BOONE, N.C. — App State Football suffered its first loss to Georgia State, falling 39-23 on Saturday at Kidd Brewer Stadium.
 
The first career touchdown receptions from tight ends Dillon Galloway and Jamel Howse gave App State (5-4, 2-3) a 14-13 lead early in the second quarter, but the Panthers (5-4, 2-3) scored 23 of the next 26 points to take control of the Sun Belt East Division matchup.
 
Georgia State arrived in Boone with an 0-12 record against the Mountaineers, who play at Marshall next Saturday night.
 
In addition to the first-half touchdown grabs, receiver Chris Lofton added a fourth-quarter score on a 4-yard touchdown pass from Malachi Singleton. Lofton actually threw the 56-yard touchdown pass to Howse, and Singleton connected with Galloway for a 3-yard touchdown that produced App State's first points of the afternoon.
 
Lofton led the way with 117 yards on six catches, and Singleton completed 23 of 34 passes for two touchdowns. He was intercepted twice and sacked five times as App State took the field without three offensive line starters. Jaquari Lewis led the team with 31 rushing yards on eight attempts.
 
Defensively, freshman Sawyer Arnold posted his first two career sacks, and Caleb Sandstrom recorded his sixth sack of the season.
 
Georgia State rushed for 265 yards on 52 attempts, while quarterback Ayden Pereira completed 10 of 17 passes for 115 yards and three touchdowns while filling in for injured starter Cameran Brown.
 
After Georgia State's first three drives produced a 45-yard field goal, a 22-yard touchdown pass and a 52-yard field goal, App State followed Howse's go-ahead touchdown by forcing the first Panthers punt of the day, but offensive holding preceded a tipped pass that led to Coby Owens' 23-yard interception return for a touchdown.
 
Georgia State then forced a three-and-out punt and put up more points with a 14-play, 73-yard touchdown drive that lasted nearly seven minutes.
 
When Pereira threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to DJ Riles with 39 seconds left in the half, the Panthers had turned a 14-13 deficit into a 26-14 lead, and that's how the half ended because James London was short on a 55-yard field goal as time expired.
 
London's 37-yard field goal accounted for the only third-quarter points from either side, but Georgia State extended its lead to 33-17 on Pereira's 17-yard touchdown pass to Rodshaun Dorsey early in the fourth quarter. App State's next possession ended with another Owens interception off a pass tipped at the line, and Owens' 26-yard return to the App State 12 set up a 27-yard field goal that gave the Panthers a three-possession advantage.
 
Georgia State possessed the ball for 25 of the first 37 minutes and finished with roughly a 37-23 advantage in possession time.
 
Becoming the fourth and fifth App State tight ends to catch a touchdown pass this season, Galloway and Howse both reached the end zone in the first half. App State trailed 3-0 when Singleton's 18-yard scramble to the 3 set up an easy play-fake toss to Galloway.
 
After Georgia State's 52-yard field goal produced a 13-7 lead with 13:21 remaining before halftime, the Mountaineers scored 66 seconds later when quarterback Henry Hasselback fired a backward pass to the right for Lofton, who was positioned behind offensive tackle Big Al Oliver and receiver Alex Sanchez outside the right hash mark.
 
Under pressure, Lofton quickly tossed the ball ahead to a wide-open Howse, who made a lunging catch of the trick-play pass at the Georgia State 37 and beat his trailing defender to the end zone for his first career score.
 
The Panthers dominated the next 30 minutes.