Aguilar accounts for 4 TDs, Noel runs for 178 yards and a TD; Appalachian State beats ECU 43-28

BOONE, N.C. — Joey Aguilar threw three touchdown passes and ran for another TD, Nate Noel ran for 178 yards, including a 68-yard touchdown, and Appalachian State beat East Carolina 43-28 Saturday.

Aguilar completed 17-of-29 passes for 241 yards with an interception for Appalachian State (2-1).

Rahjai Harris scored on runs of 7 and 4 yards and Antoine Jackson had an 8-yard pick-6 for East Carolina in the first half. Shavon Revel returned a fumble 57 yards for a touchdown with 10:03 left in the third quarter to give the Pirates a 28-22 lead. Less than 2 minutes later, Aguilar hit Milan Tucker for a 35-yard TD that capped a six-play, 79-yard drive and gave Appalachian State the lead for good.

Aguilar added a 1-yard touchdown run at the end of the third quarter and threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to David Larkins to cap the scoring with 5:44 to play.

Appalachian State, which lost 40-34 in double overtime last week at then-No. 17 North Carolina, has won back-to-back games against ECU following six consecutive losses in the series, which dates to 1932. The Mountaineers are 21-12 all time against ECU, but the programs have faced off just four times in the past four-plus decades.

Harris finished with 56 yards rushing on 12 carries for the Pirates.

ECU (0-3) is off to its worst start since it lost three straight to open the 2017 season.

(WATCH: Students arrive for App State’s first-ever day of classes at Hickory campus)