BOONE, N.C. — App State Football went on the road to beat an in-state opponent from the American Conference. Now, the Mountaineers are working toward this week's goal of beating one at home.
App State (2-0) improved to 4-0 in the FBS series against East Carolina by prevailing 27-24 in a noon game at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium. The Mountaineers also have a 4-0 record in their series against Charlotte, which is traveling to the High Country for a 6 p.m. showdown Saturday at Kidd Brewer Stadium. The Black Saturday (Under the Lights) game at The Rock is sold out.
App State is 2-0 for the second straight year under coach
Dowell Loggains, whose tenure began with a 34-11 victory against the 49ers in Charlotte's Bank of America Stadium. Before that, the two programs last met in a 2020 season opener, when the Mountaineers won 35-20 in a mostly empty Kidd Brewer Stadium because COVID-19 guidelines had limited outdoor gatherings to a maximum of 50 spectators.
More than 30,000 fans showed up for the Kidd Brewer Stadium opener the following season, when crowd restrictions had been lifted, and oversized crowds have continued being a staple at The Rock. Of the 31 games in Boone since the start of 2021, only one has had a crowd smaller than 28,000.
App State won 55-3 against Maine in its 2026 home opener and held a double-digit lead for nearly 28 of the final 40 minutes against ECU.
Malachi Singleton has completed 42 of 52 passes (80.8 percent, No. 6 FBS ranking) for 558 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions through his first two starts, while running backs
Jaquari Lewis and
Treyaun Webb have scored rushing touchdowns in each of the first two games. Defensively,
Caleb Sandstrom has totaled 3.0 sacks (tied for No. 5 in the FBS rankings), including one in which he forced a key fumble that set up a go-ahead touchdown at ECU.
Second-year Charlotte coach Tim Albin also made his debut with his current team at Bank of America Stadium last August, and the 49ers (0-2) opened 2026 with a 43-41 loss to The Citadel in three overtimes before trailing 27-0 at halftime of a 41-9 loss at Ole Miss. Charlotte had second-half scoring drives of 64, 59 and 64 yards end with three field goals shorter than 30 yards.
While App State has one Charlotte transfer on the roster in
Cary Grant, who recorded seven tackles in the 2025 meeting, the 49ers have two former App State assistants (Brian Haines, Victor Cabral) as well as two App State transfers (running back
Khamani Alexander, receiver
Jaden Barnes).
Alexander leads the team at 153 rushing yards, with 138 coming against The Citadel, and Barnes is tied for the team lead with 11 receptions. Cole Gonzales has started the first two games at quarterback, although 2025 starter Conner Harrell also saw action against Ole Miss.
The 6-foot, 200-pound Gonzalez totaled 51 touchdown passes in three seasons at Western Carolina, twice being named a Walter Payton Award finalist, before transferring to Oklahoma in January 2025 and then moving on to Pittsburgh a few months later. There, he reunited with former Western offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Kade Bell and appeared in three games during the 2025 season.
This will be only the fourth Saturday night home game in App State's FBS era. Before a 2023 home game against Marshall was scheduled for 6 p.m. in conjunction with it airing on the NFL Network, the Mountaineers last played a Saturday night game at Kidd Brewer Stadium in 2014, their first year as an FBS member. That year, they faced Campbell at 6 p.m. in a Sept. 6 home opener and then played another 6 p.m. home game against South Alabama on Oct. 4 of that season.
Sport-specific giving allows you to directly support App State student-athletes and help provide them the resources they need to be successful.
Click here to contribute to the App State Football Support Fund.
Keep up with App State Football wherever you go by following the Mountaineers on social media. Follow App State Football on
X, Instagram and
Facebook. Download the App State Athletics App for
iOS or
Android to keep the Mountaineers at your fingertips.
