BOONE — Joey Aguilar threw three touchdown passes and ran for another TD, Nate Noel ran for 178 yards, including a 68-yard touchdown, and Appalachian State beat East Carolina 43-28 Saturday.
Aguilar completed 17-of-29 passes for 241 yards with an interception for Appalachian State (2-1).
Rahjai Harris scored on runs of 7 and 4 yards and Antoine Jackson had an 8-yard pick-6 for East Carolina in the first half. Shavon Revel returned a fumble 57 yards for a touchdown with 10:03 left in the third quarter to give the Pirates a 28-22 lead. Less than 2 minutes later, Aguilar hit Milan Tucker for a 35-yard TD that capped a six-play, 79-yard drive and gave Appalachian State the lead for good.
Aguilar added a 1-yard touchdown run at the end of the third quarter and threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to David Larkins to cap the scoring with 5:44 to play.
Appalachian State, which lost 40-34 in double overtime last week at then-No. 17 UNC, has won back-to-back games against ECU following six consecutive losses in the series, which dates to 1932. The Mountaineers are 21-12 all time against ECU, but the programs have faced off just four times in the past four-plus decades.
Harris finished with 56 yards rushing on 12 carries for the Pirates.
ECU (0-3), off to its worst start since it lost three straight to open the 2017 season, will hot Gardner-Webb next Saturday. App State will head West to play Wyoming.
