BOONE, N.C. — Fundamentally flawed, the game-winning quarterback sneak from Daniel Jeremiah has become an iconic image.
An enlarged copy of the picture still hangs on a wall in a stairwell between the first and second floors of the Appalachian Athletics Center, accompanied by an inspirational message about the importance of character. In the photo, Jeremiah is atop a pile of players at the front edge of a Wake Forest end zone, extending the ball skyward with his left hand.
Jeremiah's overtime touchdown from a 30-27 victory in 1998 ranks No. 1 on the list of top moments in App State's series history with the Demon Deacons. The rivalry resumes Saturday afternoon with Wake Forest's first-ever visit to Kidd Brewer Stadium.
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As a California native who transferred into the Mountaineers' program from Northeast Louisiana, now known as UL Monroe, Jeremiah didn't enter the 1998 game in Winston-Salem until the final series of the opening half and didn't become App State's primary quarterback until late in the third quarter.
App State trailed 27-24 after Wake Forest began overtime with a 24-yard field goal, and Jeremiah capped the upset win by scoring on an unconventional first-down sneak from the 1.
Jeremiah met resistance on his initial push before leaping forward with the ball tucked against his right ear hole. More contact led him to extend the ball forward with both hands, and he was finally able to celebrate by raising the ball with his left hand, which wasn't gripping the seams.
"I absolutely broke every rule of what you should do on a quarterback sneak in terms of putting your foot in the ground, getting low and trying to find a little crease," said Jeremiah, who now works as an NFL Network analyst. "I just remember everybody was so low to the ground when I came up under center and thinking, 'I can go right over the top of that.'
"I took the snap and went over the top and extended the ball with one arm, which is terrible ball security, but it was enough to get over the top, and I kind of got caught on the pile. I'm resting on a bunch of bodies."
Scott Williams delivered the snap, and the No. 61 jersey of offensive tackle
Shawn Clark, who is now App State's co-offensive coordinator, has a starring role in the picture of Jeremiah's winning pose. With 26,885 fans in attendance, the Mountaineers' players and coaches stormed away from their sideline to join the celebration.
Wake Forest had improved to 2-1 by winning at Clemson the previous weekend, but App State's dramatic victory gave the Jerry Moore-coached Mountaineers a 4-0 record and allowed them to jump from No. 10 to No. 4 in the Division I-AA rankings.
Appalachian played well from the start, leading 10-0 after one quarter thanks to Stuart Jones' 27-yard field goal and Terrance McCall's 47-yard touchdown run.
"Early on in that game, our defense was really physical," Jeremiah said. "We felt like we were the more physical team."
A 53-yard field goal from Matthew Burdick and 9-yard touchdown pass from Brian Kuklick enabled Wake Forest to tie the game late in the first half.
The Mountaineers reclaimed the lead on Jones' 40-yard field goal midway through the third quarter, but the Deacons answered quickly with a 43-yard touchdown pass, and an ankle injury to App State starting quarterback David Reaves forced Jeremiah to return to the lineup with 54 seconds left in the third quarter.
He directed a 13-play, 73-yard drive that ended with a 24-yard field goal to cut Wake Forest's lead to 17-16 with 9:22 remaining, and Adam Neiheisel made two tackles on a three-and-out series that brought App State's offense back onto the field.
Facing a third-and-16 scenario from his own 43, Jeremiah rolled left and lofted a wobbly pass toward the left sideline. Joey Gibson caught it a step ahead of a Wake Forest defender at the 20 and tip-toed the sideline as the defender fell, allowing Gibson to coast toward the end zone on his go-ahead, 57-yard touchdown with 5:28 remaining.
"It was a corner route," Jeremiah said. "Accurate? Yes. Spiral or pretty? Not so much. Fortunately, it was in the right spot. It was a big play for us, but it was a lot more Joey than it was me."
A successful two-point conversion gave the Mountaineers a 24-17 advantage before Kuklick led a 13-play drive to tie the game in the final minute of regulation. Rocky Hunt's sack set up a fourth-and-goal snap from the App State 7, and Kuklick found receiver Jammie Deese in an opening between four defenders.
Wake Forest had to settle for a short field goal to start overtime, and a third-and-11 predicament from the Deacons' 14 put a tying field goal in play for App State. McCall nearly scored on a 13-yard rush to the 1, part of a 112-yard night for the 207-pound back, and Jeremiah followed a Wake Forest timeout with his opportunistic sneak.
"When David got hurt, I was thrown right in there," Jeremiah said. "Fortunately, from playing at Northeast Louisiana, I had chances to play at Mississippi State, Oklahoma State. I didn't feel like the stage was too big, but it's still a rush when you're not anticipating you're going to be out there."
Still close friends, Jeremiah and Reaves took turns starting in 1998, 1999 and parts of 2000 before sophomore Joe Burchette became the full-time starter. Jeremiah also had considered transferring from Northeast Louisiana to Western Illinois or Montana, and Moore learned of his interest in App State via a phone call from Jeremiah's father.
David Jeremiah, the well-known founder of an international radio and television ministry, didn't need to introduce himself to Moore.
"I told him, 'You don't have to tell me who you are – I recognize your voice,' " Moore said. "He told me Daniel wanted to transfer, and I said that we'd love to have him.
"Daniel is one of the best leaders we've ever had, and he was a good player, too."
Nineteen years after his overtime touchdown, Jeremiah still has a visible presence in an area Clark and App State's other coaches pass regularly.
Above the highlighted image of Jeremiah, to the left of his outstretched arm, reads the message, "IT'S ALL ABOUT CHARACTER!"
To the left of Clark's body, the message continues.
Watch your thoughts; They become words.
Watch your words; They become actions.
Watch your actions; They become habits.
Watch your habits; They become character.
Watch your character; It becomes your destiny.
