Jevin Frett 40-yard catch vs App State 2021
Douglas Davis
28
ULM ULM 4-4 , 2-3
59
Winner App State APP 6-2 , 3-1
ULM ULM
4-4 , 2-3
28
Final
59
App State APP
6-2 , 3-1
Winner
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
ULM ULM 0 7 14 7 28
APP App State 21 28 3 7 59

Game Recap: Football |

Despite Loss, ULM Shows Fight in Second Half at App State

By ULMWarhawks.com Online Columnist Paul Letlow

BOONE, N.C. – Kidd Brewer Stadium turned into a house of horrors for ULM on Saturday in a 59-28 loss to Appalachian State.

In a measuring stick game against one of the Sun Belt's elite teams, ULM stumbled early while hardly resembling the upstart squad that came in riding a two-game winning streak.

ULM (4-4, 2-3 Sun Belt) made just six turnovers combined through their first eight games but tossed that positive trend out the window with five against the Mountaineers.

Four turnovers led to 28 points in a rough first half, which ended with the Warhawks trailing 49-7.

"When the game got like that, you just wanted them to respond," ULM coach Terry Bowden said. "How we play the second half is how we'll play the second half of the season."

The Warhawks staged a more competitive second half as quarterback Jiya Wright posted career highs across the board with 91 yards rushing and a touchdown while completing 9-of-17 passes for 158 yards with one score and two interceptions. Wright entered the game in the second quarter in place of injured starter Chandler Rogers (bruised biceps, non-throwing arm) and spearheaded a positive charge after halftime.

"With Chandler getting hurt, you saw Jiya Wright kind of having to go through the same learning experience that Chandler did," Bowden said. "Having to play against a great team and maybe not being ready for all the things that were thrown at him.

"But I'm really proud of him. For all the boneheaded things he did early, it's because he's in a big-time atmosphere and situation. He came back and controlled himself and made some awfully big plays."

After gaining just 88 yards in the first half, ULM finished with 391 yards and outscored App State 21-10 in the second half. Bowden used the improved finish to deliver a message to his team.

"You're 4-4 right now," Bowden said. "How you played this second half, how you told me you would play it is how I expect you to play the second half of our season. We'll build from that and lick our wounds."

Overall though, the Mountaineers (6-2, 3-1 Sun Belt) treated their homecoming crowd of 29,321 to a 521-yard outburst as quarterback Chase Brice passed for 256 yards and four touchdowns.  Brice transferred from Duke but started his career at Clemson when Bowden was there as a graduate assistant.

"That's a great Appalachian State football team," Bowden said. "There's a reason they built the tradition they have here. Adding a great young man from Clemson (Brice), I know him and his family well and he had a magnificent game. He's a class kid who just adds to their success there."

A disastrous first quarter saw the Warhawks commit two turnovers leading to 14 points and a 21-0 deficit.

"Too many mistakes early in the game," Bowden said. "It could have made the game a little different when we came to the second half."

ULM's defense stuffed App State for a turnover on downs on the opening drive; however, the Mountaineers found the end zone on their second offensive series. A 3-yard touchdown run by Cameron Peoples capped an eight-play, 72-yard drive and App State led 7-0.

One play later, Andrew Henry fumbled and App State recovered at the ULM 28. The Mountaineers took a 14-0 lead as Malik Williams scored on a 16-yard touchdown pass from Brice.

Another ULM turnover led to another touchdown for App State. After Trey Cobb intercepted Rogers' first-down pass at the ULM 45, the Mountaineers scored again on a 1-yard Brice touchdown pass to Caleb Spurlin with 2:08 left in the first quarter.

The second period brought more of the same.

Rogers appeared to score on a 30-yard run after bouncing up from a rolling tackle on fourth-and-4, but the touchdown was overturned and instead the Warhawks were handed a turnover on downs.

With a 10-play, 72-yard drive, the Mountaineers went ahead 28-0 as Peoples dashed 26 yards for his 12th touchdown of the season.

Another 1-yard touchdown pass from Brice to Spurlin concluded a five-play, 69-yard drive and put App State up 35-0 with 7:11 to go before halftime.

Wright, who followed Rogers in the second quarter, directed a four-play, 42-yard scoring drive to finally get the Warhawks on the scoreboard with 4:01 left in the half. A 40-yard pass to Jevin Frett to the App State 2 set up a 3-yard touchdown run by Wright, the first of his career.

"I feel like things started to click in the second quarter," Wright said. "We started to get comfortable with a new quarterback. Obviously, Chandler is a great quarterback and he leads us really well. It's hard to switch personnel and switch quarterbacks, but once we got to the second half, things started clicking more."

However, ULM's third turnover of the half, a Wright interception, allowed App State to score again with 39 seconds to go before the break. The Mountaineers led 42-7 after Brice's 14-yard touchdown toss to Corey Sutton.

Then App State scored off a pick-six as time expired to grab a commanding 49-7 advantage. Steven Jones intercepted Wright and returned the ball 14 yards for the Mountaineers.

"Not a lot went right in the first half," Bowden said as he left the field at halftime. "You can't give the ball to them over and over and over again to a team like that."

After a nightmarish start, ULM showed its fight in the third quarter.

ULM opened the second half on a more positive note, covering 75 yards in 10 plays to cut the score to 49-14. Dariyan Wiley cradled a 13-yard touchdown pass from Wright to finish the drive.

App State extended the lead to 52-14 on Chandler Staton's 31-yard field goal.

The Warhawks used a 16-play, 75-yard drive to cut the score to 52-21 on Abraham Alce's 2-yard run with 26 seconds remaining in the third. ULM gained 160 yards and collected eight first downs while possessing the ball for 12:04 in the quarter.

A 7-yard touchdown run by Nate Noel pushed the App State lead to 59-21 with 10:22 left in the game. Noel led App State with 132 rushing yards on 17 carries.

ULM scored on a bizarre play in the fourth quarter as Wright fumbled after an 18-yard run, but Jakyle Holmes recovered and ran 68 yards for a touchdown. His run cut the margin to 59-28 at the 9:58 mark.

The Warhawks had a chance to score another touchdown late but reverted to their earlier form as Alce fumbled on the goal line with 1:32 left in the game.

"I wanted us to score at the end," Bowden said. "It wasn't going to make the game but our guys need a lift. They need to walk off this field feeling as good as they could. But we turn the ball over again on the score and didn't get it."

Up next: ULM visits Texas State on Saturday, Nov. 6. Kickoff is 2 p.m. The Bobcats (2-6, 1-3 Sun Belt) lost 45-0 at Louisiana-Lafayette on Oct. 30.

Tail feathers: West Monroe product Charlie Norman made his first career start at running back for ULM. He gained 6 yards on three carries and caught one pass for 1 yard. … Cornerback Mark Williams was carted off after suffering a lower-body injury in the second quarter. Cornerback Adam Sparks also departed with an injury. … Brice was the scout team quarterback at Clemson when ULM defensive coordinator Zac Alley was on staff with the Tigers. … App State improved to 6-1 in the series against ULM. … App State outgained ULM 364 to 88 in the first half.
 
 
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