Aug. 31, 2000

Box Score |  Notes

By David Droschak
Associated Press

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - David Reaves threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Rashad Slade on the first play of the fourth quarter as Division I-AA Appalachian State beat Wake Forest 20-16 on Thursday night.

The Mountaineers, who beat Wake Forest for the third time in the last four meetings, outgained the Demon Deacons 382-181 yards and had a 21-11 advantage in first downs.

Appalachian State trailed 10-7 and lost starting quarterback Daniel Jeremiah on the second play of the second half to a knee injury. But Reaves, who usually shares playing time at QB anyway, led the Mountaineers to the win.

His scoring pass to Slade gave the Mountaineers the lead and helped put away the Demon Deacons, who lost 25 seniors off last year's Aloha Bowl champions.

Thursday night was the much anticipated starting debut of Wake Forest quarterback C.J. Leak. The sophomore, who turned down Notre Dame and Penn State out of high school, was 10-for-21 for 126 yards. He was intercepted twice and fumbled twice.

Leak's last fumble while being sacked deep in his own territory set up Karim Razzak's game-clinching 10-yard run with 2:31 left.

Wake Forest's Jamie Scott added a 1-yard scoring run with 1:10 left, but the Demon Deacons' failed to recover an onside kick.

The Mountaineers drove into Wake Forest territory on all five first-half possessions, but managed just a 4-yard scoring run from Razzak late in the first quarter despite dominating a team that returned the fewest starters (5) in the nation.

The 7-3 lead was short-lived as John Stone returned the ensuing kickoff 88 yards for a Wake Forest score.

Appalachian State hurt itself with a fumbled pitch at the Wake Forest 43 on its opening drive, and Jeremiah was intercepted at the 11 early in the second quarter after leading the Mountaineers on a time-consuming drive.

Tyler Ashe's career-best 50-yard field goal gave Wake Forest an early 3-0 lead, but coach Jim Caldwell played the rest of the half close to the vest as Leak threw only eight passes - three in long-desperation fashion during the final seconds of the half.