Appalachian State stunned then-No. 6 Texas A&M 17-14 last weekend and became college football's darling for the week. Well, the Mountaineers will hold that title for at little while longer after what transpired on Saturday in Boone, North Carolina.
Quarterback Chase Brice hit Cristian Horn on a 53-yard, tip drill Hail Mary on the final play of the game to give the Mountaineers a 32-28 win over Troy. Brice stepped up into the pocket, rolled to his left and unleashed it as far as he could. Horn reeled it in on a tip at the 6-yard line and took off to the right pylon for the game-winning score, sending the home crowd into a frenzy.
You can check out the highlight of the dramatic play below.
APP STATE WON ON A HAIL MARY ON THE FINAL PLAY‼️ pic.twitter.com/yDlzYYtU19
— ESPN (@espn) September 17, 2022
The raucous crowd stormed the field in celebration, capping off a banner day for the Mountaineer football program.
Here's another look, from the Appalachian State football feed, at what will go down as one of the premier highlights of this college football season.
Miracle on the Mountain: The Sequel!#GoApp #SCTop10 pic.twitter.com/5CxOkuBqeS
— App State Football (@AppState_FB) September 17, 2022
The dramatic ending came after some questionable game management from Troy. The Trojans took an intentional safety on fourth-and-1 from its own 11-yard line to make it a 28-26 game with 25 seconds left. That, in and of itself, was odd considering a field goal would give the Mountaineers a win.
To make matters worse, coach Jon Sumrall called a squib kick that was returned 13 yards to the Appalachian State 47-yard line. Brice threw three straight incompletions before unleashing the game-winner to set off a celebration for the ages.
The Mountaineers improve to 2-1 on the season, and the win over the Trojans puts them at 1-0 in the Sun Belt. It's safe to say that coach Shawn Clark's squad could make an appearance in the AP Top 25 poll come Sunday.
