CHATTANOOGA, Tenn.-Appalachian QB Joe Burchette threw for 344 yards and one touchdown Saturday to lead 14th-ranked ASU to a 20-17 squeaker over Chattanooga. His five-yard scoring pass to Jermane Little with 4:31 to play proved to be the game-winner and left the Mocs 0-9 for the first time in the school’s history.
The Mocs (0-9, 0-5) held Appalachian to a field goal in the first quarter. Jerry Beard, who rushed for a career-high 137 yards on 22 carries, ran the ball 33 yards before being pushed out of bounds at the UTC 2-yard line. After losing six yards on three plays, the Mountaineers’ Mark Wright booted a 25-yard field goal to put Appalachian State up 3-0 at 6:02 of period.
On the ensuing series, UTC senior QB Ryan McCann completed a 22-yard pass to Jason Jones to put the Mocs up 7-3 with 22 seconds remaining in the first period of play. In the second quarter, UTC kicker Patrick Shutters remained perfect on the year with a 24-yard field goal to put the Mocs up 10-3.
The Mountaineers, 6-3, 4-2 SoCon, tied it up 10-10 just before halftime on a six-yard rush from Beard. On the final drive of the half, ASU’s Wright missed a 30-yard field goal attempt. This would have given Appalachian a 13-10 lead. In the third quarter Wright missed a 39-yard attempt with 6:28 remaining in the period, but nailed a 22-yarder in the fourth quarter to put Appy up for good, 13-10.
Appalachian added to its lead on Burchette’s TD toss to Jermane Little. Burchette was 26-for-40 passing for 344 yards on the day. It was his second 300-yard passing game of the season. Little caught eight passes for 111 yards to lead all receivers.
McCann threw his second touchdown of the game to Cortez Rankin for 13 yards to trim the deficit to 20-17. The Mocs had hoped that an on-side kick would keep them alive, but it was recovered by the Mountaineers.
ASU tried to run out the clock in what would have been the final series of the game, but a fourth-down play handed UTC the ball at its own 33-yard line with one second remaining. A reception by Ebrahim Tehrani and several laterals resulted in a recovered fumble by ASU to end the game and UTC’s comeback bid.
McCann completed 18-of-35 passes for 192 yards and one interception. He threw two touchdowns in a game for the fourth straight outing. Jason Ball led Mocs rushers with 46 yards on 12 carries. Jason Jones led all receivers with a career-high nine catches for 88 yards.
Wofford 27
Citadel 14
Jesse McCoy rushed for a career-high 184 yards on 20 carries while Melvin Jones had three short touchdown runs to lead a Wofford attack that gained 459 yards on the ground in a 27-14 victory over The Citadel this afternoon at Gibbs Stadium in Spartanburg, S.C.
Wofford (7-2, 5-1), picked to finish seventh in preseason polls by the league coaches and media, can win its first-ever SoCon championship with victories in its last two games. The Terriers come to Johnson City Saturday to play the Bucs and on Nov. 16 will host Furman.
Wofford has equaled its most victories overall in eight years at the Division I-AA level. The five league wins also tie Wofford’s high mark in six seasons of SoCon play.
Western Carolina 35
VMI 23
LEXINGTON, Va.-Western Carolina quarterbacks Pat Cilento and Brian Gaither combined for 350 yards passing and four touchdowns to lead Western Carolina past VMI, 35-23, in the final Southern Conference game played at Alumni Memorial Field in Lexington.
Cilento connected on 12-of-21 attempts for 188 yards and two touchdowns, while Gaither was 10-of-18 for 162 yards and two touchdowns.
The Catamount win snapped VMI’s three-game win streak and raised the WCU record to 5-5, 3-4 in the SoCon. VMI fell to 5-5 and 2-4 in the SoCon.
The loss spoiled VMI freshman running back Sean Mizzer performance. Mizzer went over the 100-yard rushing mark for the third straight game with 106 yards and a touchdown, and also caught four passes for 104 yards and a score.

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