BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State's Jimmy Watkins rushed for 216 yards and four touchdowns as Appalachian State University rolled to a 40-27 win over the College of William & Mary Saturday in the first round of the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs.

The Tribe got on the board first when sophomore cornerback Billy Parker (Mechanicsville, VA) intercepted Mountaineer quarterback Joe Burchette's first pass of the game and ran it back 24 yards for a touchdown with just a minute and four seconds gone by in the game.

Appalachian answered four minutes later when Watkins found the end zone from five yards out to tie the game at seven. The Mountaineers would tack on a field goal to take a 14-7 lead into the second quarter.

The second quarter was all Mountaineers, as Watkins scored on a pair of touchdown runs, from 38 and one yards, respectively, to give ASU a 24-7 lead. With seven seconds left in the opening half, ASU kicker Mark Wright connected on a 45-yard field goal to send the two teams into the locker room with ASU holding a 27-7 advantage.

ASU opened the second half scoring with Watkins fourth and final touchdown of the day, this one from one yard out to give ASU a 34-7 lead.

But one minute later, Tribe quarterback Dave Corley (Columbia, SC) found a wide-open Rich Musinski (West Pittston, PA) for a 75-yard scoring strike that cut the ASU lead to 20 at 34-14. The Tribe scored again five minutes later, with Corley throwing another touchdown pass, this one to tailback Marcus Howard (Fairfax, VA) who scampered 13 yards to the end zone to make the score 34-21 ASU.

Appalachian scored their final points when Burchette scrambled six yards for a touchdown, the ASU two point try failed, and the Mountaineers held a 40-21 lead.

The Tribe ended the scoring when freshman tailback Jonathan Smith (Cincinnati, OH) dove in from a yard out. Corley's pass on the two point conversion try was incomplete, as the Tribe cut the ASU lead to 40-27 with 6:01 left in the game.

After a Mountaineer punt, the Tribe regained possession with 2:56 to play, but Corley threw an interception with 1:33 left in the game. ASU then ran out the clock to end the game and defeat the Tribe, 40-27.

For the game, the Tribe gained 316 yards of total offense, 92 of those on the ground. Corley finished the day 12-28 passing for 224 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran 15 times for 20 yards. The Green and Gold end their season as Co-Champions of the Atlantic 10 Conference, finishing with an 8-4 record. This was the Tribe's first playoff appearance since 1996.