Mountaineers Drop Season Opener at Montana

Courtesy: Appalachian State Sports Information

MISSOULA, Mont. – Plagued by two turnovers and a blocked punt, No. 12-ranked Appalachian State University football dropped its 2013 season opener to No. 20 Montana, 30-6, on Saturday evening at jam-packed Washington-Grizzly Stadium.

In addition to the three miscues, Appalachian State was never able to get into a rhythm offensively, was haunted by Montana’s 9-of-15 third-down conversion rate and was without the services of senior quarterback Jamal Londry-Jackson for more than a quarter in the loss.

With Londry-Jackson out of the game due to a minor upper-body injury, backup quarterback Kameron Bryant nearly led the Mountaineers back from a 16-0 deficit. In the first significant action of his career, Bryant engineered field-goal drives to end the first half and open the second and had the Apps inside the red zone on his third series threatening to pull within one score. However, Bryant fumbled at the end of a 12-yard run and Montana recovered on its own three yard line to thwart the scoring opportunity.

UM punted after the turnover but on the very next play, Bryant threw the first interception of his career to give the Griz the ball back on the Appalachian 42. Six plays later, Montana punched it in to stretch the lead to 23-6 and effectively end the Mountaineers’ hopes for a comeback victory.

Appalachian was outgained, 497-328, which included Montana’s 246-123 advantage on the ground. The Grizzlies had two 100-yard rushers (Travon Van – 118 and Jordan Canada – 112) and benefitted from the return of quarterback Jordan Johnson (19-of-23, 251 yards, two TD) to the lineup. Johnson, who completed his first 12 passes of the evening, sat out the entire 2012 season due to personal reasons.

Bryant completed 8-of-12 passes for 116 yards to lead the Mountaineers offensively. Londry-Jackson managed just 89 yards – his second-lowest total in 20 career starts – in less than three quarters of action. Tony Washington led all receivers with 81 yards on six catches and Ricky Fergerson had a team-high 53 yards on the ground.

For the first time in 102 games, Appalachian State did not score a touchdown and failed to score at least 10 points – neither had happened since a 24-0 loss at LSU in 2005. The loss also dropped the Mountaineers to 0-10 all-time in games played west of the Mississippi River.

Defensively, freshman linebacker John Law and sophomore safety Kevin Walton shared game-high honors with 12 tackles apiece.

Appalachian State opens the home portion of its 2013 campaign next Saturday when it hosts North Carolina A&T at Kidd Brewer Stadium. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. on Hall of Fame Day at The Rock.

NOTES: The crowd of 26,293 was the largest ever for a football game played in the state of Montana … Appalachian State fell to 3-9 in its last 12 season openers … Appalachian dropped to 1-3 all-time against Montana, including an 0-3 mark at Washington-Grizzly Stadium … Londry-Jackson’s previous low passing total when taking the majority of Appalachian’s snaps was 164 versus The Citadel on Sept. 15 of last season … Drew Stewart’s 48-yard field goal as the first half expired was the longest of his career (previous long: 44 vs. Western Carolina, 2011) … Montana blocked freshman Bentlee Critcher’s third-career punt in the second quarter, marking the first time Appalachian has had a punt blocked since last season’s loss to The Citadel … UM recovered the blocked punt at Appalachian’s 13 yard line and kicked a field goal to stretch its lead to 16-0.