Appalachian State caps off thrilling week with last-second Hail Mary touchdown to defeat Troy
One week after beating Texas A&M, the Mountaineers won on a walk-off Hail Mary touchdown.
BOONE, N.C. (WBTV) - After a week of being in the national spotlight, the Appalachian State Mountaineers football team capped off Saturday with an exhilarating last-second touchdown to beat the Troy Trojans 32-28.
App State, located in Boone, played host to ESPN’s College GameDay one week after knocking off sixth-ranked Texas A&M in College Station.
For much of the game, the Trojans appeared to be all the Mountaineers could handle.
The teams swapped touchdowns throughout the first half, with Troy going into the break with a 21-14 lead.
App State opened the second half with a scoring drive, knotting the score at 21. From there, the Mountaineers took advantage of a missed Troy field goal, and marched back down the field to score three points of their own to break the tie, 24-21.
A Troy touchdown put the Trojans back on top with less than 10 minutes to play. On the ensuing possession, App quarterback Chase Brice led the offense on a long drive down to the Troy two-yard line before failing to score on fourth-and-goal, giving the ball back with 1:13 to play.
With their backs to their own goal line, the Mountaineers defense pushed the Trojans back into their own end zone for a safety, shrinking the deficit to 28-26, and giving Brice and the offense one last chance with 15 seconds to go.
The drive began with three-straight incompletions, and leaving just two seconds left on the clock ahead of the final, fourth-down play.
In a last-gasp attempt, Brice avoided the Trojans’ pass rush, scrambled out of the pocket and launched a Hail Mary throw toward the goal line.
The ball was tipped by a crowd of players around the five-yard line, popped up into the air, and fell in the hands of App State wide receiver Christan Horn, who scampered toward the right pylon and into the end zone to steal a thrilling 32-28 win.
Horn finished the game as the leading receiver for the Mountaineers, but more perhaps importantly, helped the school avoid a massive let-down while also creating a moment that App State fans will remember for a long time to come.
Related: App State uses 2 turnovers to stun No. 6 Texas A&M 17-14
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