Associated Press

BOONE — Chase Brice passed for two touchdowns, ran for a third and Appalachian State closed out the game with a Trey Cobb 100-yard interception return to defeat South Alabama 31-7 on Saturday.

Appalachian State (8-2, 5-1 Sun Belt) is undefeated at home in six games this season.

Brice opened the scoring with a keeper from the 6-yard line late in the first quarter, and then hit Corey Sutton with a 17-yard pass less than a minute later after Cobb’s first pick of the game.

South Alabama (5-5, 2-5) closed to 14-7 late in the first half on a 27-yard pass from Desmond Trotter to Jacob Hopper.

With the score 17-7 midway through the final period, Brice iced the win with a fourth-down play-action pass to Thomas Hennigan for a 14-yard touchdown. The Mountaineers were 3 for 3 on fourth-down conversions, twice resulting in touchdowns. The TD catch was Hennigan’s 20th of his career.

Dayton upends Davidson 38-29

DAYTON, Ohio — Jake Chisholm clinched Dayton’s 38-29 defeat of league-leading Davidson on Saturday with a 32-yard run in the fourth quarter, tying a school record with his fifth touchdown of the game. The win ended Dayton’s season with three straight wins.

Chisholm carried 34 times for 226 yards and also caught three passes for 36 yards. He is the seventh player for Dayton (6-4, 5-3 Pioneer Football League) to score five touchdowns in a game, first since 2008.

Dayton’s Ben Schmiesing recovered a Davidson fumble on the first play of the game and the Flyers Jack Cook tossed a 22-yard scoring pass to Chisholm on the very next snap.

Chisholm added a 73-yard TD run, caught a 10-yard pass from Cook and added a run from the 2-yard line.

Davidson (7-2, 6-1), lost a chance to clinch a share of the PFL championship and is in a first-place tie with San Diego.

Four ball carriers scored for the Wildcats: Dylan Sparks, Louis Colosimo, Aris Hillard and Coy Williams.

ECU breaks up pass in OT to win

MEMPHIS, Tenn.  — Keaton Mitchell scored on a 24-yard run in overtime then the Pirates broke up a conversion pass to send East Carolina to a 30-29 win over Memphis on Saturday.

After Rodrigues Clark scored on a 20-yard run for Memphis, the Tigers went for two. Seth Henigan rolled to the left and, under pressure, threw into a crowded end zone where the pass was batted down.

The win gave East Carolina bowl eligibility for the first time since 2015 and its highest overall win total (6-4, 4-2 American Athletic Conference) since 2014.

The Tigers (5-5, 2-4) rallied to tie in regulation when David Kemp made a 24-yard field goal as time ran out. The kick capped a 15-play, 69-yard drive that included two fourth-down conversions.

ECU’s Rahjai Harris scored from a yard out with 11/2 minutes remaining to finish a 16-play, 75-yard drive that took nearly seven minutes and gave the Pirates a 23-20 lead.

East Carolina outgained the Tigers 502-341. Holton Ahlers threw for 313 yards but had the two interceptions for the Pirates. Tyler Snead caught 13 passes for 113 yards and went over 1,000 for the second straight season, only the third Pirate to do so.

ETSU tops Western Carolina 56-35

CULLOWHEE  — Jacob Saylors rushed for a program-record 266 yards and three touchdowns as East Tennessee State blew open a tight game after halftime to defeat Western Carolina 56-35 in the Blue Ridge Border Battle.

The victory sets up a clash for the Southern Conference championship next week when ETSU (9-1, 6-1) plays host to Mercer (7-2, 6-1).  ETSU and Western Carolina (3-7, 3-4) had fought through a 21-21 first quarter into a 35-35 tie at halftime.  But the second half belonged to ETSU as the Bucs scored three rushing touchdowns  while holding the Catamounts scoreless.

Rogan Wells passed for 385 yards and four touchdowns for the Catamounts.

Louisiana Tech outlasts Charlotte

RUSTON, La.  — Marcus Williams Jr. ran for four touchdowns, Aaron Allen passed for two scores, and Louisiana Tech broke a five-game losing streak by defeating Charlotte 42-32. Williams had 29 carries for 131 yards and Allen completed 21 of 27 passes for 324 yards for the Bulldogs (3-7, 2-4 Conference USA).

The 49ers cut it to 42-32 when Chris Reynolds hit Jr. Keith Pearson with a 21-yard pass with 8:44 remaining. Charlotte had two more possessions but turned it over on downs on the first and time ran out on the second. Reynolds completed 25 of 42 passes for 448 yards and two touchdowns for the 49ers (5-5, 2-3).

Elon romps over Towson

TOWSON, Md. — McKinley Witherspoon ran for a pair of scores and Davis Cheek threw for one and Elon never trailed in its 37-14 win against Towson.

Witherspoon ran for 1-yard score for a 7-0 lead before Skyler Davis made a career-long, 52-yard field goal late in the first quarter. Davis added a 28-yarder with 10:29 before halftime for a 13-0 lead.

The Phoenix (5-5, 4-3 Colonial Athletic Association) added a 10-play, 75-yard drive that ended with Witherspoon carrying it in from 1 and a 20-7 margin with 2:07 before halftime. Jerry Howard Jr. ran for 126 yards on 17 carries for the Tigers (4-6, 3-4), who have lost back-to-back games and three of the last four.

Hampton 28, Campbell 21: Jett Duffey scored on a 1-yard run with just over two minutes remaining and Hampton defeated Campbell. Duffey’s score completed a 10-play, 75-yard drive that came after Dylan Earney connected with Jalen Kelsey on a 42-yard touchdown pass that had put the Fighting Camels ahead with 6:16 left.

Duffey was 19 of 31 for 231 yards passing with two interceptions but scored twice rushing, finishing with 51 yards on 17 carries, to lead the Pirates (5-5, 3-3 Big South). Jadakis Bonds made eight catches for 110 yards. Earney was 16 of 29 for 196 yards passing and his touchdown to Kelsey, who had 97 yards receiving, for Campbell (3-7, 2-4).

NC Central 45, Howard 27: Latrell Collier ran for two second-half touchdowns, including a 51-yarder early in the fourth quarter, as North Carolina Central ran past Howard, 45-27. The Eagles amassed 293 yards on the ground and ran for all six of their touchdowns. Collier led the way with 115 yards on 13 carries.  North Carolina Central fell to 5-5, 3-1 Mid-Eastern. Howard is 2-8, 1-4.

Charleston Southern 32, Gardner-Webb falls 24 (2OT): Jack Chambers threw two touchdowns and Daniel Oscar ran for 101 yards and a score and Charleston Southern beat Gardner-Webb in double overtime. Buccaneers (4-5, 3-4 Big South Conference) freshman defensive back Kamron Smith came up with a stop of Gardner-Webb running back Nick Gaither for no gain on fourth-and-4 at the Charleston 8-yard line to end it.