Strong Finish Propels App State to Emotional Senior Day Win over JMU

BOONE, N.C. — A late-week snowstorm, plus a celebrity appearance, added to the storylines surrounding an already meaningful game.

That’s how a Senior Day and Black Saturday game should feel in the High Country, with excitement over the wintry weather outweighing any discomfort. All those elements just made App State Football’s 34-20 home win Saturday over James Madison even sweeter.

The Mountaineers (5-5, 3-4 Sun Belt) improved to 3-0 in Kidd Brewer Stadium since returning to The Rock roughly one month ago, overcoming a 14-0 deficit against an 8-2 opponent thanks to big plays from the offense, defense and special teams.

App State turned a 17-10 deficit late in the first half into a 24-17 halftime lead thanks to two touchdowns in the final 83 seconds: Joey Aguilar’s 64-yard touchdown pass to Makai Jackson immediately after a fourth-down conversion from the Mountaineers’ own 34-yard line and Michael Hetzel’s 9-yard return of a punt blocked by Cahari Haynes.

A rousing, on-field halftime speech to the crowd from Jason Kelce, who was visiting Boone to support and help share the story of the area’s resilient response to Hurricane Helene, bridged the gap between the dramatic end to the first half and a dominant second half from head coach Shawn Clark's team, which produced the program's 100th win as an FBS member.

The Mountaineers’ defense, which ignited the rally when Shawn Collins recovered the ball after forcing a second-quarter fumble on a strip sack of quarterback Alonza Barnett III, shut out the Dukes (8-3, 4-3) after allowing a 52-yard field goal midway through the third quarter.

Ahmani Marshall pushed the lead to double digits by scoring on a 1-yard touchdown run late in the third, and the defense continued to come through over the final 15 minutes. A fourth-and-3 stop at the JMU 30 preceded Michael Hughes’ 41-yard field goal, Jason Chambers’ interception of a deep throw ended the Dukes’ next drive and Michael Fletcher’s second sack on JMU’s final possession occurred on a fourth-and-goal play with the Dukes attempting to cut into a 14-point deficit in the last three minutes.

Kelce had a microphone in his hand in the ESPN+ booth during the game-clinching sack and let out a primal scream of approval to the audience. Students who had crowded together all afternoon at the top of a too-weathered-to-occupy Miller Hill shared that level of enthusiasm and joined the postgame celebration on the field, which had been completely covered by snow early Saturday morning, prior to a concerted snow removal effort in the stadium.

App State heads into next weekend’s regular-season finale needing a win at Georgia Southern to become bowl eligible.

There were plenty of individual standouts on a day in which the Mountaineers played complementary football.

Santana Hopper contributed one of the four sacks from a defense that forced two turnovers and made two fourth-down stops, while Hetzel’s special teams touchdown essentially served as a turnover. Hughes went 2-for-2 on field goals in his return from an injury sustained during the Hurricane Helene rainfall in late September.

Jackson had five catches while accounting for a career-high 162 of the 216 passing yards from Aguilar, who also threw a touchdown pass to Eli Wilson, and Marshall posted his fourth-straight 100-yard rushing game by gaining 108 yards on 24 carries.

App State fell behind 14-0 with one offensive first down over three possessions in the first 16 minutes, but Aguilar’s 52-yard completion to Jackson put the Mountaineers in scoring range to set up a 23-yard field goal from Hughes.

JMU advanced to the App State 40 on the next series before Collins forced a fumble on a strip sack and recovered the loose ball for a huge momentum swing. Back-to-back completions to Jackson for a combined 41 yards gave App State a first down at the 8, and an open Wilson was able to high-step into the end zone on a third-and-goal touchdown pass covering 4 yards.

The Dukes moved ahead 17-10 on a 46-yard field goal with 2:49 left before halftime, but App State delivered quite the answer. Immediately after Aguilar converted a daring fourth-and-1 sneak from the App State 34, he went over the top on a 64-yard touchdown pass to Jackson.

JMU moved the chains once before having to punt from its 39 with less than a minute left in the half, and Haynes sprinted up the middle for a clean block that a teammate later mishandled on a scoop attempt inside the 25. With the ball rolling inside the 10, Hetzel beat teammate Ryan McKinnis to the spot with no Dukes nearby and scored his second career touchdown.

The Mountaineers had gained just 25 yards on 13 first-half runs, with Marshall at six carries for 6 yards, but he had runs of 11, 12 and 22 yards while amassing 52 yards on a 76-yard touchdown drive that provided a two-possession advantage in the third quarter.

JMU’s offense, meanwhile, managed only 135 total yards after halftime.