Appalachian State Outlasts Coastal Carolina 35-32 on Four Lewis Touchdowns
Jaquari Lewis scored four rushing touchdowns, from 12 yards, one yard, 12 yards and three yards, and Appalachian State needed every one of them. Twenty-four of its 35 points came from his legs. Without them it is an 11-point afternoon, and Coastal Carolina walks out with a win.
Coastal Carolina looked like the winner at the half. Deuce Bailey threw touchdowns of 21, 71 and eight yards, and Nico Cavanillas Alti kicked a 58-yard field goal as the half ran out for a 24-14 lead. Appalachian State had gone up 14-7 on Lewis's first two scores, and Bailey's 71-yard throw to Robby Washington tied it right back.
Then the second half belonged to the other side. Lewis scored from 12 yards at 7:59 in the third and from three yards at 2:20 to put Appalachian State up 28-24. Henry Hasselbeck threw a 31-yard touchdown to Sam Pickett III with 6:41 left in the fourth, and it was 35-24. Coastal Carolina got one more, Jaden Allen-Hendrix from two yards and a Bailey pass to Dominic Lee-Knicely for the two-point conversion with 3:11 left, and that made it 35-32, which is where it stayed.
Appalachian State outgained Coastal Carolina 522 yards to 437, with 259 of them on 50 rushing attempts. Bailey threw for 298 yards, but Coastal Carolina ran only 30 times for 139 and threw the only interception of the day. Appalachian State is 4-2, and Coastal Carolina falls to 2-5.
In fantasy terms, Lewis's 36.7 points topped everyone, with Bailey at 33.7 even in defeat and Hasselbeck third at 23.