Postgame Notes from App State vs. No. 20 Louisiana

POSTGAME NOTES: #20 Louisiana 24, App State 21
 
App State has three losses in a season for the first time since 2017, when the Mountaineers finished 9-4 and won a share of the Sun Belt title with a 7-1 league record. All three of this year's losses have come against teams currently ranked inside the top 20 in college football.
 
The Mountaineers lost their first game to Louisiana, with the all-time series now at 8-1.
 
App State finished 5-1 at Kidd Brewer Stadium in 2020. Fifth-year seniors on the team have gone 28-4 at The Rock and 51-13 overall.
  
Senior center Noah Hannon has started all 50 games that App State has played since he enrolled before the 2017 season. The only previous App State offensive or defensive players with at least 50 career starts are CB Jerome Touchstone (55 from 2004-07), CB Justin Woazeah (54 from 2004-07), OL Victor Johnson (51 from 2016-19), LB D.J. Smith (50 from 2007-10) and OL Scott Suttle (50 from 2004-07).
 
Hannon joined Touchstone and Smith as only the third App State offensive or defensive player with 50 consecutive starts and joined Johnson as the second offensive or defensive player in the FBS era with at least 50 career starts. Senior WR Thomas Hennigan made his 49th career start Friday.
 
Hannon, Hennigan, defensive end Caleb Spurlin and punter Xavier Subotsch all played in their 50th career games for the Mountaineers.
 
OFFENSE
 
Senior WR Thomas Hennigan has moved up to No. 4 in school history with 2,192 career receiving yards, as he moved ahead of Bob Agle (2,151 yards from 1965-68) after catching four passes for 44 yards on Friday.
 
Sophomore RB Camerun Peoples rushed for a game-high 99 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries. His fourth-quarter score cut the Ragin' Cajuns' lead to seven with 8:17 left in the game. Peoples has now scored a touchdown in six straight contests.
 
True freshman RB Nate Noel rushed for 72 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries. It was his second career score and his third game with 70+ yards this season.
 
DEFENSE
 
The App State defense held Louisiana to season lows of 227 total yards and 101 passing yards. The Cajuns' 126 rushing yards was their second-lowest total of the year.
 
Senior CB Shemar Jean-Charles, the nation's leader in passes defended and passes broken up, added two more PBUs against Louisiana. He now has 17 passes defended with 16 PBUs and one interception.
 
Sophomore OLB Brendan Harrington tied a career high with six tackles.
 
Senior DE Demetrius Taylor had another disruptive effort with five tackles, 1.5 TFLs, a pass breakup and a QB hurry.
 
SPECIAL TEAMS
 
With his second-quarter, 43-yard field goal that gave App State a 10-6 lead, senior Chandler Staton became the Sun Belt's all-time leading scorer with 328 points, overtaking former Arkansas State kicker Brian Davis (324). Staton added one more PAT to finish the game with 329 career points. He moved into a tie for No. 2 in App State history with 42 career field goals made, while remaining second in career extra points (203) and fifth in career points scored.
 
Senior Malik Williams returned two punts for 46 yards, including a career-long 36-yard return. He also returned two kickoffs for 47 yards, caught two passes for 16 yards and finished with a team-high 109 all-purpose yards.