BOONE, N.C. — Before players hoisted Appalachian State assistant coach
Mark Ivey into the air to lead the traditional postgame victory song, head coach
Scott Satterfield already was making a rare appearance atop the shoulders of several Mountaineers.
The two App State alums and program staples high-fived each other, then directed the most highly anticipated portion of the locker room celebration.
A win in a first-place showdown with Troy has put Appalachian State one step closer to a conference championship.
For the second straight week, a title will be decided at The Rock.
App State clinched the Sun Belt's East Division with a 21-10 home victory against the Trojans, and the Mountaineers (9-2, 7-1) will play host to Louisiana (7-5, 5-3) next weekend in the inaugural Sun Belt Championship Game. The winner of that ESPN game at noon in Kidd Brewer Stadium will receive a bid to the R+L New Orleans Bowl on Dec. 15.
"To be able to host the first Sun Belt Championship game, what an honor," said Satterfield, who improved to 50-24 as the Mountaineers' head coach. "We've done a lot of firsts here at Appalachian State in our program, and now we're adding to it."
The Mountaineers jumped out to a 21-0 lead on Troy (9-3, 7-1) in the opening 20 minutes thanks to
Zac Thomas' two touchdown passes to
Corey Sutton and Thomas' score on a quarterback keeper.
In order, those scores were set up by
Darrynton Evans' 58-yard run from the App State 2,
Caleb Spurlin's recovery of his own forced fumble on a fake-punt completion for a first down at midfield and
Anthony Flory's recovery of a fumble forced by
Austin Exford.
Trailing by 11 points in the closing minutes, Troy's last chance at a comeback was erased by back-to-back sacks from
Jordan Fehr and
Chris Willis.
Okon Godwin's fourth-down pressure forced a fourth-down incompletion with 2:33 remaining, allowing Appalachian to run out the clock and begin its on-field celebration.
It was the 21st straight Senior Day win at Kidd Brewer Stadium for the Mountaineers, who recognized 13 players before kickoff: Flory, Exford, Godwin,
MyQuon Stout,
Chandler Greer,
Brad Absher,
Tobias Edge-Campbell,
Elias McMurry,
Tae Hayes,
Dominique Heath,
Zeb Speir,
Brody Barrett and, last, but not least, injured running back
Jalin Moore.
Thomas Hennigan, a sophomore, even waved Absher onto the field to take his place in the victory formation.
Those seniors, along with juniors like
Clifton Duck (who accounted for one of four forced turnovers with his 12th career interception) and
Akeem Davis-Gaither (who had a game-high 14 tackles), have put App State in position to possibly win a third straight Sun Belt title. In their fourth postseason-eligible FBS season, the Mountaineers already have a 3-0 bowl record.
"It's definitely mind-blowing, for guys like me specifically with one offer," Duck said. "App being the great place it is took a chance on me, but if people were here to see the team, it's not a surprise. We put guys on the wall that pave the way, and we have guys like this man right here in Davis-Gaither) who had 14 tackles.
"You look at them playing with passion and love for the game, and that's just how this team is. We go so hard for the man beside us and not just yourself."
In earning a Boone rematch with Louisiana, which lost 27-17 at Kidd Brewer Stadium on Oct. 20, App State finished with a 201-62 advantage in rushing yards against the Trojans. They averaged 2.3 yards on their 27 attempts and didn't have an offensive play longer than 21 yards.
Evans totaled 108 rushing yards to surpass 100 for the fifth time in Sun Belt play, Sutton finished with 72 yards on his five receptions and Thomas had a hand in at least three touchdowns for the seventh time in his nine complete outings.
Defensively,
Elijah Diarrassouba and
Demetrius Taylor also had sacks for a group that allowed only 101 defensive points in its eight conference games, with Stout serving as the anchor up the middle at nose tackle. Hennigan, a receiver, joined in the fun by recording his first career interception on a Hail Mary pass to end the first half, and Davis-Gaither had two of App State's eight tackles for loss.
"Our defensive line played outstanding because I don't think there was one time where an offensive lineman climbed up to block me or an inside linebacker," Davis-Gaither said. "We had no mental errors to where a linebacker was out of their gaps besides one time, so everyone was reading their keys and playing hard. That was the key to stopping their run."
After Taylor's sack triggered a three-and-out on Troy's second possession, the Trojans downed a 70-yard punt at the 2, but Sutton capped a 98-yard touchdown drive by streaking across the middle on a throw from Thomas and sneaking into the left side of the end zone for a 16-yard score. The series began with Evans running up a clogged-up middle from the 2, bravely bouncing out to the right and sprinting down the sideline to the Troy 40.
"I stopped and was like, 'I can't hit it here, I can't hit it here, I can't hit it here,' " Evans said. "I was like, might as well."
Facing a fourth-and-3 from its 39 on the next series, Troy punter Tyler Sumpter completed a 10-yard pass to Blace Brown, but Spurlin ripped the ball away near the sideline before Brown went to the ground.
A video review overturned the on-field call of no fumble.
"I had the shield (man), and I saw immediately it was a fake to a pass," Spurlin said. "I knew I didn't have anybody in coverage, so I was trying to chase the ball. I saw the ball there, so see ball, get ball. I knew I had it while I was still standing up."
Thomas had a hand in a trio of third-down conversions, running for one and completing a pair to tight end
Henry Pearson and Sutton, before he found Sutton in the back of the end zone on a 15-yard touchdown pass.
Another video review overturned the on-field call, this time confirming that Sutton managed to get one foot down in the end zone before going out the back of it.
"In the first half, there was really good play-calling," Sutton said. "Between me and Zac, we're always going to do what we have to do to get open and make plays."
Troy completed a pass for 10 yards on the first play of its next drive, but Exford ripped from ball free from behind as the pile moved forward, and Flory picked up the fumble at the Troy 36. A whistle blew the play dead, and a video review reversed that on-field call of no fumble. After Sutton drew a penalty for pass interference in the end zone, Thomas raced into the end zone from the 10 to help establish a 21-0 lead with 11:09 remaining in the second quarter.
"We got off to a hot start offensively and defensively," Exford said. "That forced fumble just kept the ball rolling."
Troy got on the board with a 26-yard field goal midway through the second quarter and cut its deficit to 21-10 on Sawyer Smith's 21-yard touchdown pass to Deondre Douglas with 9:21 remaining in the third quarter. Duck's interception ended a Troy drive at the App State 41 later in the third quarter, and the Mountaineers chewed up more than eight minutes with a drive that started the fourth quarter.
The sacks from Fehr and Willis, followed by Godwin's hurry, assured that there'd be one more game played at Kidd Brewer Stadium this season.
