October 11, 2003
APPALACHIAN STATE EDGES FIFTH-RANKED FURMAN, 13-10
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Erik Rockhold booted two field goals and defensive end K.T. Stovall paced a strong defensive effort with nine tackles, three sacks, a forced fumble, and a fumble recovery to lift Appalachian State (3-3, 2-1 SoCon) to a 13-10 win over NCAA I-AA nationally fifth-ranked Furman (4-2, 2-1 SoCon) in Southern Conference action Saturday afternoon at Paladin Stadium.
Rockhold’s 42-yard field goal gave the Mountaineers and early 3-0 lead, and his second effort, from 34 yards in the final minute of the third quarter, put Appalachian State ahead 13-7, but it was ASU’s strong defense — led by Stovall — and poor execution by Furman in the red zone that delivered the win to the Mountaineers.
Five times in the second half Furman initiated possessions in Appalachian State territory, but the Paladins managed only three points. Two drives ended in fumbles at the ASU 10 and 16, and a third possession netted a 27-yard Danny Marshall field goal with 2:40 to go in the game, but only after Furman, trailing 13-7 at the time and with backup quarterback Josh Stepp on the field, had driven to the Mountaineer 1 before being penalized for illegal substitution on second down.
Both teams lost four fumbles, but it was Appalachian State that took most advantage of the turnovers.
A Stovall sack and fumble recovery at the Furman 40 helped put the Mountaineers on the board. After a 13-run by Alan Atwater to the 27, Rockhold’s 42-yard field goal gave Appalachian State a 3-0 lead less than four minutes into the game.
In the second half, with the Mountaineers nursing a 10-7 lead, Jon Chasteen blocked a punt by Furman’s Jeremiah Van Dora at the Paladin 23, and the Mountaineers turned it into a Rockhold 34-yard field goal with 39 seconds left in the third quarters and 13-7 advantage.
“The bottom line is we didn’t execute offensively,” said Furman head coach Bobby Lamb. “Defensively we played great and kept getting the ball over and over with a chance to do something, but we just couldn’t get over the hump and get it in the end zone. We stepped out of bounds at the six going in on our next to last possession; we fumbled at the 1-yard line; we dropped a touchdown pass in the end zone; and we screwed up with the substitution penalty. When you miss opportunities like we had today, that’s how you lose games.”
“This is one of the toughest places to win a game in America , but we’ve done it before and did it again today,” said Appalachian State head coach Jerry Moore. “We won our first championship here in overtime in 1991. We did a lot of good things today and played with a lot of authority from start to finish. Our defense did a great job, especially on that last drive.”
Furman forged a 253-225 advantage in the defensive struggle and appeared set to grab command in the game’s first seconds when Brian Bratton returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown, but it was called back when the Paladins were penalized for an illegal block. Three plays later Stovall sacked Furman quarterback Bo Moore, leading to Rockhold’s 42-yard field goal.
A 51-yard run by tailback Hindley Brigham to the Mountaineer 25 and 19-yard burst by Lamar Rembert to the Mountaineer 6 keyed Furman’s first score of the game, which came three plays later when Moore connected with Isaac West on a 6-yard scoring strike to make it 7-3 lead with 9:03 in the first quarter.
Furman’s struggles in the red zone began shortly thereafter when the Paladins failed to capitalize on a fumble recovery by Cedrick Ritter at the Appalachian State 24. A 20-yard pass from Moore to Bratton moved the Paladins to the Mountaineer 2, but ASU’s Daniel Traylor stripped Furman fullback Al Means of the ball, and it was recovered by Corey Lynch at the line of scrimmage to end the Paladin threat.
Midway through the second quarter Appalachian State mounted its most impressive drive of the game, covering 80 yards in 10 plays for a 1-yard touchdown plunge by quarterback Richie Williams and a 10-7 lead with 4:26 to go in the half.
Furman’s frustration continued in the third period when the Paladins failed to take advantage of a Roy Ravenell fumble recovery at Mountaineer 14-yard line. Two plays later ASU’s Corey Lynch claimed his second recovery of the game at the Mountaineer 10.
From there Appalachian State drove to the Furman 39, but a Williams fumble halted the advance. The Mountaineers, however, came up with a decisive special teams play when Chasteen broke in from the left side and blocked Van Dora’s punt to set up what proved to be Rockhold’s game winning 34-yard field goal.
Furman returns to action next Saturday when it takes on The Citadel in Charleston in a 3:30 p.m. game. Appalachian State will entertain Appalachian State in Boone with kickoff scheduled for 2:00 p.m.