By GRANT TRAYLOR

Associate A.D. of Strategic Communications

BOONE, N.C. – Marshall Football fell to App State, 31-9, in Sun Belt Conference action on Saturday evening at Kidd Brewer Stadium in Boone, North Carolina.

With the loss, Marshall dropped to 4-5 overall and 1-4 in the SBC.

“We’re not playing really good complementary football and we’re not stringing enough consistent plays together,” Marshall Football coach Charles Huff said.

Marshall tight end Sean Sallis caught the first passes of his Thundering Herd career, which also included his first touchdown – a 10-yard pass from Cam Fancher in the third quarter.

Sallis’ touchdown was set up by Fancher’s 43-yard scramble in which he eluded pressure and broke free into App State territory.

In addition to Fancher’s run, Marshall also got a 43-yard run by Rasheen Ali in the first quarter that set up Rece Verhoff’s 32-yard field goal that gave Marshall a 3-0 lead at the 14:11 mark of the second quarter.

Fancher finished the game 13 of 24 for 137 yards with the touchdown pass to Sallis and three interceptions. Ali ended with 68 yards on 11 carries.

Marshall safety J.J. Roberts returned to the lineup after missing last week’s game and finished with 15 tackles to lead the Herd defense while Jalil Rivera-Harvey set his career-high with seven stops from his defensive tackle spot.

The Herd returns to Joan C. Edwards Stadium next weekend for its first Saturday home game since Sept. 30 when Georgia Southern comes to Huntington for a 7 p.m. game on Nov. 11 that will be shown by NFL Network.

Marshall	0	3	6	0	—	9
Appalachian St.	0	21	7	3	—	31

Second Quarter

MRSH–FG Verhoff 32, 14:11.

APP–K.Robinson 24 pass from Aguilar (Hughes kick), 10:52.

APP–M.Tucker 3 run (Hughes kick), 8:33.

APP–Hetzel 16 pass from Aguilar (Hughes kick), 1:29.

Third Quarter

APP–M.Jackson 29 pass from Aguilar (Hughes kick), 7:00.

MRSH–Sallis 10 pass from Fancher (pass failed), 3:13.

Fourth Quarter

APP–FG Hughes 31, 4:01.

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	MRSH	APP
First downs	13	23
Total Net Yards	255	382
Rushes-yards	25-111	40-153
Passing	144	229
Punt Returns	0-0	0-0
Kickoff Returns	4-75	0-0
Interceptions Ret.	0-0	3-20
Comp-Att-Int	14-25-3	20-27-0
Sacked-Yards Lost	3-22	3-13
Punts	5-39.8	3-39.333
Fumbles-Lost	0-0	0-0
Penalties-Yards	7-61	4-52
Time of Possession	24:16	35:44

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INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING–Marshall, Ali 13-74, Fancher 10-38, E.Payne 2-(minus 1). Appalachian St., Aguilar 10-44, Haywood 5-42, Noel 12-26, Roberts 6-23, Marshall 2-11, Castle 3-7, M.Tucker 1-3, (Team) 1-(minus 3).

PASSING–Marshall, Fancher 14-25-3-144. Appalachian St., Aguilar 20-27-0-229.

RECEIVING–Marshall, McMillan 3-28, Coombs 3-13, Keaton 2-25, Ali 2-7, J.Harrison 1-35, C.Montgomery 1-17, Sallis 1-10, Mottillo 1-9. Appalachian St., Robinson 4-55, Hetzel 4-46, Das.Davis 3-12, Gibbs 2-37, Noel 2-18, Wilson 2-6, M.Jackson 1-29, M.Tucker 1-16, Larkins 1-10.

MISSED FIELD GOALS–None.