Appalachian State wins second consecutive Sun Belt championship game

Appalachian State owns the Sun Belt Conference — again.

For a fourth consecutive season, the 20th-ranked Mountaineers are the league’s champions, thanks to a 45-38 victory Saturday against Louisiana at Kidd Brewer Stadium in the league title game.

The Mountaineers (12-1) led by 25 points in the third quarter — 42-17 — before Louisiana (10-3) staged a fourth-quarter comeback that saw the Ragin’ Cajuns (10-3) draw to within a touchdown with about a minute left.

“I knew before the game, because I gave probably the shortest and best pregame speech ever, that these guys were ready to go and to play fast,” Mountaineers first-year coach Eli Drinkwitz said.

The Mountaineers, whose regular season included victories against North Carolina and South Carolina, now wait to learn their bowl fate on Sunday, likely the New Orleans Bowl on Dec. 21 against a Conference USA team. There have been reports that Appalachian might be considered for Charlotte’s Belk Bowl (which doesn’t have an affiliation with the Sun Belt), but only if certain dominoes fall with the SEC’s bowl-eligible teams.

There’s also a remote possibility the Mountaineers could finish as the highest-ranked champion from a Group of 5 conference, which would bring a bid to the Cotton Bowl on New Year’s Day.

Wherever and whenever it is, it will be the Mountaineers’ fifth consecutive bowl appearance.

Appalachian beat Louisiana 30-19 in last season’s Sun Belt inaugural title game in Boone and earlier this season 17-7 in Lafayette, Louisiana.

The Mountaineers offense was the story of the first half of Saturday’s game. Appalachian scored on its first five possessions and rolled up 353 total yards, getting exceptional play from running back Darrynton Evans and quarterback Zac Thomas, who threw for 129 yards and two touchdowns as the Mountaineers went up 35-17 at halftime.

“The goal was for us to start fast and make them play from behind,” Thomas said. “We were getting everything we wanted, throwing and running.”

The Mountaineers got three first-half touchdowns from Evans (on passes of 58 and 5 yards from

Thomas and an 8-yard run). Marcus Williams also scored on a 29-yard run, and Daetrich Harrington scored on a 25-yarder.

After spotting the Mountaineers a 21-0 lead, Louisiana got second-quarter touchdown passes from Levi Lewis to Peter LeBlanc (37 yards) and Elijah Mitchell (1 yard). A career-long 53-yard field goal by Stevie Artigue with three seconds left in the half made it 35-17.

Although the Louisiana defense couldn’t stop Appalachian, the Ragin’ Cajun offense (which entered the game ranked eighth nationally in total offense at 500.3 yards per game and scoring offense at 38.8) was able to move the ball only at times. That changed in the second half, when the Ragin’ Cajuns cut the Mountaineers lead to seven points on a 38-yard pass from quarterback Lewis to LeBlanc.

Appalachian got a touchdown from its defense in the third quarter when strong safety Josh Thomas intercepted a Lewis pass and returned it 16 yards.

But Louisiana didn’t go away. The Ragin’ Cajuns outscored the Mountaineers 21-3 in the game’s final 18 minutes.

“Their guys are on on scholarship and (were) 10-2,” Thomas said of Louisiana’s rally. “They’re playing for a conference championship for a reason.”

In the end, the Ragin’ Cajuns didn’t have enough to ultimately overtake the Mountaineers. Three turnovers — two fumbles and an interception — proved to be too much.

“We made (the Mountaineers) stand on their feet at the end,” Louisiana coach Billy Napier said. “But we made a few too many mistakes to be a champion.”

The game changed when ...

After the Mountaineers had taken a 7-0 lead early in the first quarter, the Ragin’ Cajuns responded on the ensuing drive with a 43-yard pass from Lewis to LeBlanc. On the next play, Appalachian defensive lineman E.J. Scott forced and recovered a fumble as Lewis tried to hand off to Raymond Calais. The Mountaineers scored five plays later on Evans’ second touchdown, making it 14-0 and the the Ragin’ Cajuns would never catch up.

Helmet stickers

Zac Thomas: Mountaineers quarterback hurt the Ragin’ Cajuns with his arm and kept them honest with his legs.

Darrynton Evans: Appalachian’s running back helped get his team off to a strong start with three early TDs. He ended with 73 yards rushing and was named game’s MVP.

Levi Lewis: Louisiana’s quarterback tried to keep his team in it, throwing for 354 yards and four touchdowns.

ICYMI

The Mountaineers were without receiver Corey Sutton, who suffered a season-ending knee injury against Georgia State on Nov. 16. Sutton (Mallard Creek High), who was suspended for Appalachian’s first two games, finished the season with 41 catches for 601 yards and seven touchdowns in nine games.

Making sense of the numbers

18,618: Attendance in 30,000-seat Kidd Brewer Stadium.

513: Total yards by Louisiana, outgaining Appalachian’s 416.

10: Total tackles by Appalachian linebacker Akeem Davis-Gaither.

This story was originally published December 7, 2019 at 3:58 PM.