AMHERST — Kicking woes have been a recurring theme for a UMass team that’s struggled to win close games in recent years.

In a 30-27 double-overtime victory over Appalachian State yesterday, it was a pair of field goals that finally gave the Minutemen reason to celebrate at McGuirk Stadium.

Down 20-17 with under two minutes to play, backup quarterback Ross Comis drove 53 yards into field-goal territory with a chance to tie it with 10 seconds left. After getting iced not once, but twice, by the opposing coach, senior Logan Laurent calmly drilled his 45-yard attempt send the game into extra time.

Following an exchange of touchdowns in the first extra period, UMass capitalized on an App State fumble to again give Laurent a shot to be a hero. Again, Laurent did his thing, sending the 36-yard attempt from the right hash through the uprights to seal the three-point victory. Laurent celebrated the rare special teams-aided victory by executing a backflip right after the winning boot.

“I was just thinking of how hard our team has worked to overcome these close games,” Laurent said. “I just wanted to give our team another opportunity to make a play and get the win.”

UMass coach Mark Whipple, whose team was 0-6 before getting back-to-back wins over Georgia Southern and now the Mountaineers, was also relieved.

“Just really, really happy for them,” he said. “I’m happy for everybody that’s involved with the program. We’ve been close. I thought there was obviously a lot of resiliency. We kept fighting to show everyone in this room that’s how it was going to be.”

The joyous moment was in stark contrast to a scary scene earlier in the game that left quarterback Andrew Ford immobilized on the turf and attended by team medical personnel for several minutes following a hit on an interception return in the second quarter.

Ford, after throwing across his body to the right side of the field for the pick, was hit hard on the blindside by Mountaineers defensive lineman Myquon Stout with 5:20 left in the half. Video replay cleared Stout of an ejection for targeting, but the blow drew a personal foul penalty and left Ford face-down on the field while trainers and teammates gathered around him.

Trainers cradled Ford’s head and neck until a stretcher could be brought out to move him to an ambulance. Both teams spent the 10-plus-minute break down on a knee and in prayer huddles. Strapped to the stretcher board, Ford flashed a thumbs up to the crowd as he was wheeled off.

Whipple didn’t have an update after the game, but said Ford “did have feeling when he was out there.”

The frightening moment, which came with the Minutemen leading 10-7, quieted what had been an otherwise frantic sequence that saw both teams playing hot potato with the ball. Then, after three consecutive drives ending in turnovers, Marquis Young (15 carries, 132 yards, 2 TDs) provided the biggest lightning strike of the game, taking a handoff 95 yards for a streaking touchdown to put UMass up 17-7 with 4:09 left in the half.

An Appalachian State touchdown pass from Taylor Lamb to Thomas Hennigan cut the UMass lead to 17-14 with just four seconds left before halftime.

The teams struggled offensively in the second half, accounting for just two field goals before Laurent’s late scores and the overtime.