Just when it looked like Appalachian State was about to lose its second game of the season Saturday against Troy at home, the Mountaineers pulled off a miraculous Hail Mary with basically no time left in the game.
Down 28-24 with 15 seconds left in the fourth quarter — and after an exuberant day that included a visit from ESPN’s College GameDay, App State students winning free tuition and a strong roasting of Texas A&M, which lost to the Mountaineers in Week 2 — App State started its final drive on its own 47-yard line. And it needed to make some quick moves.
Luckily for them, quarterback Chase Brice followed a series of three incomplete passes with a nail-biting heave downfield on 4th-and-10 with two seconds on the clock. Just shy of the goal line with bodies everywhere, the pass was deflected at about the five-yard line, landing perfectly in the hands of wide receiver Christan Horn.
With the help of some stellar blocking from his teammates, Horn had a clear path to the end zone for a 53-yard touchdown, waltzing in to deliver the 32-28 victory over the Trojans.
APP STATE WON ON A HAIL MARY ON THE FINAL PLAY‼️ pic.twitter.com/yDlzYYtU19
— ESPN (@espn) September 17, 2022
What a dazzling miracle of a play from App State, and it was absolute pandemonium afterward.
Every App State game that has ever followed them hosting GameDay has ended with a 4-pt win on a 53-yd Hail Mary that was tipped by the defense, caught, and run in for the win. pic.twitter.com/WlXcihszPk
— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) September 17, 2022
SCENES FROM APP STATE 😱😱
(via @AppState_FB) pic.twitter.com/VsHgrD2Xvh
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) September 17, 2022