App State rallies past Southern Miss to get back to .500

The Mountaineers avoided an upset with a 48-38 win

Appalachian State, Mountaineers, App

BOONE — Joey Aguilar threw for 391 yards and four touchdowns, Appalachian State scored three fourth-quarter touchdowns, and the Mountaineers rallied for a 48-38 win over Southern Mississippi on Saturday.

Jakarius Caston’s 11-yard scoring run 59 seconds into the fourth quarter gave the Eagles a 38-28 lead. App State (4-4, 2-2 Sun Belt Conference) responded with a 78-yard scoring drive with Aguilar throwing a 49-yard scoring pass to Christan Horn. After forcing a punt, on the third play of the Mountaineers’ drive, Kanye Roberts ran for a 61-yard score to make it 42-38 with 6:37 remaining. Southern Miss countered with a drive that took it to the Mountaineers’ 30 but it ended with an incomplete pass on fourth-and-2.

Aguilar and Appalachian State closed it out with a six-play, 70-yard drive that ended with a 21-yard scoring pass to Horn for the final margin.

Horn finished with 165 yards receiving on eight catches and Roberts had 109 yards rushing with 13 carries.

Frank Gore Jr. ran for 247 yards on 24 carries and scored twice for Southern Miss (1-7, 0-5) which had leads of 10 points three times.