BOONE, N.C. — Ike Lewis' acrobatic, one-handed grab at Georgia received top billing in a "Top Plays" segment of ESPN's SportsCenter.
It doesn't rank as his favorite catch of 2017.
A senior receiver from Simpsonville, S.C., Lewis set career highs for receptions (six), yards (101) and touchdowns (two) in Appalachian State's 23-20 win at Idaho last weekend. The first-place Mountaineers (4-2, 3-0) play host to Coastal Carolina (1-5, 0-3) on Saturday at Kidd Brewer Stadium.
App State needed to erase a 20-0 deficit in the third quarter of the Idaho game to remain undefeated in the league. One play after the Mountaineers converted a fourth-down run from their side of midfield, Lewis ended the shutout bid and started the rally with a 38-yard touchdown.
Lewis reached up with just his left hand to catch a swing pass to the left from
Taylor Lamb before using a block from fellow receiver
Thomas Hennigan to split two defenders. Lewis planted firmly as he cut inside of another defender near the 20 and raced into the end zone without being touched.
The degree of difficulty was higher on the leaping, 28-yard catch at Georgia, but the breakthrough touchdown in Idaho had more significance in the bigger picture.
"This one meant a lot more for coming back from down 20, and it was my first touchdown of this season," Lewis said.
"I wanted to create a spark of energy to get the offense going and get our momentum back going. I knew once we scored one touchdown, I knew it's on from there. With our offense, we can keep going."
Lewis, Lamb and the rest of the Mountaineers kept it going to the tune of scores on four consecutive possessions, and they held a three-point lead for the final 7:24.
Lewis' first touchdown came with 7:59 left in the third quarter, and Lamb capped a 14-play, 53-yard drive that lasted a season-long 7:19 by throwing a 6-yard touchdown pass to
Collin Reed early in the fourth quarter. After App State's dominant defense forced another three-and-out, Lamb hit Lewis in stride on a 45-yard touchdown to help tie the game with 10:04 remaining.
A slot receiver before this season, Lewis has started all six games at an outside spot, but he was back in the slot for his second touchdown.
Matched up against a linebacker, Lewis read the safety's positioning and didn't choose the option of curling toward the middle of the field on a shorter route. Instead, with the middle of the field relatively open, Lewis used his speed to run past the linebacker on a post route toward the end zone.
Lewis caught Lamb's pass at the 15 and scored easily.
"In my past, I played slot," Lewis said. "With me and Taylor, that was nothing new. We practice this every day, and I see different looks from it every day. I knew once I saw the safety go out to the hash, I'm trying to keep it high. I just tried to run away from the linebacker, and Taylor made an excellent throw."
Lewis ranks second on the team this season with 17 catches for 214 yards, and he's 18
th nationally with a 27.0 average on his 13 kickoff returns.
Since Lewis made two receptions and returned three kicks for 60 yards in his college debut at Michigan in 2014, he's been a regular contributor at receiver, totaling 42 catches for 486 yards and three touchdowns in his first three seasons with the Mountaineers. A starter over the final six games of the 2016 regular season, he scored a 60-yard touchdown against ULM and had five catches at New Mexico State to cap that productive stretch.
Lewis and Hennigan, a true freshman, have started each game of this year at the two outside spots, but Lewis' versatility was valuable in the comeback win at Idaho.
"Isaiah Lewis played phenomenal," App State head coach
Scott Satterfield said. "He made some big-time plays, and (there were) a couple of great reads by him. I thought he played exceptional and really was a spark in the second half."
