Box Score PHOTO GALLERY

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—Appalachian State's Jamal Jackson hit Sean Price for a 22-yard touchdown with 22 seconds left in the game to lift the 13^th-ranked Mountaineer football team to a 28-25 win at 25^th-ranked Samford Saturday afternoon at Seibert Stadium.
 
“That's one we wish we had back, but that is not what won the ballgame,” Samford head coach Pat Sullivan said of the scoring play. “There were so many plays up and down. It was two good football teams playing out there. It just tears your guts out that you came up a play short.”
 
Samford entered the final quarter trailing, 21-10, but the Bulldogs fought back to take the lead. Kelsey Pope scored on an 18-yard run with 14:41 left in the final quarter. Andy Summerlin then hit Chris Cephus in the back of the end zone on the two-point conversion to cut the lead to 21-18.
 
Samford took the lead for the first time since midway through the second quarter when Fabian Truss scored on a one-yard run with 7:37 to go. Cameron Yaw added the extra point to give Samford a 25-21 lead.
 
“I was proud of our guys tonight,” Sullivan said. “They fought back in the second half, got back into the game and took the lead. But you have a team (App State) that has won a lot of ballgames, and they make a drive and take it down there and score at the end, and that hurts right now.”
 
The game-winning drive for Appalachian State covered 80 yards, and took seven plays and 1:17 off of the fourth-quarter clock. Samford got the ball back with 16 seconds left, but was unable to get into field goal range as the Mountaineers came away with the 28-25 win.
 
For Samford for the game, Summerlin completed 18-of-30 passes for 270 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Truss was the Bulldogs' leading receiver with eight catches for 113 yards to go along with his 18 rushes for 46 yards and a touchdown. Tony Philpot caught three passes for 67 yards and a score.
 
Jaquiski Tartt led the Samford defense with 14 tackles, including 11 solo stops and one interception. Keith Shoulders added seven tackles for the Bulldog defense. Punter Greg Peranich averaged 46.7 yards on nine punts. Yaw averaged 64.8 yards on five kickoffs, with two going for touchbacks. Yaw also made both of his extra-point attempts and his lone field goal attempt.
 
For ASU, Jackson completed 22-of-39 passes for 288 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Andrew Peacock caught seven passes for 60 yards, while Steven Miller had six receptions for 98 yards and a touchdown. Price caught five passes for 90 yards and a score.
 
The ASU defense was led by Jeremy Kimbrough with 10 tackles. Joel Ross had an interception he returned 17 yards for a touchdown.
 
Samford jumped on top on the opening drive of the game. Yaw kicked a 25-yard field goal with 11:42 left in the first quarter to give Samford an early 3-0 lead. The score capped a seven-play, 67-yard drive that used 3:18.
 
Appalachian State took the lead when Ross intercepted a Summerlin pass and returned it 17 yards for a touchdown. Drew Stewart added the extra point to give the Mountaineers a 7-3 lead.
 
The Bulldogs took the lead again when Summerlin hit Philpot on a one-yard touchdown pass with 2:26 left in the opening period. Yaw added the extra point to put Samford ahead, 10-7. The scoring drive was six-plays, 66 yards and took 1:53 off the first-quarter clock.
 
The Mountaineers answered when Rod Chisholm scored on a 20-yard run with 7:43 left in the second quarter. Stewart added the extra point to put ASU on top, 14-10. Appalachian State added to its lead when Jackson hit Miller for a 48-yard touchdown with 5:16 left in the second quarter. Stewart's PAT pushed the ASU lead to 21-10.
 
Neither team was able to score in the third quarter, sending the teams to the fourth quarter with ASU leading 21-10 and setting up the wild final period.
 
As a team, Samford totaled 352 yards of total offense, while ASU finished with 413 total yards. Samford kept the ball for 31:32, while the Mountaineers had the ball for 28:28 of the game. Saturday's game was played in front of a crowd of 9,712.
 
Samford will return to action on Saturday, Oct. 20, when the Bulldogs play at Chattanooga. The game is scheduled for a 5 p.m. (CST) start from Chattanooga, Tenn.