Behind the big wins for App State, Johnson C. Smith, Lenoir-Rhyne
Appalachian State is the king of Power 6 football in North Carolina.
Johnson C. Smith fans needn’t worry … the Golden Bulls are just fine.
Lenoir-Rhyne really enjoys beating nationally-ranked opponents.
Those are the biggest takeaways from another weekend of college football for schools in the Charlotte area.
Appalachian State traveled to Greenville on Saturday and handed East Carolina a 27-24 defeat – the fourth straight time the Mountaineers have beaten the Pirates. App State can officially become North Carolina’s King of Power 6 football this Saturday with a victory over the Charlotte 49ers.
But with the Mountaineers installed as 20-point favorites, we’ll call them the kings for now.
Meanwhile, Johnson C. Smith continued to look as if its season-opening loss at Benedict wasn’t a major concern. The Golden Bulls won their second straight game, thumping Winston-Salem State 31-7.
And Lenoir-Rhyne ran its record to 2-1 by beating the nation’s No. 11-ranked Division 2 team, Newberry. The Bears are 2-0 this season against ranked opposition, and 0-1 against unranked foes.
Here is a look at the weekend’s football, and what it means:
Appalachian State
Final score: Appalachian State 27, East Carolina 24
What it means: The Mountaineers completed a four-game series against East Carolina with a 4-0 record. It’s a nice start for a program that has back-slid a bit in recent seasons, and the Mountaineers are big favorites to run their record to 3-0 this week.
How it happened: App State’s defense held East Carolina to 2-of-13 on third-down conversions, and special teams forced a shanked punt by the Pirates. That kick helped set up a Mountaineer field goal.
Head coach Dowell Loggains wants a team that can control the football, and that’s what App State did Saturday. Jaquari Lewis rushed for 73 yards, and he and Treyaun Webb each ran for a touchdown. Tight end Darin Fugitt had seven receptions.
App State led 24-10 early in the third quarter, but the Pirates (0-2) rallied with touchdowns passes from Mitch Griffis to Jason Dickerson and Ja’Keith Hamilton. The Griffis-to-Dickerson pass covered 61 yards.
App State’s James London kicked a field goal between the two East Carolina scores. The touchdown pass to Hamilton came with 21 seconds left, but the Pirates’ onside kick attempt bounced out of bounds without being touched.
What they said: “We could have played cleaner than we did,” Loggains said. “That’s something we’ll work on. But our physicality and our depth made the difference.”
What’s next? The Mountaineers host the Charlotte 49ers at 6 p.m. Saturday in Boone.
Johnson C. Smith
Final score: Johnson C. Smith 31, Winston-Salem State 7
What it means: The Rams (2-1, 1-0) are off to a nice start in the CIAA, as they hope to repeat as conference champions. The Bulls’ offense wasn’t sharp two weeks ago at Benedict, but the attack is gaining momentum. Johnson C. Smith had 492 yards in total offense, to just 209 for the Rams.
How it happened: A key to the victory was the play of running back Fabian Duncan, a redshirt junior from North Mecklenburg High. Duncan carried 22 times for 168 yards and a touchdown.
After a scoreless first quarter, the Golden Bulls got a Alexis Rosario-Beltran field goal and a Damian Mazil-to-Brian Lane touchdown pass in the second quarter. Duncan scored in the third quarter, and the Golden Bulls added fourth-quarter scores on a Mazil-to-Lane touchdown (covering 70 yards) and a Christian Rutledge run.
What’s next? The Golden Bulls continued CIAA play Saturday, entertaining Fayetteville State at 1 p.m.
Lenoir-Rhyne
Final score: Lenoir-Rhyne 21, Newberry 14
What it means: The Bears opened the season by routing then-No. 12 Virginia Union, before losing last week to West Alabama. Saturday’s victory at Newberry stakes the Bears as team to beat in the South Atlantic Conference.
How it happened: This South Atlantic Conference opener for each team was a defensive struggle, with the game’s first nine possessions ending in punts. After a scoreless first half, the host Wolves broke on top 7-0. But Lenoir-Rhyne (2-1, 1-0) evened the score on a 51-yard touchdown pass from Wells Bettenhausen to Carson Spoonts.
The Bears took a 14-7 lead early in the fourth quarter on a 1-yard run by L.J. Turner. Then Lafavius Moore intercepted a Newberry pass and ran it back to the Wolves’ 16. Eddie Clark scored for Lenoir-Rhyne a few plays later on a 4-yard run.
Newberry (1-1, 0-1) scored with eight minutes left and got possession again in the final minutes. The Wolves drove to the Lenoir-Rhyne 46 but turned the ball over on downs with less than a minute to play.
What they said: “I thought our guys played very gritty and found a way to win,” Lenoir-Rhyne head coach Doug Socha said. “Some areas were definitely better than others, and we still have a lot to clean up before next week.”
What’s next? Lenoir-Rhyne is home at 1 p.m. Saturday against SAC foe Mars Hill.
Davidson
Final score: Davidson 28, Dickinson (PA) 14
What it means: After two opening losses, the Wildcats get in the victory column. The victory was built around a strong day by quarterback Casey Bullock, who completed 29-of-41 passes for 293 yards.
How it happened: The Wildcats were in a 14-all struggle with Division 3 Dickinson until scoring twice in the fourth quarter. Davidson took a 21-14 lead with 14:54 remaining, on a 5-yard run by Will Jones. They added an insurance score with 6:19 to play, on a 6-yard run by Bullock.
What’s next? Davidson, which plays its first five games at home this season, entertains VMI at 1 p.m. Saturday.
Gardner-Webb
Final score: Liberty 24, Gardner-Webb 23
What it means: Gardner-Webb fell to 0-3, but for the second straight week, the Runnin’ Bullldogs played well. This time, they came within 34 seconds of knocking off an FBS opponent.
How it happened: Gardner-Webb trailed 14-3 late in the first quarter but scored 17 straight points and took a 20-14 lead on Randy Young’s 65-yard touchdown run with 5:44 left in the second quarter.
Liberty started its winning drive with 5:34 left, at its 32. On third-and-10 at the Liberty 46, Jaylen Henderson connected with Darius Copeland on a 54-yard touchdown. The conversion kick put the Flames ahead 24-23.
Gardner-Webb was able to drive into Liberty territory on its last possession before turning the ball over on downs.
What’s next? Gardner-Webb is home on Saturday for a 6 p.m. game against N.C. Central.
Wingate
Final score: Carson-Newman 24, Wingate 23
What it means: The Bulldogs, preseason favorites in the South Atlantic Conference, dropped their SAC opener to the Eagles. Wingate is now 1-2 on the season.
How it happened: Wingate led 23-10 early in the third quarter, after Brooks Brien’s 53-uard touchdown pass to Jason Willis. But Carson-Newman scored on a short run with 1:50 left in the third period, then got the winning score on a 3-yard run with 1:45 left in the game. The conversion kick was the deciding point. Wingate had missed a conversion kick early in the game.
The Wingate ground game produced only 63 yards, but Brien was sharp, completing 13-of-23 passes for 278 yards.
What’s next? Wingate resumes SAC play Saturday, hosting Newberry at 6 p.m.
Catawba
Final score: Mars Hill 22, Catawba 16 (OT)
What it means: The Indians dropped their South Atlantic Conference opener after springing a big play in the final minute of regulation.
How it happened: Trailing 16-9 at its own 35 with less than 20 seconds to play, Catawba quarterback Mason Fortune connected on a 65-yard touchdown pass with Jay Moore. The conversion kick tied the game at 16-all and forced overtime.
Catawba got the ball first in overtime and elected to go for a first down on fourth-and-1 at the Mars Hill 16. Saeed St. Fleur was stopped for no gain. Mars Hill took possession and won the game with a 4-yard touchdown run.
What’s next? Catawba is home Saturday, facing SAC foe Emory & Henry at 6 p.m.
