Oct. 9, 2004
Stats
BOONE, N.C. - Richie Williams scored on a 13-yard touchdown run with 35 seconds remaining to lift No. 21 Appalachian State to a 30-29 victory over No. 2 Furman Saturday afternoon at Kidd Brewer Stadium.
Williams' game winning touchdown run capped a six-play, 67-yard drive after Furman had pulled ahead 29-23 on a 52-yard catch and run by Paladin redshirt freshman tailback Cedrick Gipson with 2:03 to go.
The junior from from Camden, S.C., completed 40-of-45 passes for a school record 413 yards, including an NCAA record 28 consecutive completions during a stretch from the first to the fourth quarter.
"I thought in a game that we had 88 offensive plays we would have won, but this game came down to turnovers and big plays. We had four (tunovers) and they had two, and they made more big plays than we did. That and Richie Williams were the difference in the game," said Furman head coach Bobby Lamb.
Trailing 7-3 at halftime, Williams completed his first 19 passes of the second half to lead the Mountaineers to a pair of third-quarter touchdown drives and a 16-7 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
The Paladins came alive in the fourth period, using scoring runs by Cedrick Gipson and Brandon Mays, sandwiched around a 1-yard touchdown pass from Williams to ASU tight end Daniel Bettis, to cut Appalachian's lead to 23-21 with under five minutes remaining.
After a three-and-out by ASU, Furman closed its furious 22-point fourth-quarter rally with Gipson's 52-yard catch before Williams engineered the game winning drive for the Mountaineers.
After the ensuing kickoff, Paladin signal-caller Ingle Martin threw an incomplete pass and was sacked by ASU's Monte Smith to end the thriller.
ASU running back Alan Atwater gained 173 all-purpose yards with 121 yards receiving and another 62 on the ground. The sophomore accounted for two of ASU's four touchdowns, running for one and catching another.
Martin led Furman by going 24-for-34 for 303 yards and an interception. Isaac West caught eight passes for 104 yards, while Cedrick Ritter led the Paladin defense with 11 tackles and a sack.
In all, the two teams combined for 1,024 total yards, with Furman racking up 521 yards and ASU going for 503. Furman, however, managed only seven points on 50 snaps over the game's first two quarters. A missed 39-yard field goal and a fumble at the ASU 19 with 12 seconds remaining the half proved critical in defeat for the Paladins.
Furman returns home next Saturday to face arch-rival The Citadel at 2:00 p.m. at Paladin Stadium.
