Nov. 15, 2003

Final Stats

Boone, N.C. - Sophomore receiver Xavier Godard had a career game with seven receptions for 103 yards, but the Mountaineers scored 14 of its 26 points off of Western Carolina turnovers, including a 52-yard fumble return by K.T. Stovall with 3:44 left in the game, to hold on for a 26-18 win at Kidd Brewer Stadium.

Appalachian State overcame six fumbles, four quarterback sacks, only 27 rushing yards and a school record 16 penalties for 168 penalty yards to retain the Old Mountain Jug. Thanks to three tackles for losses by Nick McNeil and two each by Albert Reid, Rod Dunlap and Michale Spicer, Western forced Appalachian State to 95 yards in lost yardage for their net of 27.

The Catamounts opened the scoring on Chris Vought's 33-yard field goal with 1:09 left in the opening period. The Mountaineers' Erik Rockhold split the uprights from 24 yards out to knot the score, at 3-3 with 7:17 remaining in the second quarter.

Stovall intercepted a Brian Gaither pass that was deflected by Jason Blalock at the line of scrimmage and Appalachian took over at the WCU 27 with 2:52 left in the first half. Five plays later, Alan Atwater scored from one yard away to give ASU a 10-3 advantage and the momentum heading into halftime. Atwater finished the afternoon as Appalachian's leading rusher with 76 yards on 27 carries.

After a scoreless third quarter, App's DaVon Fowlkes scored 59 seconds into the fourth period when he corralled a 47-yard Richie Williams pass in the end zone to boost the Mountaineer lead to 17-3. Fowlkes ended the day with four catches for 81 yards, while Sterling Hayward snagged five catches for 109 yards.

The SoCon's top-rated passer headed into the game, Williams concluded the afternoon 16-of-28 passing for 243 yards through the air.

On the ensuing possession, Omarr Byrom forced Gaither to fumble the ball on the WCU one, ending a streak of 121 WCU consectutive pass attempts without a sack, and Blalock tackled Kevin McAlmont in the end zone for a safety. The two points lifted the Mountaineers to their largest lead of the day, at 19-3.

Feeling the Mountaineer pass rush for the rest of the fourth quarter, Gaither escaped the pressure and heaved a 60-yard bomb up the left sideline that Michael Reeder caught and carried to cut the margin to 19-9. Gaither found tight end Todd Bargella on the point-after try to cut the deficit to 19-11.

With 3:44 remaining, Marques Murrell and Stovall converged at the football for a sack of Gaither. Stovall grabbed the ball from the quarterback for his first career touchdown. Stovall's dash gave ASU a 26-11 lead.

Gaither, the SoCon's passing yardage leader, pushed his way into the end zone from one yard away with 1:56 left to set the final count at 26-18. The Winston-Salem, N.C. native finished the day 20-of-35 passing for 226 yards.

Gaither's former Mount Tabor High School teammate Sam Smalls registered a game-high 12 tackles for the Mountaineers. Daniel Traylor finished with 11 stops, including two for loss.

Jada Sullivan paced the Catamounts with 10 tackles. McNeil enjoyed an impressive day on the defensive line with eight stops, including three tackles for loss, a sack and a forced fumble. Dunlap added five tackles, including two for losses, with two forced fumbles.

Nicholas Wishart led all rushers with 95 yards on 19 carries. Godard finished with a career-high 103 receiving yards on seven receptions. Lamont Seward had two recptions, boostinghis career total to 183, tying former teammate Michael Banks for third on the WCU and SoCon all-time lists and 51st on the NCAA I-AA career list.

Western Carolina wraps up its season next Saturday (Nov. 22) by hosting Gardner-Webb. Kickoff from E.J. Whitmire Stadium is at 2 p.m. Prior to the game, Western will honor its 2003 senior class.