McNeese tops ASU, Edwards in shootout

BOONE

Armanti Edwards returned yesterday and performed well, but he couldn't help Appalachian State's defense stop McNeese State.

The No. 16 Cowboys rolled into town and rolled up 522 yards on the way to a stunning 40-35 victory over the No. 2 Mountaineers.

The Cowboys drove 79 yards in the final two minutes for a decisive field goal with four seconds left, essentially ending a back-and-forth shootout.

"It was hard because we were trying to gain momentum and they'd go right back down and take the momentum back," said Edwards, the Mountaineers' All-America quarterback who missed all of preseason camp with a foot injury but totaled 307 yards in his first game since December.

The Mountaineers fell to 0-2 for the first time in six years -- and 0-8 vs. teams from Louisiana -- in front of a crowd of 27,914 that turned out for the team's home opener.

"It never feels good to lose, especially at home," said running back Devon Moore, who rushed for 155 yards on 23 carries. "They were just the better team this game."

Coach Matt Viator, whose Cowboys improved to 2-0, said: "It's really big for us to beat App State in Boone. Especially with the way we played last week, we should have gotten beat by a Division II school (Henderson State). We had a little gut check this week."

Offense was well ahead of defense for both teams.

The Cowboys' Derrick Fourroux completed 25 of 34 passes for 341 yards and three touchdowns. Todd Pendland rushed for 121 yards and two touchdowns and caught 10 passes for 121 yards and two touchdowns.

"We ran a lot of zone plays, and the offensive line gave me a big enough hole," Pendland said. "We were able to run a lot of screens and that worked…. We beat a good team, but I'm not surprised. The sky's the limit from here on out."

Edwards showed no apparent lingering effects from a cut to his right sustained in a lawn-mowing accident on Aug. 5. Edwards began practicing full-time last week and started yesterday, and played the full game, after missing the season opener against East Carolina.

He was 19 of 25 passing for 235 yards, and rushed for 72 yards and two touchdowns on 13 carries.

"I thought Armanti played extremely well," Jerry Moore said. "I think after the first quarter he looked his old self."

Both teams looked unstoppable at times. Both scored on four of their five second-half possessions, but it was McNeese that scored last.

"They were the last team to get the ball and they did what they had to do," ASU cornerback Ed Gainey said. "Everything went wrong. It was just mental. For some reason a lot of people out there weren't focused, including me."

After the Mountaineers tied the score 35-35 on a 2-yard run by Cedric Baker with 2:05 left, the Cowboys drove 79 yards for a game-winning, 18-yard field goal by Josh Lewis that just squeaked through the uprights after a high snap.

The Mountaineers had only four seconds left, and a series of laterals on a final and futile kickoff return ended in a safety for the Cowboys.

McNeese's final three scoring drives covered 80, 95 and 79 yards. Overall, the Cowboys' converted on 8 of 14 third-down plays.

"You can't help but be disappointed with the way we played on defense," Coach Jerry Moore of the Mountaineers said. "The thing that hurt were the third-down plays.... I thought a big turning point was after (an interception by Gainey in the fourth quarter) and we didn't get any points."

Viator said: "I had been really impressed with App's defense -- what they did in the second half against East Carolina -- and thought that was the most underrated part of their team along with Armanti's ability to throw. We did a good job of getting in a rhythm on offense and mixing the run and the pass."

Edwards passed for 13 yards on the Mountaineers' first play, and ran for 9 yards on the second.

Late in the first half, Edwards eluded pursuers, scrambled from the pocket and, while running left, threw right. His across-the-grain pass covered 50 yards and perfectly cleared a defender, although receiver Brian Quick couldn't make the catch in the end zone.

Neither team had trouble scoring in the second half.

The Mountaineers scored on their first three drives -- getting 8- and 20-yard touchdown runs by Edwards, and a 20-yard touchdown run by Matt Cline.

The Cowboys stayed a step ahead, however, getting a 31- and 5-yard touchdown passes from Fourroux and a 2-yard touchdown run by Fourroux.

McNeese led 14-7 at halftime, after getting a 24-yard touchdown run and 9-yard touchdown catch by Penland. The Mountaineers moved the ball well enough in the first half but scored just once -- on a 12-yard touchdown run by Devon Moore.

The Mountaineers and Cowboys both missed early scoring opportunities. A 22-yard field-goal attempt by the Mountaineers' Jason Vitaris hit an upright and bounced away, and Quick fumbled near the end zone trying to reach the ball across the goal line. The Cowboys missed a scoring chance when receiver John Leday dropped a long pass inside the 5-yard line on third down.

The Mountaineers have an open date next Saturday before beginning their Southern Conference schedule at home vs. Samford.

"I'm thinking we're 0-0, because we haven't played one conference game," Edwards said. "Even though it hurts losing on our home turf, it doesn't hurt us (toward the goal of winning a conference championship)."

Jerry Moore said: "I think we've played two pretty good football teams. It's not like we lost to inferior teams, we don't have that kind of problem. The problems that we've got right now are correctable."

■ Tommy Bowman can be reached at 727-7320 or at tbowman@wsjournal.com

McNeese State 7 7 13 13 -- 40


Appalachian State 0 7 21 7 -- 35

First Quarter

McN--Pendland 24 run (J.Lewis kick), 6:31.

Second Quarter

ASU--D.Moore 12 run (Vitaris kick), 5:16.

McN--Pendland 9 pass from D.Fourroux (J.Lewis kick), 2:21.

Third Quarter

ASU--Edwards 8 run (Vitaris kick), 11:51.

McN--Pendland 31 pass from D.Fourroux (J.Lewis kick), 10:02.

ASU--Edwards 20 run (Vitaris kick), 6:31.

McN--Clark 5 pass from D.Fourroux (kick failed), 3:19.

ASU--Cline 20 run (Vitaris kick), 1:20.

Fourth Quarter

McN--D.Fourroux 2 run (Pendland run), 4:50.

ASU--C.Baker 2 run (Vitaris kick), 2:05.

McN--FG J.Lewis 18, :04.

McN--Butler Safety, :00.

A--27,914.

TEAM STATISTICS

McN ASU

First downs 26 30

Rushes-yards 38-181 41-258

Passing 341 235

Comp-Att-Int 25-35-1 19-25-0

Return Yards 0 4

Punts-Avg. 2-37.0 3-38.0

Fumbles-Lost 0-0 1-1

Penalties-Yards 6-52 6-37

Time of Possession 32:25 27:35

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING--McNeese State, Pendland 19-127, D.Fourroux 15-44, Jones 1-9, Babin 2-1, Team 1-0. Appalachian State, D.Moore 23-155, Edwards 13-72, Cline 1-20, C.Baker 4-11.

PASSING--McNeese State, D.Fourroux 25-34-1-341, Team 0-1-0-0. Appalachian State, Edwards 19-25-0-235.

RECEIVING--McNeese State, Pendland 10-121, Clark 6-137, Friddle 3-40, Davis 2-18, Conner 2-17, Mangan 2-8. Appalachian State, Cline 5-74, Hillary 4-60, D.Moore 4-42, Quick 4-41, B.Frazier 1-14, Ta.Washington 1-4.