BOONE, N.C. — Fall or spring, supporters of App State Football get excited to show up at The Rock.
The Mountaineers hosted a "Battle at The Rock" spring game on a crisp, sunny Saturday in mid-April, in front of approximately 15,000 fans, creating a festive and fall-like atmosphere as the west side of Kidd Brewer Stadium was occupied with an impressive crowd of students and visitors to the High Country.
With head coach
Dowell Loggains and his staff preparing for their first season in Boone, the program's first spring game since 2014 — there was an open scrimmage in 2019 — gave #AppNation its first look at the 2025 team in action.
"Our fans and students did a great job," Loggains said. "They showed up for us. We appreciate what they did today and appreciate that all the recruits got to see what this place is about."
A day that provided a combination of serious football and fun activities ended with both — a "Rock Hop" celebration as offensive players congregated along the brick wall in front of Miller Hill following a touchdown to close a red-zone session that marked the end of the event.
Throughout the day, the defense made its share of big plays, including interceptions from
Cristian Conyer and
Kaleb Neal (following a deflection from fellow defensive back
Tyshawn Sanders).
Joseph Bakhole knocked a ball loose for a fumble, and several returners applied backfield pressure, including non-contact sacks from the likes of
Thomas Davis,
DeNigel Cooper and
Josiah Wyatt.
Offensively, App State did have success in the passing game, including
JJ Kohl's touchdown pass to
William Fowles,
Noah Gillon's long touchdown pass to
David Larkins behind the secondary and
AJ Swann's touchdown pass to
Jaden Barnes. In the red zone session, Larkins caught a touchdown pass from
Matthew Wilson, while Barnes and
Michael Dipasquale scored after securing throws from Swann.
"We've got a lot to clean up, and there was a lot of good, but there is still a lot of work ahead," Loggains said. "We're going to have a busy summer with these guys. The good thing for us is we have a whole training camp to clean that stuff up."
