BOONE, N.C. – Marcus Williams rushed for 130 yards, and Appalachian State held Georgia Southern to 191 yards of offense en route to a 27-6 Sun Belt Conference football victory over the Eagles Thursday night at Kidd Brewer Stadium.

Taylor Lamb threw for 161 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 62 yards for Appalachian State (6-4, 5-1), and Ike Lewis caught three passes for 67 yards and a score. Chandler Staton stayed perfect on the season by booting two field goals.

Shai Werts threw for 40 yards and ran for 34 for Georgia Southern (0-9, 0-5), and Tyler Bass connected on a pair of field goals. Wesley Fields rushed for 37 yards and caught two passes for 12 yards, and Chris DeLaRosa led the defense with eight tackles.

The story
Leading 13-6, Appalachian State delivered the knockout blow on the first play of the fourth quarter with the help of a fake punt. The Eagles thought they had forced a punt after Todd Bradley broke through the line and tackled Daetrich Harrington for a 2-yard loss on 3rd-and-short. The Mountaineers lined up to punt but ran the fake, snapping it to Caleb Fuller who ran to the right and picked up the first down with a 23-yard scamper. 

The GS defense dug in again and forced 3rd-and-3, but Lamb found Ike Smith for a 20-yard touchdown pass and a 20-6 App lead. After the Mountaineer defense forced a 3-and-out, they converted a 4th-and-6 with a 30-yard pass from Lamb to Lewis to set up a 3-yard touchdown run by Harrington.

Trailing 7-3 late in the second, the Eagles looked to be picking up momentum when App gambled on 4th-and-short from its own 36-yard line and Joshua Moon shot in to tackle Williams for no gain. GS took over from there but lost yardage on three plays and was forced to punt. The Mountaineers took over with 1:23 to go and appeared to be happy to run out the clock, but a quarterback draw by Lamb picked up 44 yards and App called timeout with three seconds left to set up a long field goal try. Staton banged home a 53-yard field goal, the longest of his career, as the gun sounded, and App led 10-3 at the break.

The Eagles did not turn the ball over for the second time this season but struggled offensively, gaining 130 yards through the first three and a half quarters of the contest. App scored on five of its last seven possessions of the contest after GS forced punts on the Mountaineers first two. App becomes bowl eligible for the third straight season.

Quotables
Interim Head Coach Chad Lunsford
"We have to get ourselves in a position to win, and our defense did that for the most part tonight with the exception of the big plays we gave up, especially in the second half. We have to find a way to get explosive on offense and get some points on the board."

On having a longer break in between games
"It will be good for us because our guys have been going at it for a while. We need to take a step back and evaluate ourselves as coaches and our players and evaluate what we have and put a plan together to move forward."

On frustration of the season
"I really hurt for these guys because what they have done is put their heart and soul into it and gone to work each and every day. So it's frustrating, and I hurt for these guys because they are working hard and we're not getting the results we want. What we have to do is change something or find something to do to spark it." 

Next up
The Eagles have some extra time to rest before they host South Alabama in their home finale Nov. 18. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. in Paulson Stadium, and the game will be broadcast live on ESPN3. It's Senior Day, Military Appreciation Day and Teacher Appreciation Day.

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