BOONE, N.C. — Cruising into the end zone for his final touchdown at Kidd Brewer Stadium,
Thomas Hennigan took a bow and blew a kiss to the crowd before his teammates joined him for a high-flying celebration.
For App State's large class of seniors, a rivalry win at The Rock was a perfect way to head into the postseason.
A dominant defensive effort kept the Georgia Southern offense in check, and super seniors accounted for all of the Mountaineers' scores in a 27-3 victory against the Eagles on Saturday. Winner of the Sun Belt's East Division, App State (10-2, 7-1) will play at Louisiana next Saturday in the conference championship game on ESPN.
"Today we honored 28 seniors, and that was emotional because those guys have done a lot of Appalachian State and given their all over the last five and six years," App State head coach
Shawn Clark said. "We have a lot of a fan base to be appreciative of those guys and to know how much it means to be an Appalachian State Mountaineer."
The Mountaineers recorded four sacks and held Georgia Southern to 194 yards in posting the stingiest defensive showing against the Eagles since a 19-0 playoff shutout in 1987. In the final four games of the regular season, the Mountaineers allowed a combined 31 points.
Hennigan,
Malik Williams and
Jalen Virgil scored touchdowns, and
Chandler Staton became App State's career scoring leader on a day in which he made two field goals.
For a group of seven sixth-year seniors, they improved to 62-15 in their careers. Fifth-year seniors such as Hennigan went 28-3 at The Rock with two unbeaten home seasons.
"I wanted to score really bad because I wanted to bow to this crowd and blow a kiss to them because I wanted them to know how much I appreciate them and all the love and support that this university and these fans have given me," Hennigan said.
App State led just 10-3 after Georgia Southern made a 38-yard field goal in the final minute of the third quarter, but Virgil returned the ensuing kickoff 97 yards for the score.
That return gave him a special teams touchdown against the Eagles for the second straight year and allowed him to tie Darrynton Evans' school record of three career kickoff returns for touchdowns.
"The fact it was on Senior Night made it even more special, and the fact it was against Georgia Southern, I had a feeling for some reason if they gave me an opportunity," said Virgil, who led App State with 136 all-purpose yards. "They gave me two, and I had to take advantage of one of them."
Just a few minutes later, after another App State defensive stop, the Mountaineers needed only one play for Brice to hit Hennigan for a 68-yard score.
Brice threw for 235 yards with two scores, and Hennigan finished with three catches for 111 yards.
Seniors were App State's top five tacklers, led by super senior
Kaiden Smith's nine stops, including one tackle for loss.
Nick Hampton had two sacks, followed by one apiece from
Demetrius Taylor and
Brendan Harrington, while
D'Marco Jackson and
Caleb Spurlin had seven tackles apiece.
"We've been performing at a high level these last couple weeks, and I think that just goes to our preparation," Jackson said. "I mean, we've got linebackers in here watching film on our days off, coming in here as a group."
App State limited Georgia Southern's time-consuming offense scoreless in the first half, but the Mountaineers had only four offensive drives before the break while being doubled up in possession time.
The Eagles' essentially had the ball for nearly 10 minutes to begin the game, as Taylor recovered the ball after he forced a fumble on a sack, but he lost the ball on his return attempt. That 16-play sequence ended with a Georgia Southern punt from the App State 44, and the Mountaineers responded with an eight-play, 80-yard touchdown march.
Completions of 18 and 25 yards to Hennigan pushed App State into Georgia Southern territory, and Brice completed a fourth-and-9 pass to Williams for a 36-yard touchdown.
App State threatened to score right before the half, reaching the Georgia Southern 31, but a fourth-down loss gave the ball back to the Eagles, and they used a 26-yard pass to move to the edge of field-goal range. A 51-yard attempt to end the half was no good.
Staton's third-quarter field goal covering 40 yards pushed him past running back Kevin Richardson, who amassed 444 points from 2004-07, and his 36-yard kick capped the scoring on a day in which the Mountaineers didn't need many points.
