Quarterback Zac Thomas threw for four touchdowns and ran for another as No. 25 Appalachian State capped a strong regular season by throttling host Troy 48-13 on Friday night at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Troy, Ala.

Running back Darrynton Evans scored on a pair of rushing touchdowns and then caught the final scoring pass from Thomas.

By winning, Appalachian State (11-1, 7-1 Sun Belt) secured home-field advantage for the conference championship game for the second year in a row. It will face the University of Louisiana next Saturday.

Troy (5-7, 3-5) needed to win to gain bowl eligibility, but lost in consecutive games to the conference's two divisional champions.

Thomas completed 28 of 34 passes for 326 yards. He was intercepted once. Receiver Thomas Hennigan made 11 catches for 140 yards.

Evans carried 13 times for 82 yards.

The teams combined for 37 points in the opening 18 minutes. It began when Troy scored first on Tyler Sumpter's 26-yard field goal.

In the next six minutes, the Mountaineers were in the end zone twice, with Thomas throwing 44 yards to Jalen Virgil for the game's first touchdown and Evans bursting 52 yards for the next touchdown. Both possessions lasted five plays.

Following a Troy interception, the Mountaineers needed only two plays to go 8 yards, with Thomas running in from 5 yards out. So it was 20-3 with 5:37 left in the first quarter.

DK Billingsley ran 1 yard for a Troy touchdown, and then Thomas threw 8 yards to Malik Williams for the Mountaineers. Evans ran 9 yards for another touchdown.

It was 34-13 by halftime.

Thomas tossed a 6-yard scoring pass to Williams in the third quarter and then connected with Evans on a 25-yard scoring play on the first snap of the fourth quarter.

Troy quarterback Kaleb Baker finished 24-for-41 for 281 yards and an interception.

The Trojans were home against a nationally ranked team for the third time in history.

--Field Level Media