts Miami in a much-anticipated meeting next Saturday at noon at Kidd Brewer Stadium. Kickoff is at noon. The game will be carried on ESPN or ESPN2, which will be announced in the coming days.
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