Written by Aaron-Michael Fox.
The “Old Mountain Feud” between Marshall and Appalachian State was renewed as a Sun Belt Conference rivalry Saturday night at Joan C. Edwards Stadium. It was the 25th all-time meeting between the two teams with the Thundering Herd improving its record to 10-15 against the Mountaineers.
It was a slugfest from the opening whistle as Marshall scored on the opening drive with relative ease. App State’s defense would stiffen after the first possession, however, and it would take the Thundering Herd until midway through the 2nd quarter to double the lead to 14-0. App State would get into the endzone just before halftime to make the score 14-7 at the break.
The second half saw a host of special teams flukes starting with a muffed kickoff return by App State that was recovered by Marshall to open the half. On the next possession, Marshall would block a punt into the endzone for a touchdown, only to give up a touchdown return on the ensuing kickoff. To round out the 3rd quarter scoring, Cam Fancher would connect with Corey Gammage for a 19 yard touchdown to make the score 28-14 MU going into the 4th quarter.
App State would get into the endzone one more time to set the final score 28-21, but would turn the ball over on downs on their final possession of the game.
The Thundering Herd next travels to Georgia Southern for another rivalry from the old Southern Conference days on November 19 before returning home for their final game of the regular season against Georgia State on November 26.
Photos by Joshua Murdock below: