Mountaineers roll early, hang on to down Ragin’ Cajuns in Sun Belt Football Championship Game

Championship Central | Box Score
Postgame: Notes | Quotes | Presentation | Highlights

BOONE, N.C. – Appalachian State’s 21st-ranked Mountaineers scored touchdowns on their first five possessions Saturday and then held off a furious Louisiana come back to take a 45-38 victory over the Ragin’ Cajuns and claim their second-straight win in the 2019 Sun Belt Conference Football Championship Game.

The Mountaineers (12-1, 7-1 Sun Belt) held a 35-14 lead with 4:13 left in the first half thanks to two touchdown passes from quarterback Zac Thomas to running back and Championship Game Most Valuable Player Darrynton Evans, and scoring runs from Evans, Marcus Williams and Daetrich Harrington.

From that point on, Appalachian State managed only a defensive touchdown on Josh Thomas’ interception return midway through the third quarter, and a 35-yard field goal from Chandler Staton with 8:12 left.

The visiting Ragin’ Cajuns (10-3, 7-1) rallied back on the arm of quarterback Levi Lewis, who threw for a career-high 354 yards and four touchdowns. Lewis’ final 38-yard touchdown pass to freshman Peter LeBlanc pulled Louisiana within one score with 1:19 left, but a following onside kick went out of bounds and the Mountaineers were able to run out the clock.

Appalachian State, which had taken a 30-19 win over Louisiana in last year’s inaugural Championship game also played at Kidd Brewer Stadium, has won all eight games in the all-time series with the Ragin’ Cajuns. The Mountaineers took a 17-7 win over Louisiana on Oct. 9 in Lafayette, La., in handing the Cajuns their only conference loss – a win that eventually gave App State the tiebreaker in hosting the title game. The Mountaineers become the first-ever Sun Belt team to earn 12 wins in a single season.

Evans, named the game’s MVP for the second-straight year, provided the game’s first three scores, all in the first 14 minutes. He caught a pass in the flat on a third-and-15 and took it 58 yards for a touchdown only 1:58 into the game, capping the Mountaineers’ six-play drive with the opening kickoff.

Lewis fumbled on Louisiana’s third play from scrimmage when tackle E. J. Scott forced and recovered the fumble at the Cajun 47, and the Mountaineers made it 14-0 five plays later on Evans’ eight-yard burst over right tackle. Then, after forcing a Cajun punt, App State went on a 14-play, 76-yard drive that Thomas capped with a five-yard scrambling pass to Evans with 1:43 left in the first period to make it 21-0.

The Mountaineers got a 29-yard scoring burst from Williams and a 25-yard touchdown run from Harrington in the second quarter and had 348 yards on those five offensive drives.

Lewis got Louisiana on the board with a 37-yard touchdown pass to LeBlanc 25 seconds before the end of the first period and then hit Elijah Mitchell for the first of his two touchdowns on a one-yard scoring pass with 8:13 left in the half that made it 28-14. After Harrington’s scoring run, Louisiana’s Stevie Artigue hit a 53-yard field goal on the next-to-last play of the first half to cut the difference to 35-17.

Louisiana’s defense held Appalachian State to 22 offensive yards in the third period, but Josh Thomas picked off Lewis over the middle and returned it 16 yards for a seemingly safe 42-17 advantage with 5:57 left in the third quarter.

Lewis came back to lead an eight-play drive that resulted in a two-yard touchdown pass to Ja’Marcus Bradley just over three minutes later, and after Staton’s field goal the Ragin’ Cajuns scored twice in a three-minute span on their final two possessions.

Lewis threw for 66 yards in a 76-yard march that set up Mitchell’s one-yard touchdown burst with 4:18 left, and after Thomas threw incomplete on fourth down in Cajun territory with 2:28 left, Louisiana went 64 yards on six plays and Lewis hit LeBlanc on a crossing pattern with 1:19 left to make it a one-score game.

The Cajuns outgained the Mountaineers 513-416, their fourth 500-yard offensive effort in their last five games, and had 31 first downs to App State’s 20. But Louisiana hurt itself with three turnovers including two in the second half including Josh Thomas’ interception return. App State’s only turnover came late in the third quarter when Thomas was hit and fumbled. The Cajuns then took over possession at the Mountaineer 10. However, an intentional grounding penalty moved the Cajuns back and Artigue was short on a 52-yard field goal attempt with 1:01 left in the third period.

Harrington had 89 rushing yards, Williams 78 and Evans 73 in App State’s balanced 267-yard rushing attack, while Thomas had 149 passing yards on 9-of-17 completions. Mitchell led the Cajuns with 85 yards, while Lewis finished 24-of-46 passing and Bradley had five catches.

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#SUNBELTFB CHAMPIONSHIP GAME NOTES
• Game Officials: Jason Autrey, referee; Jason Yates, umpire; Dustin Whitehead, center judge; Jim Kelley, head line judge; Ryan Hagan, line judge; Charles Gree, field judge; Fred Wiedower, side judge; Wayne Johnson, back judge; Marshall Lewis, alternate; Perry Havener, instant replay; Mike Wallace, communications.

• Appalachian State, as the home team, wore black jerseys and pants, gold accents and white numerals. Louisiana, the visiting team wore red (vermilion) jerseys and pants with white accents and numerals.
• Weather at kickoff (according to The Weather Channel): Partly cloudy, temperature 49 degrees (feels like 49), wind S at 1 mph, humidity 52%, dew point 33 degrees, barometric pressure 30.31 and falling, visibility 10 miles, no precipitation, UV index 2 of 10.

• Louisiana won the toss and elected to defer. Appalachian State received, Louisiana chose to defend the North goal. The opening kickoff was a touchback.

• The game began at 12:03 p.m. The first half ended at 1:36 p.m. (1:33 time of first half). The second half began at 1:59 p.m. and the game ended at 3:40 p.m. (1:41 time of second half). Total game time including halftime was 3:37.

• Attendance was 18,618, an increase of 3,655 from last year’s attendance of 14,963 for the Inaugural Football Championship Game.

• Appalachian State junior running back Darrynton Evans was named the game’s Most Valuable Player, after scoring three touchdowns – two on catches of 58 and five yards from redshirt junior quarterback Zac Thomas and an eight-yard rush – all in the game’s first 14 minutes. He finished the game with 73 rush yards on 19 carries and the two receptions for 63 yards.

• Louisiana junior quarterback Levi Lewis threw for a career-high 354 yards – 58 more than his previous high of 296 against Coastal Carolina – and a career-high four touchdown passes. He finished the game 24-of-46 with one interception.

• Among players who were in the starting 22 for each team in last year’s championship game, Appalachian State had a total of 11 players who started Saturday’s game – Thomas Hennigan, Zac Thomas, Baer Hunter, Ryan Neuzil and Noah Hannon on offense, Desmond Franklin, Josh Thomas, Noel Cook, Akeem Davis-Gaither, Elijah Diarrassouba and Jordan Fehr on defense (not including Chandler Staton returning as placekicker). Louisiana had only six players starting on Saturday who started last year’s championship game – Rico Robinson and Kevin Dotson on offense, Bennie Higgins, Jacques Boudreaux, Zi’Yon Hill and Michael Jacquet on defense (not including Rhys Byrns returning as punter).

• For the second-straight year, the team that received the opening kickoff scored. Appalachian State on a 58-yard pass from Zac Thomas to Darrynton Evans (also the first touchdown pass and the longest pass play in conference championship history) with 13:02 left in the first quarter. Last year, Louisiana kicker Kyle Pfau kicked a 37-yard field goal at the 10:13 mark of the first quarter.

• Appalachian State’s Darrynton Evans was last year’s Most Valuable Player with 111 rush yards and a 97-yard kickoff return but did not score a touchdown. Saturday, he had two touchdowns in the game’s first 5:22 and three touchdowns in the first quarter, with the 58-yard touchdown catch on a screen pass, an eight-yard touchdown run at the 9:38 mark and a five-yard reception with 1:43 left in the first quarter.

• Appalachian State scored touchdowns on its first five offensive drives, four of them 75 or more yards (one was 76). The only short-field touchdown was a 47-yard drive in the first quarter after defensive lineman E. J. Scott forced and recovered a fumble from Louisiana quarterback Levi Lewis at the UL 47. The Mountaineers had 348 yards on those five drives.

• The teams combined for 641 yards in total offense in the first half, which is more than the two teams combined for in last year’s entire game. Appalachian State had 353 offensive yards in the first half and Louisiana had 288. Last year the teams combined for 601 yards for the game (Louisiana 301, Appalachian State 300). Appalachian State topped its game total of last year on a 16-yard Evans run with over five minutes left in the first half. Louisiana topped its game total of last year on a 10-yard pass from Levi Lewis to Jalen Williams with just under 12 minutes left in the third quarter.

• Louisiana outgained Appalachian State 225-63 in the second half and held a 513-416 total offense advantage in the game along with a 31-20 advantage in first downs. However, the Mountaineers outrushed the Ragin’ Cajuns – the nation’s sixth-ranked rushing team with a 274.2 per-game average – by a 267-159 margin.

Championship Game Records
With today’s game being only the second Sun Belt Championship Game, there were numerous records set, topping the 2018 Inaugural Football Championship Game when when the Sun Belt Conference became the final of the 10 Football Bowl Subdivision conference to stage a championship game, and the 12th to stage a title game (including the former Western Athletic Conference from 1996-98 and the FCS Southwestern Athletic Conference from 1999-present).

The list of major records set in this game:

Team
First Downs Rushing – 16, APP vs Louisiana (old mark 10 by Louisiana in 2018)
First Downs Passing – 16, UL at Appalachian State (old mark 5 by Louisiana in 2018)
First Downs by Penalty – 3, UL at Appalachian State (old mark 1 by Louisiana and Appalachian State in 2018)
Penalties – 6, APP vs Louisiana (old mark 5 by Louisiana in 2018)
Penalty Yards – 39, APP vs Louisiana (old mark 35 by Louisiana and Appalachian State in 2018)
Quarterback Sacks – 3, UL at Appalachian State (ties mark of 3 by Louisiana in 2018)
Turnovers Committed – 3, UL at Appalachian State (old mark 2 by Louisiana in 2018)
Turnovers Caused – 3, APP vs Louisiana (old mark 2 by Appalachian State in 2018)
Interception Return Touchdowns – 1, APP vs Louisiana (old mark 0)
Fumbles Lost – 2, UL at Appalachian State (old mark 0)
Fumbles Recovered – 2, APP vs Louisiana (old mark 0)

Individual
Points Scored – 18, Darrynton Evans, APP vs Louisiana (old mark 12 by Zac Thomas, 2018)
Touchdowns – 3, Darrynton Evans, APP vs Louisiana (old mark 2 by Zac Thomas, 2018)
Touchdown Responsibility – 4, Levi Lewis, UL at Appalachian State (old mark 2 by Zac Thomas in 2018)
Total Offensive Yards – 360, Levi Lewis, UL at Appalachian State (old mark 134 by Zac Thomas in 2018)
Total Offensive Yards/Play – 6.8, Levi Lewis, UL at Appalachian State (old mark 2.4 by Zac Thomas in 2018)
Yards Per Rush – 9.8, Daetrich Harrington, APP vs Louisiana (old mark 6.5 by Darrynton Evans in 2018)
Passing Yards – 354, Levi Lewis, UL at Appalachian State (old mark 85 by Andre Nunez, UL, in 2018)
Passing Attempts – 46, Levi Lewis, UL at Appalachian State (old mark 21 by Andre Nunez in 2018)
Passing Touchdowns – 4, Levi Lewis, UL at Appalachian State (old mark 0)
Longest Pass – 58, Zac Thomas to Darrynton Evans, APP vs Louisiana (old mark 34 by Thomas in 2018)
Passes Completed – 24, Levi Lewis, UL at Appalachian State (old mark 10 by Andre Nunez in 2018)
Passing Completion Pct. – 52.9, Zac Thomas, APP vs Louisiana (old mark 47.6 by Andre Nunez in 2018)
Passing Yards/Attempt – 8.8, Zac Thomas, APP vs Louisiana (old mark 5.8 by Zac Thomas in 2018)
Passing Yards/Catch – 16.6, Zac Thomas, APP vs Louisiana (old mark 12.5 by Zac Thomas in 2018)
Receiving Yards – 118, Peter LeBlanc, UL at Appalachian State (old mark 41 by Ja’Marcus Bradley in 2018)
Receptions – 5, Ja’Marcus Bradley, UL at Appalachian State (old mark 4 by Bradley, 2018)
Yards Per Catch – 39.3, Peter LeBlanc, UL at Appalachian State (old mark 34.0 by Marcus Williams in 2018)
Longest Reception – 58, Darrynton Evans, APP vs Louisiana (old mark 34 by Marcus Williams in 2018)
Longest Field Goal – 53, Stevie Artigue, UL at Appalachian State (old mark 45 by Kyle Pfau, UL, in 2018)
PAT Kicks Attempted – 6, Chandler Staton, APP vs Louisiana (old mark 3 by Staton in 2018)
PAT Kicks Made – 6, Chandler Staton, APP vs Louisiana (old mark 3 by Staton in 2018)
Pat Kicks Pct. – 100.0 (6-6), Chandler Staton, APP vs Louisiana (old mark 100.0 (3-3) by Staton in 2018)
Punts – 4, Xavier Subotsch, APP vs Louisiana (old mark 3 by Rhys Burns and Clayton Howell in 2018)
Yards Punted – 175, Xavier Subotsch, APP vs Louisiana (old mark 149 by Clayton Howell in 2018)
Punt Returns – 3, Eric Garror, UL at Appalachian State (old mark 2 by Earnest Patterson in 2018)
Kick Returns – 3, Chris Smith, UL at Appalachian State (tied mark of 3 by Ja’Marcus Bradley and Raymond Calais in 2018)
Interceptions – 1, Josh Thomas, APP vs Louisiana (tied mark of 1 by Tae Hayes and Josh Thomas in 2018)
Interception Return Touchdowns – 1, Josh Thomas, APP vs Louisiana (old mark 0)
Tackles – 13, Jacques Boudreaux, UL at Appalachian State (old mark 11 by Anthony Flory in 2018)
Sacks – 1 by Joe Dillon and A.J. Washington, UL at Appalachian State; 1 by Demetrius Taylor, APP vs Louisiana (tied mark of 2 by LaDarrius Kidd and Kris Moncrief in 2018)
Tackles for Loss – 2.0, Terik Miller, UL at Appalachian State (old mark 1 by six players)
Forced Fumbles – 1 by A. J. Washington, UL at Appalachian State; 1 by E. J. Scott and Noel Cook, APP vs Louisiana (old mark 0)
Fumble Recoveries – 1 by Zi’Yon Hill, UL at Appalachian State, 1 by Desmond Franklin and E. J. Scott, APP vs Louisiana (old mark 0)
Pass Breakups – 2, Jordan Fehr, APP vs Louisiana (old mark 1 by five players)
Quarterback Hurries – 3, Nick Hampton, APP vs Louisiana (old mark 1 by four players)