49ers Fall to App State In Front of Record Crowd

CHARLOTTE, NC – Appalachian State traveled to Charlotte Saturday night to face the Charlotte 49ers in an highly anticipated matchup. The 49ers fell a little flat, as the Mountaineers of App State cruised to a 45-9 victory in Jerry Richardson Stadium.

Both teams have been anticipating this matchup all week as they have been preparing for a long battle. With that being said Charlotte comes fresh off of a victory against Fordham University last Saturday in a game that saw multiple lightning delays. An offense that was powered by two Redshirt Freshman and a strong running back in Benny LeMay, the 49ers look to find a win today.

Saturday at Jerry Richardson stadium fans are excited to see what this game brings us as there is hope for a great football game. Appalachian State, in the other news, were coming off of a close game against ranked Penn State (45-38) in overtime. This would have been a tremendous upset and would’ve given The Mountaineers the much needed start they were anticipating. That game was a slugger between two Division 1 high powered offenses. This game was like no other. With a sold out crowd in just over 19,151 fans, UNC Charlotte broke a new school-record in attendance.

As the game started out slow, The Mountaineers jump out to an early start with a 10-0 lead going into the second quarter. The UNC Charlotte 49ers were able to march into the red zone as they drove the ball down the field under quarterback Chris Reynolds and senior running back Benny Lemay. After an intentional grounding call by Reynolds, the 49ers were knocked out of the Redzone.

The 49ers were able to settle with three strong first half field goals by Johnathan Cruz. Cruz was able to break a school record in kicking the longest field goal (54 yards). While Appalachian State is connecting on all cylinders, on the offensive side of the ball. Quarterback Zac Thomas connects with Corey Sutton for a 27-yard touchdown, who had another big day as well in having stellar 100-yard performance this week.

The second half came out with a rocky start for the 49ers as they began to fight for a comeback. After beginning the second half with a failed 3rd down conversion the 49ers were left to bring the defense back out to stop a potent Appalachain State offense. The second half didn’t bring much difference from the first, as the Mountaineers were able to drive the ball down field and melt the clock, all throughout the half. The Mountaineers were able to return a punt for a touchdown and take advantage of the 49ers defensive mismatch. Thomas and Sutton were connecting all day as they added another touchdown to give the Mountaineers the 45-9 advantage, which would be the final score of the game. .

Charlotte will look to bounce back strong as they welcome Old Dominion University Saturday Sept. 15 at 6:00pm EST.

Photos by Lance Bradshaw