Jerry Moore won three consecutive national championships and three national coach of the year awards during his more than 20 years as the head football coach at Appalachian State University.
Former Appalachian State University football coach Jerry Moore.Still, he is probably best known for one afternoon – Sept. 1, 2007 – when his Mountaineers pulled off what many believe to be the greatest upset in college football history with a 34-32 victory over then No. 5-ranked Michigan in Ann Arbor.
“We blocked the field goal [to win the game] with 13 seconds left,” Moore recalled as he spoke at the South Carolina Baptist Convention State Evangelism Conference Feb. 20 at Rock Springs Baptist Church in Easley.
“The clock runs out, and our team runs on the field – just like they have after every ballgame, win or lose – and 109,000 people watch the Mountaineers kneel in the middle of that field in the Big House and pray,” Moore said. “When you think of the magnitude of what happened and that they didn’t forget to go get on their knees, that was powerful.”
Moore spoke to the general session of the conference as well as during a worship time for teenagers, attended by about 400 students. A believer since turning his life over to Christ as a young assistant coach in Texas in the 1960s, Moore said the victory brought him more notice and, with it, more opportunities to share his faith.
“It enhanced [opportunities for sharing my faith] to a certain extent because of the public interest after the Michigan game,” Moore said. “It was already pretty good. People who know me or know about us know that we are one of the few schools that – it doesn’t matter if we are home or away – we are going to pray [after a game]. And we don’t do it for showmanship. We do it to honor Jesus.”
Like the opportunity Appalachian State had to win at Michigan, Moore said Christians have opportunities to share their faith with people, and they need to be prepared.
“In our division, they always thought of a game like Michigan as a money game,” said Moore. “But I always saw it as an opportunity game. It’s a chance to go out and show what you’ve got.
“That’s where we are in our walk,” he added. “We have the great opportunity to witness for Jesus Christ. It’s a one-time trip; don’t mess it up.”
Moore said he starts most every day reading five psalms and one chapter from the book of Proverbs. He encouraged those at the conference and youth meeting to set aside time each day to be alone with God and work to build that relationship above all others.
“When you walk out that door tonight, declare your loyalty for Jesus Christ,” Moore said.
Conference officials said there were nine salvations at the youth worship after Moore spoke. About 200 students committed to share the message of Christ with one friend over the next year.