It's three-peat for Appalachian St.

Villanova's Dwayne Anderson tries to steal the ball from Joe Zeglinski and Rich Baker. (RUSTY KENNEDY/Associated Press)

Appalachian State kicked off this crazy football season with a stunning upset of Michigan. Now the Mountaineers have the perfect bookend: history as Division 1-AA's first three-peat national champions.

Armanti Edwards threw for three touchdowns, and Appalachian State jumped out to a 21-0 lead and never trailed in beating Delaware, 49-21, for a third consecutive title in the Football Championship Subdivision last night in Chattanooga, Tenn.

"Historic?" left guard Kerry Brown said when asked about the three-peat. "I ain't got to that point yet. I'm just thrilled. I don't want to sound like a sissy. I hadn't cried in years, but I cried today. It's a great way to go out."

Appalachian State became only the third team to win consecutive titles last year, but the Mountaineers now have done something that neither Georgia Southern nor Youngstown State could. They returned to a third straight championship game - and won by their biggest margin yet.

No. 13 Delaware (11-4) came in looking for its second championship in five years. The Fightin' Blue Hens rallied from 10-0 deficits in the quarterfinals and semifinals. Not this time.

"They were as good as advertised," Delaware coach K.C. Keeler said.

The Mountaineers (13-2) won their record 12th straight playoff game and had the game so in hand that fans spilled onto the sidelines with 3:29 left with only the Delaware bench area kept clear.

They rushed the field as the final seconds ticked off. "Insane, that's just the best way to put it," Brown said.

This game was never as close as Appalachian State's 34-32 victory over the then-No. 5 Wolverines Sept. 1, and the Mountaineers didn't need late-game heroics like Corey Lynch's blocked field goal that clinched that shocking upset as they outgained the Blue Hens, 556-432, in total yards.

Appalachian State set a neutral-site record with 23,010 in attendance. The fans couldn't wait to celebrate and started chanting, "Three-peat, three-peat" midway through the fourth quarter.

"They should be excited about their third national championship. It is what it is. You can't blame the fans for getting excited about that," Keeler said.

Men's basketball
Villanova 103, Hartford 75 - Scottie Reynolds scored 17 of his 21 points in the second half as the No. 23 Wildcats pulled away to a victory over the Hawks in Villanova, Pa. Dante Cunningham had 13 points and 13 rebounds for the Wildcats (8-1), who had five players score in double figures. Joe Zeglinski led Hartford (5-7) with 20 points.

Southern Maine 58, Maine-Farmington 48 - Greg Whitaker scored 18 points and Ian Hebert added 15 points and 10 rebounds as the Huskies (3-6) rallied in the second half to defeat the Beavers (5-4) in Farmington, Maine, ending a five-game losing streak.

Women's basketball
Southern Conn. 83, Merrimack 58 - The No. 10-ranked Owls (7-2), sparked by Kate Lynch's 19 points, cruised past the Warriors (2-8) in New Haven in a Northeast-10 Conference game. The Warriors were led by Amanda Shannon, who had 13 points.

Women's hockey
UNH 4, Harvard 1 - Sam Faber scored two goals, Micaela Long had a goal and an assist, and Kayley Herman had 22 saves to lift the No. 2 Wildcats (17-3) over the No. 1-ranked Crimson (11-1) in Durham, N.H. Courtney Birchard had the other Wildcat goal. Harvard goalie Christina Kessler had eight saves.