Huesman steps in for Thomas, Mountaineers outlast Georgia State 17-13
In a tightly-contested defensive battle that saw preseason Sun Belt Offensive Player of the year Zac Thomas go down with a late injury, the Mountaineers edged past Georgia State 17-13 on Saturday at Kidd Brewer.
“It was a big-time college football game here at The Rock,” App State head coach Shawn Clark said. “It’s never easy to win, but we’re going to celebrate this win and get ready for Coastal.”
Later that drive after Thomas was injured, App State took its first lead of the game on a 10-yard touchdown run from sophomore running back Camerun Peoples with 4:55 to play.
On Georgia State’s next drive, the Mountaineer defense held strong, forced a stop, and the offense was able to stay on the field for the rest of the game to secure the victory and remain undefeated against the Panthers all-time (7-0).
Georgia State drew first blood in the game, converting on four third downs on its first possession before capping it off with a 19-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Cornelious Brown IV to wide receiver Sam Pinckney. Pinckney was alone in the corner of the end zone and made the catch to give the Panthers an early 7-0 lead.
The Mountaineers offense went three-and-out on their first possession of the game, but senior defensive end Caleb Spurlin forced a fumble that junior linebacker D’Marco Jackson recovered to give possession back to App State at midfield. The Mountaineers had a first and goal from the 2-yard line following a defensive pass interference call, but couldn’t punch it in and settled for a 21-yard field goal from senior kicker Chandler Staton. App State forced three fumbles in the first quarter but only recovered one, and trailed 7-3 going into the second quarter.