Information:
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. –
Marques Murrell forced a
fumble and Jason Hunter
returned it for a touchdown with
9:14 remaining in the game to give
Appalachian State University the
NCAA Division I-AA National
Championship with a 21-16 victory
over Northern Iowa on Friday night
at Finley Stadium.
The Mountaineers trailed for all
but 4:58 of the contest until
Hunter's third touchdown of the
season in the final period.
All-Americans Hunter and Murrell
led the Appalachian comeback from
their defensive end positions as
Hunter compiled 10 total tackles,
three for loss, a fumble recovery
and two sacks and Murrell added
nine total tackles,
five-and-a-half for loss, two
forced fumbles and two quarterback
sacks.
Quarterback Richie Williams
also helped engineer the
Mountaineers' comeback by
courageously battling through an
ankle injury to come off the bench
and throw for 129 yards in the
second half of the win.
Sophomore Trey Elder
started the contest and registered
123 yards through the air in the
first half, but the ASU offense
was hindered by three turnovers
and trailed 16-7 at the half.
Kevin
Richardson scored both of
Appalachian’s offensive touchdowns
with a five-yard scamper in the
second quarter and a one-yard
jaunt that brought ASU within two
points at 16-14 with 6:05 to go in
the third period. In the process,
the sophomore tied Hall of Famer
John Settle's Appalachian
single-season record of 21
touchdowns in a season.
Things didn't start out nearly as
well as they finished for the
Mountaineers, as Northern Iowa
scored on its opening possession
with a 50-yard field goal by Brian
Wingert. The longest kick in I-AA
Championship Game history capped
off a nine-play, 41-yard drive.
On the ensuing kickoff, UNI
recovered an Appalachian fumble
and doubled its advantage to 6-0
just 5:15 into the game on a
26-yard field goal by Wingert.
UNI would keep the six-point lead
until Richardson carried the ball
in from five yards out to put ASU
up 7-6 after the extra point by
Julian Rauch.
However, the Panthers capitalized
on another Mountaineer turnover,
scoring from two yards out on a
run by David Horne after picking
off an Elder pass on ASU’s 41 yard
line. The Panthers added another
tally before halftime on Wingert’s
third field goal of the half, this
one from 31 yards out with 1:09
left on the clock to give the
Panthers a 16-7 advantage.
Despite Richardson's second
touchdown of the game midway
through the third quarter, ASU
continued to trail until less 10
minutes remained in the ballgame,
when Murrell and Hunter elevated
their play to another level.
Wreaking havoc in the backfield
like they did for much of the
evening, Murrell sacked Panther
quarterback Eric Sanders on the
UNI 15 to force a fumble that
Hunter scooped up and carried to
paydirt for his third touchdown of
the season.
Hunter and Murrell made sure the
21-16 advantage stood up as
Murrell forced a fumble and Hunter
sacked Sanders to force a punt on
UNI’s next possession.
The Appalachian defense came up
big once again on the Panthers
last possession of the game by
holding the Panthers inside their
own 30 yard line and forcing a
punt with three minutes left.
The Williams-led ASU offense
rattled off a pair of first downs
on its final possession to ensure
that UNI didn't have another
chance to score. Thousands of the
very pro-ASU crowd of 20,236
stormed the field as Williams took
a knee on the final play to
celebrate the school’s first-ever
national championship.
In his final game in the Black and
Gold, wide receiver Zach
Johnson enjoyed a career day
with six catches for 101 yards.
Fellow senior Brandon Turner
chipped in with four receptions
for 78 yards, while Richardson led
the Apps on the ground with 51
yards and the two scores.
Appalachian ends its historic
season with a 12-3 overall record,
tying the school record for wins
in a season set by the 1995 squad
that went 12-1. Northern Iowa
finishes its season at 11-4
overall after capturing a share of
the Gateway Football Conference
title.
