Appalachian State wins Camellia Bowl on last-second field goal
Appalachian State has an 11-win season and its first bowl win in program history.
Zach Matics made a 23-yard field goal as time expired Saturday night to give the Mountaineers a 31-29 win in the Camellia Bowl. Matics, who entered the game 13-14 on field goals in 2015, had missed his first two field goal attempts of the day.
The win was Appalachian State’s second comeback of the second half. The Mountaineers trailed 24-7 in the third quarter before reeling off three-straight touchdowns to take a 28-24 lead.
Ohio got the next five points after punting on 4th and 9 inside the App State 35 with just over six minutes to go in the game. After pinning the Mountaineers inside the five, a safety cut the deficit to 28-26.
The Bobcats got the ball back following the safety and went for it on fourth down the next time they were inside App State territory. Greg Windham, in at quarterback for J.D. Sprague, dropped the snap but found Kawmae Sawyer open in the flat. A 33-yard completion got the ball to the App State 13 and Ohio kicked a field goal with 1:47 left for a 29-28 lead.
The big gain on App State’s game-winning drive was a scramble by quarterback Trevor Lamb. Ohio was in man coverage and Lamb saw a huge gap on the right side of the field. He ran for 32 yards and got to the Ohio 26. From there, App State ran the ball to kill clock and put Matics in position for the game winner.
The Mountaineers crawled back into the game earlier in the half thanks to two interceptions following a touchdown to make the game 24-14. App State scored touchdowns off both of the picks.
The Camellia Bowl was the first bowl game in App State history. 2015 is the team’s second year at college football’s top level after moving up from FCS. The Mountaineers were 7-5 in 2014 but ineligible for a bowl game because the season served as a transition year to FBS. App State finishes 2015 at 11-2 while the loss drops Ohio to 8-5.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
