Appalachian State seemed to fall back down to earth with a disappointing home loss to Troy, coming off a huge upset over Texas A&M.
But then a miracle happened.
With two seconds left in regulation and his team trailing 28-26 from its own 47-yard line, Chase Price lofted a Hail Mary into the end zone. The ball didn’t even reach the goal line, but was deflected into Kristen Horn’s hands at the 7 yard line.
Horn then picked up a block and ran into the end zone to give the Mountaineers a 32-28 win.
Troy led 28-24 for most of the fourth quarter and tried to hang on for dear life. The Trojans looked like they could seal the win when they stopped on fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line with 1:13 left.
From there, all Troy had to do was run out the clock. But it’s very deep support in its own territory can be tricky. App State only had one timeout, so Troy was able to run out most of the clock.
The Trojans had a fourth-and-6 from their own 11 with 25 seconds left. Instead of risking a punt block, Troy made a curious decision.
That defense made it 28-26 and the ball returned to Appalachian State on the ensuing kickoff. The Mountaineers returned the kick to their own 47 and moved into field goal range with 11 seconds remaining.
After three straight completions, App State’s only option was a Hail Mary. And miraculously, the mountaineers’ prayers were answered through Price’s communication with Horne.
With the win, App State is 2-1 on the year in three nail-biting games. The home opener was a 63-61 loss to North Carolina. Last week’s monster upset was over Texas A&M, ranked No. 6 in the nation.
Then on Saturday, with ESPN’s “College GameDay” in town, the Mountaineers found a way to win again.
