BOONE, N.C. – Appalachian State scored twice in the first 3:07 of the game Saturday and went on to a 72-7 win over Gardner-Webb at Kidd Brewer Stadium.
The Mountaineers (2-1) led 52-7 by halftime and had 401 yards of total offense through the first 30 minutes of play.
By the final horn, Appalachian State racked up 692 total yards, including 432 on the ground – but the kicking game flipped momentum early and led to 21 points for the home team from the FBS Sun Belt Conference.
The Mountaineers went up quickly on Zac Thomas' 64-yard bomb to Dominique Heath with just 60 seconds into the game. A blocked punt touchdown by Steven Jones with 11:53 to go in the quarter pushed the lead to two scores before Gardner-Webb could catch its breath.
Gardner-Webb (1-3) got on the board midway through the first quarter, as quarterback
Jordan Smith hit
Jonathan Blackmon on a 14-yard touchdown pass to cap a 75-yard scoring march to trim Appalachian State's lead to 14-7.
After Blackmon's touchdown catch, the Mountaineers' got touchdown runs of one and 81 yards from Jalin Moore to break the game open late in the first quarter. Four more touchdowns in the second quarter – including a blocked punt that set up a nine-yard run and a 62-yard punt return for a score – pushed the score to 52-7 by the break.
Appalachian State scored on its first drive of the third quarter to go up 59-7 and added another score for a 66-7 lead by the end of the third.
D'Andre Hicks broke off a 73-yard touchdown run with 3:13 to play in the game for the final margin.
Hicks (150 yards) and Moore (119 yards) paced the Mountaineers' ground attack and five different quarterbacks combined to complete 20-of-27 passes for 260 yards and a pair of scores. Heath caught four balls for 111 yards and both of those touchdowns.
Gardner-Webb had 160 yards of total offense on the day, with only 34 coming on the ground. Smith finished 13-of-27 for 117 yards, his first career touchdown pass and two interceptions.
Jaylen Myers came off the bench to complete 3-of-5 balls for nine yards.
Blackmon led the way with nine catches for 57 yards and a score and
Kyle Horton had three catches for 37 yards. Myers led the ground game with 15 yards on seven carries.
Kameron Green and
A.J. Keene led the defensive with seven tackles each.
John Singleton had six stops and a sack.
Gardner-Webb returns to Ernest W. Spangler Stadium to face another difficult test, hosting No. 6 Wofford on Saturday, September 29. It will be the second top-10 foe for the Runnin' Bulldogs in the first month of the season.
Kickoff is set for 6:00 pm and will stream live on ESPN+. Fabian Fuentes and Brendan Boylan will have the call.
