APPALACHIAN STATE COMEBACK NIPS FURMAN 18-17
BOONE, NC Jerry Beardıs two-yard touchdown run with under three minutes remaining gave eighth-ranked Appalachian State its first lead of the game and an 18-17 win over sixth-ranked Furman in Southern Conference football action Saturday afternoon at Kidd Brewer Stadium.
After DuıShon Martin intercepted Furman (5-1, 2-1 SoCon) quarterback Justin Hill in the endzone with 6:58 left in the game and ASU trailing 17-11, the Mountaineers (4-1, 3-0) went 80 yards in ten plays to complete their greatest comeback since overcoming a 14-point, fourth-quarter deficit at Georgia Southern in 1996.
Furman jumped on top 7-0 in the first quarter on a 65-yard run by Hill, the longest of his career, eight minutes into the game.
The Paladins gained 92 yards on their first two drives, but the first one ended on a missed field goal. ASU took the kickoff after Hillıs score and drove 52 yards in ten plays to set up Mark Wright for a 32-yard field goal to get on the board.
Long plays victimized the Mountaineers again as Hill hit tight end Trent Sansbury for a 60-yard score to go into the lockerroom up 14-3 at the half. The first two Furman scoring drives went 118 yards in five plays.
After Wes Hunter blocked a Furman punt on their first drive of the second half, ASU was stopped on a fourth down-and-one at the Paladin 19-yard line. Furman was forced to punt, however, and the Mountaineers went 53 yards in ten plays before quarterback Joe Burchette plowed in from one-yard out with 4:03 left in the third quarter. Burchette completed a pass to Daniel Wilcox for the two-point conversion and a 14-11 margin.
The Paladins tried to put the game away on the next drive, getting a first-and-goal at the ASU six-yard line. The defense, led by linebacker Justin Seaverns, held and forced Furman to settle for a field goal and a 17-11 lead.
A fumbled punt return gave the Paladins the ball on the ASU 23-yard line with 9:31 left. Again Furman had first-and-goal, and again the Mountaineer defense held, forcing Hill into the interception in the end zone on third-and-goal from the two-yard line, leading to the winning score.
The Paladinsı final drive was ended by cornerback Corey Hall, who recorded his 11th career interception with 1:40 left.
Burchette, making his first career start for ASU, recorded career highs by throwing for 290 yards on 18-of-33 passing. On the ground, junior tailback Karim Razzak picked up 82 yards on ten carries, including runs of 32- and 14-yards on the game-winning drive. Troy Albea caught three passes for 111 yards.
Furmanıs Louis Ivory, the leading rusher in I-AA football entering the game, was held to 58 yards. But Furman outrushed ASU 245 to 139 thanks to Hillıs 115 yards on the ground. Hill also completed eight-of-13 passes for 156 yards. Both quarterbacks were intercepted twice.
Linebacker Joe Best tallied 17 tackles for the Mountaineers and Jason Sowell sacked Hill twice. Will Bouton made 14 tackles for Furman and Shelvis Smith and Sterling Frierson had interceptions.