Boone, NC - Darrynton Evans took control of this game early on and never looked back, scoring three touchdowns and gaining 162 all-purpose yards as #21 App State fought off a late Louisiana comeback to win the Sun Belt 45-38 in front of a crowd of 18, 618.

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Scoring Summary

FIRST QUARTER

App St TD 13:02 Darrynton Evans 58 Yd pass from Josh Thomas (Chandler Staton Kick)

7-0 Mountaineers

App St TD 9:38 Darrynton Evans 8 Yd Run (Chandler Staton Kick)

5 plays, 47 yards, 2:00

14-0 Mountaineers

App St TD 1:43 Darrynton Evans 5 Yd pass from Zac Thomas (Chandler Staton Kick)

14 plays, 76 yards, 6:42

21-0 Mountaineers

Louisiana TD 0:25 Peter LeBlanc 37 Yd pass from Levi Lewis (Stevie Artigue Kick)

5 plays, 71 yards, 1:18

21-7 Mountaineers

SECOND QUARTER

App St TD 13:27 Marcus Williams Jr. 29 Yd Run (Chandler Staton Kick)

5 plays, 75 yards, 1:58

28-7 Mountaineers

Louisiana TD 8:13 Elijah Mitchell 1 Yd pass from Levi Lewis (Stevie Artigue Kick)

11 plays, 76 yards, 5:14

28-14 Mountaineers

App St TD 4:13 Daetrich Harrington 25 Yd Run (Chandler Staton Kick)

9 plays, 75 yards, 4:00

35-14 Mountaineers

Louisiana FG 0:03 Stevie Artigue 53 Yd Field Goal

7 plays, 37 yards, 1:09

35-17 Mountaineers

THIRD QUARTER

App St TD 5:57 Josh Thomas 16 Yd Interception Return (Chandler Staton Kick)

2 plays, 2 yards, 0:35

42-17 Mountaineers

Louisiana TD 2:41 Ja’Marcus Bradley 2 Yd pass from Levi Lewis (Stevie Artigue Kick)

8 plays, 63 yards, 3:16

42-24 Mountaineers

FOURTH QUARTER

App St FG 8:12 Chandler Staton 35 Yd Field Goal

8 plays, 43 yards, 4:41

45-24 Mountaineers

Louisiana TD 4:18 Elijah Mitchell 1 Yd Run (Stevie Artigue Kick)

13 plays, 76 yards, 3:54

45-31 Mountaineers

Louisiana TD 1:19 Peter LeBlanc 38 Yd pass from Levi Lewis (Stevie Artigue Kick)

6 plays, 64 yards, 1:09

45-38 Mountaineers

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Recap

The App State offense proved to be too much for Louisiana to handle in this game. Zac Thomas threw the ball well and was able to escape a lot of plays with his feet. Thomas went 9-17 for 149 yards and two touchdowns in the contest. Daetrich Harrington was the Mountaineers’ leading rushing with 89 yards on nine carries and a touchdown. MVP Darrynton Evans was the top receiver in Black and Gold, getting two catches for 63 yards and two touchdowns. Leading tackler for App St was Conference DPOY Akeem Davis-Gaither with 10 tackles. Josh Thomas added a Pick-Six for the App St defense.

However, Louisiana out gained App St in total yards 513-416. Quarterback Levi Lewis had a solid stat line, but his decisions off the stat sheet is what haunted him and this offense. Lewis was 24-46 for 354 and four touchdowns. Lewis also had a fumble, interception, and an intentional grounding call that took the Cajuns out of field goal range. Leading rusher for Louisiana was Elijah Mitchell, who garnered 85 yards on 18 carries with a touchdown. True freshman receiver Peter LeBlanc was phenomenal for Louisiana, bringing in three catches for 118 yards and two touchdowns. Leading player defensively, to no surprise, was Jacques Boudreaux with 13 tackles.

“We just dug too deep of a hole,” Louisiana head coach Billy Napier told the media postgame. “It was 21-0 before you could look around.”

Up Next

Both Louisiana and App State will now await their bowl fate, with many people saying App State deserves the G5 spot in the Cotton Bowl. If it was up to me, I agree.

They’re the most impressive G5 team in the country. Louisiana fans are hoping to stay home for the New Orleans Bowl, but of course that would depend on what the Mountaineers do. Congratulations to Eliah Drinkwitz and App State, your 2019 Sun Belt Conference Champions.