Appalachian State’s 2-0 start is impressing first-year coach Eli Drinkwitz

Appalachian State has been at its best, Eli Drinkwitz said Monday, when it was at its worst.

The first-year Mountaineers coach said the biggest surprise he has found so far from his team became apparent in the second half of Saturday’s 56-41 victory over the Charlotte 49ers.

“I’m surprised at how quickly we have formed together,” Drinkwitz said. “In a relatively short time, we’ve learned to work together.

“When things got tight in the second half, nobody flinched. There was no finger-pointing.”

The 49ers scored touchdowns on four of their first five second-half drives and piled up 351 of their 526 yards after halftime.

But Drinkwitz also said penalties were also a big problem, especially in that second half. It will be a point of emphasis this week, when Appalachian State has a bye in preparation for its Sept. 21 visit to Chapel Hill — the teams’ first meeting since 1940, when UNC won 56-6.

Appalachian State was whistled 15 times for 148 yards in penalties Saturday.

“Some of the penalties are going to happen,” Drinkwitz said. “The penalties we were most disappointed in were … the ones that were self-inflicted.”

Included were illegal procedure and roughing-the-passer calls that he said can be avoided.

Perhaps the brightest part of Saturday’s victory was the play of running back Darrynton Evans, who rushed for 234 yards and three touchdowns, including an 87-yard score. He also scored on a 45-yard return of an onside kick in the fourth quarter — a score that answered a Charlotte touchdown and set the final margin.

“It was an unbelievable performance,” Drinkwitz said.

Evans, the reigning Sun Belt Conference rushing champion, leads the nation after two weeks with 333 yards. He’s averaging 10.1 yards per carry — the only back in the country with a double-digit per-carry average and at least 200 rushing yards.

His effort Saturday against Charlotte produced the biggest single-game rushing total for any FBS player so far this season.

Steve Lyttle on Twitter: @slyttle

This story was originally published September 9, 2019 at 2:16 PM.