LEXINGTON, Va.-Senior quarterback Joey Gibson completed 19 of 28 passes for 210 yards and two touchdowns to lead VMI to a 27-16 upset win over No. 18 Wofford Saturday at Alumni Memorial Field.
The Keydets (3-4, 1-3) snapped a four-game losing skid and secured their first SoCon win of the season. It was also VMI’s first win over a ranked opponent since a 50-31 victory over No. 22 Liberty on Sept. 9, 1995.
VMI capitalized on two fumble recoveries that were converted into scores, and controlled the ball for 35:34 of the game. With the score tied 3-3 in the first quarter, the Keydets took their first lead of the afternoon when Gibson tossed a four-yard touchdown pass in the back of the endzone to freshman slotback Gary Price with 13:34 left in the second quarter.
Gibson also led the Keydets in rushing with 71 yards on 17 carries while Price hauled in six passes for 65 yards and a score. Senior wideout Pedro Garcia and Snelling each caught four passes.
Melvin Jones led the Terriers on the ground with 95 yards on 11 carries. Wofford, which relies on the ground game but played from behind most of the contest, attempted a season-high 22 passes and completed only seven tries for 93 yards and one touchdown.
Maury Pauling, along with his forced fumble and interception, led the Keydets in tackles with 10 including one for loss. Senior cornerback DeAngello Plather had nine stops.
Wofford’s Brandon Ladd and Matt Nelson each had 11 tackles. Saturday’s game was not the first time Wofford head coach Mike Ayers had suffered a long afternoon in Lexington at the hand of the Keydets. On Oct. 12, 1985, exactly 17 years ago to the day, Ayers, who was then head coach of ETSU, saw his Bucs fall to VMI at Alumni Memorial Field, 23-19.
Appalachian State 16
Furman 15
BOONE, N.C.-With 7.4 seconds remaining, Josh Jeffries intercepted Billy Napier’s pass on the point-after attempt at the 4-yard line and carried it 20 yards before pitching the ball to Derrick Black who sprinted the remaining 76 yards to pay dirt to give No. 4 Appalachian State victory over No. 5 Furman.
Napier threw a 12-yard strike in the end zone to Bear Rinehart to give Furman a 15-14 advantage. Furman opted to go for two on the PAT. Touted as the nation’s top-rated passer heading into the game, Napier completed 20-of-29 for 170 yards, including the go-ahead touchdown.
With two of the top quarterbacks in the SoCon, both defenses set the tone from the outset. The Paladins’ ball control offense dominated time of possession, handling the ball offensively for 40:21 of the 60 minutes of play.
Appy’s QB Joe Burchette finished the game 11-of-17 for 116 yards through the air.
On what was set to be the winning drive on its final possession of the game, Furman took the ball with 5:39 left and marched 73 yards on 13 plays before the finale. Napier completed 5-of-6 passes for 76 yards, on the final drive. With third-and-goal at the 2-yard line, Furman took back-to-back penalties to move it back to the 12 before the touchdown.
The victory is the fourth in five straight in which Appalachian has come from behind in the second half to win. All but one win has been by fewer than 10 points. It also marked the sixth straight time in which the home team has won in this league series that Furman leads 20-9-3.

Georgia Southern 41
Western Carolina 24
CULLOWHEE, N.C.-Sophomore quarterback Chaz Williams accounted for 327 yards of total offense, ran for a pair of scores and threw for a career-best three touchdowns to lead Georgia Southern to a 41-24 SoCon victory over Western Carolina Saturday afternoon at E.J. Whitmire Stadium.
Williams ran for career-best 171 yards, his third consecutive triple-digit rushing effort while passing for a career-high 156 yards. His third-straight century-mark ground performance was the first for an Eagle quarterback since Greg Hill accomplished the feat in 1999.
Catamount quarterback Pat Cilento tossed a pair of TD passes, the first a 64-yard strike to Michael Banks, to pull Western to within 34-17 with 14:53 left before he capped WCU’s scoring efforts with a one-yard run at the 11:29 mark to trim the margin to just 10 points. GSU’s Zzream Walden quickly ended any hopes for a Catamount comeback when he broke loose on a 56-yard run during the next possession to set up a William’s three-yard TD run for the 41-24 lead.

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