EWU/ASU Update 10

Eastern Washington picked up another touchdown as Dale Morris rumbled in from a yard out to cut the deficit to 38-28 Mountaineers with 3:11 left in the game.

EWU's onside kick attempt fails. Trey Elder now in at QB for the Apps as they attempt to run out the clock. EWU uses a timeout and has one left with 3:03 to go and the ball on the Eagles 34 yard line.

Another carry from Elder, followed by the final timeout by the Eagles at the 2:56 mark. App goes for a first down on fourth down with 2:13 to go and does not convert, turning it over on downs to EWU. Should App hold on to the win, they will meet either Richmond or Wofford in the semifinal round next weekend. Thanks for reading!

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EWU/ASU Update 9

App gave up the football on downs as the fourth quarter began, but the Mountaineer defense stood tall in stopping Eastern short on a fourth and 1 play near midfield. The Eagles defense held and ASU kicks the ball away to EWU with 8:23 left in the game and App leading 31-21.

On EWU's first play following the punt, the Eagles fumbled the ball away on a big hit by Lynch. App recovered the football inside the Eagle 30 yard line. Four plays later, Kevin Richardson found the end zone on an 18-yard run to likely seal the Mountaineers a third consecutive trip to the FCS Final Four. App 38 EWU 21 with 6:07 remaining in the game.










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EWU/ASU Update 8

ASU gets back on the board again only a minute and a half after the Eagles kickoff return score. A pair of penalties on EWU helped set up the Mountianeers to the EWU 10 yard line, where Devon Moore ran (minus a shoe) for a score to stake the Mountaineers to a ten-point edge at 31-21.

Following the kickoff and a personal foul penalty against App, EQU QB Nicholls went for the home run pass from midfield, only to be picked off by Corey Lynch at the ASU 5 yard line.

Note: Eastern Washington's defense has been on the field for a long period in the game. Players are beginning to put hands on hips and appear to be tiring... with over three minutes left in the third quarter.

The teams trade punts as the third period expires... 31-21 ASU.








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EWU/ASU Update 7

Appalachian answers the EWU score with a 12 play, 60 yard drive that consumed 4:38 off the clock. A 21-yard Julian Rauch field goal makes the score 24-14 Mountaineers with 5:59 to go in the third.

Eastern refuses to fold, as a 78-yard return for a touchdown on the ensuing kickoff cuts the lead to three at ASU 24, EWU 21.

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EWU/ASU Update 6

EWU benefits from a questionable running into the kicker call on a punt. The penalty allowed EWU to set up a fake on the rekick, as the up back rambled 51 yards for a touchdown to cut the lead to 21-14 with 10:45 left in the third.

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EWU/ASU Update 5

App adds another score in the final minute of the half on an impressive drive of 13 plays and 86 yards, capped by a 15-yard pass play from Edwards to Batichon. ASU 21, EWU 7 at halftime.

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EWU/ASU Update 4

Eastern Washington drove inside the Mountaineer 5, converting on a fourth down play, but a fumbled handoff was recovered by DJ Smith to give the ball back to the Apps with just over 4 minutes to go in the half. App 14, EWU 7

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EWU/ASU Update 3

ASU strikes again!

Armanti Edwards 41 yard touchdown pass to Dexter Jackson puts App on the board again with 14:25 left in the 2nd quarter. Mountaineers 14, Eagles 0.

The Eagles manage an answer. Following an 82-yard kickoff return, a seven yard TD pass from Matt Nichols to Aaron Boyce cuts the App lead to 14-7 at the 12:48 mark in the 2nd
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EWU/ASU Update 2

EWU drove down to the App 15, but the Black & Gold defense pushed the Eagles back to force a 46-yard field goal attempt. ASU's Corey Lynch blocked his sixth career field goal attempt to hold Eastern scoreless and regain possession. Three ASU running plays moved the Mountaineers near midfield as the first quarter expires with the Mountaineers leading by a 7-0 score.

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EWU/ASU Update 1

ASU was forced into a three-and-out on its opening drive. Eastern's first drive has moved into App territory, but a big hit on 3rd down forces an incompletion. An ASU penalty on the punt return has App pinned inside their own 5 for the second drive.

Poor field position doesn't affect the Mountaineers, as App's 2nd drive goes 11 plays and a season-long 95 yards in 4:09, reaching paydirt on a run by Armanti Edwards of four yards to put App up 7-0 with 6:20 remaining in the opening period.

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ASU/Eastern Washington Game Day Blog

We are LIVE at Kidd Brewer Stadium for NCAA FCS Football Quarterfinal action between Eastern Washington and Appalachian State. Should App win today's game, they will likely host a semifinal game next Saturday against the winner of the Richmond/Wofford game played later Saturday evening.


Pre-game notes: Neither RB Kevin Richardson nor DB Jerome Touchstone are starting in today's game, however both are dressed and will play if necessary.


Keep checking in here at the blog throughout the game for updates and pertinent information.








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Mountaineers Host Eastern Washington in Second Round

The two-time defending national champions Appalachian State benefited from luck to get past James Madison last Saturday. However, Mountaineer Coach Jerry Moore knows it will take more then luck to move on past Eastern Washington.
"They’re good. They’re real good," he said. "They beat an undefeated football team. They’re no strangers to this." While this is the first time Eastern Washington has played a Southern Conference opponent, Moore and his staff are familiar with the Eagles. “I was familiar with them because three or four years ago, I was interested in their throwing game,” Moore stated. “They spread it out like everyone else, but their number one thing is the passing game.”
The Eagles defeated #2 seed McNeese State on the road last week 44-15 and are lead by quarterback Matt Nichols, the top offensive player in the Big Sky Conference. Nichols has completed 64 percent of his passes for 3,559 yards, 32 touchdowns and eight interceptions. “He’s had a great year, obviously, when you’re MVP of your conference,” Eastern Washington Coach Paul Wulff said. “He’s had a few up and down games though. He’s still growing, being a young quarterback. When he plays well, we’ve won.”
However, the Eagles face some tough hurdles. The kickoff at Kidd Brewer Stadium is set for 9 am Western time. “That’s an issue and hurdle our kids are going to have to play through. It is what it is,” Wulff stated. “We practice at 9 a.m. during two-a-days. We’ll do it again before we head out of here Thursday. Have we ever played a game at nine? Never have. This will be a first.”
While the Eagles play regularly at Montana, Wulf feels that playing at App can have its problems. “I think our kids are accustomed to [the atmosphere] in a certain degree. It still doesn’t push the facts away, which are the noise factor, nobody rooting for you and every time you try to do something there is a problem with communication. We’ve just got to be mature about it and block it out the best we can.” The kickoff is set for noon on Saturday.

FROM THE STUDENT SECTION……..Random Odds and Ends

This past Thanksgiving weekend was a wild one in sports. From Tennessee’s 4 OT victory to App’s last second fumble recovery, there was something exciting almost everywhere you went. Here are just a few things I think are noteworthy:

· The Appalachian State-James Madison game was just crazy. It is what playoff football is all about, and why it is so special. The game was a matchup of the past two national champions and it turned out to be what many expected. It was a knockdown drag out. JMU controlled the contest, but the Mountaineers found a way to win. The Apps host Eastern Washington at “The Rock” on Saturday at noon. Eastern Washington defeated #2 seed McNeese State 44-15 last Saturday.
· Speaking of this Saturday’s Appalachian game, there are still tickets available (as of Wednesday Night). If you have never been to a playoff game at “The Rock,” it is worth the trip. Boone is also having their annual Christmas Parade at 9 am in Downtown. So you can see Santa, and then see some high quality football. Tickets are $20 (Youths 3-12 are $5) and are available on goasu.com. For those unable to make it to Boone, the game will be on ESPN Gameplan. Charter Cable has also received a waiver to broadcast the game. More details will be posted later on goasu.com.
· There are still two high school football teams from this area in action. Hampton (13-0) has to travel four hours to powerhouse South Pittsburg (13-0), and Watauga (11-3) hosts Mount Tabor (11-3). Both games look to be exciting, and the winner advances to the respective state championship.
· How about those Vols! The Tennessee Volunteers went from 1-2 at the start of the season to playing in the SEC Championship against LSU. Can they pull it off? Game time is set for 4:00pm on CBS.
· If West Virginia and Missouri loses this coming weekend, it would be possible that Georgia could play for the national title. The same Georgia who did not win its conference title or even its division. That is the BCS for you.
· LSU being defeated by Arkansas almost seems fitting. The 3 overtime thriller just seems to match this whole crazy season. There is a lot of argument that the SEC is one of the toughest conferences in the country, and this Saturday’s game backs that up. The SEC Champion will have two conference losses. It would seem that every Saturday in the SEC is a playoff Saturday.
· As High School Basketball gets in full swing. The Avery Journal-Times and The Avery Journal Sports Blog will be your source to keep you updated.

Good Luck to all the teams this week and weekend. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and avoided the "Football Fever" I got after the App Game on Saturday. It was not alot of fun, but I am better and ready to go.

LA Mountaineers Soccer Team Wins State Cup Tournament

For the first time in the history of Boone, a team of over 30 players, LA Mountaineers,
represented Boone at the North Carolina Adult State Cup that was held in Asheville, NC.
To make this historic event even more memorable, LAMs won their division with a
superior performance and sportsmanship and are heading to the state championship game
to be held in Winston Salem early January 2008. The team was also qualified to play at
the National Championship Tournament that will be held in May 2008.

The LA Mountaineers Over 30 Soccer team was put together by Dr. Rahman Tashakkori
of the Department of Computer Science at Appalachian and was partially sponsored by
the Los Arcoiris Restaurant. The team comprised of players from several teams in the
Fall 2008 Parks and Recreation Adult League and the Hispanic community. This group
of extraordinary individuals had demonstrated leadership and provided role models to the
community. The team knew very well that they were going to have a challenging task
playing against excellent teams from across the state. Teams from Raleigh, Greensboro,
Winston Salem, and Asheville were in the division they were playing. However, the
tough three day tournament did not present a serious challenge for the dedicated playersof the team.

LA Mountaineers won the first place in the division undefeated; with 3 wins and 1 tie.
In their first game of the tournament, LA Mountaineers played against Team Nunya at
9:00 pm on Friday November 16. Nunya was a great team comprised mostly of players
who were coaching different high school teams across the state. The game was very
intense and the combination of a sub-zero temperature and artificial grass presented a
challenge. LA Mountaineers took a 2-0 lead after two fantastic goals by Charles (Roth)
Scott and Genaro Leon in the first half but that lead was cut to 2-1 on a Nunya’s free kick
from behind the line early in second half. The game got to its peak of excitement when
with just 5 minutes before the final vessel Nunya was awarded a penalty kick. For a
couple of minutes there was pure silence and that two minutes appeared much longer to
the players of both teams. The deadly silence ended with a fantastic save by one of the
greatest goal keepers in the state, Jarrett Franklin. The perfect penalty kick placed the
ball far to the right, inside the post, but it was the amazing dive by Jarrett that kept the
ball outside the goal line. The team celebrated this great victory shortly after.

On Saturday November 17, LA Mountaineers had to face the Telepathic Graphics of
Greensboro at noon. The game started very slowly as both teams were evaluating each
other. However, 12 minutes into the first half a long shot by Avery High School men’s soccer coach Lou Brancourt from behind the eighteen sent the ball, right in the top right-hand-side of the goal. Here is video of the goal: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_TQ3hPAYh8

That was the beginning of a storm that resulted in a 6-0 final score with goals by Rahman Tashakkori, Alfredo Alvarez (2), Roth Scott, and Genaro Leon. With the tireless work of Aaron Bachenheimer, Roth Scott, Andrew Kota, and David Jameson at the midfield, the LA Mountaineers were on their way to the next day matches with two valuable victories.

On Sunday November 18, LAMs had much tougher matches to play. They had to play
two games; one at 8:00 am and the other at noon in two different locations against two of
the top teams in the division. These two teams were both undefeated and were looking
for a win to take the first place. Ironically, playing two games within 2 hours of each
other in two different locations was not the most difficult problem LA Mountaineers had
to deal with on that day. Three of the youngest players on the team were unable to play
in the Sunday matches; one player was injured, and one player was unable to play in the
second match of the day. The eighteen man roster became much smaller and with fewer
substitutes the last two 90 minute matches appeared much more challenging.

The 8:00 am match against Phonix of Raleigh was a real tough one as that team was
coming strong for a win to take the first place while LA Mountaineers could hold to the
first place at least for another two hours with a tie or win and the control their destiny
depending on the outcome of their noon game. The match was pretty much even and
went 0-0 in the first half. LA Mountaineers had to save their energy against a team that
had a full roster and was playing extremely hard. Early in the second half, Phonix scored
on a penalty kick that put them ahead 1-0. LA Mountaineers had a tough job leveling the
match as the Phonix had one of the most disciplined and skilled defenses of the league.
With just a minute left to the vessel, Rahman Tashakkori’s pass from the left side of the
field put Matt McFall in an excellent position to score from behind the center of the box,
but he was brought down just short of the eighteen line. A superior kick by Alfredo
Alvarez sent the ball to the left side of the goal where the Phonix keeper watched the
equalizer kiss the net.

The tough match was tiring, but there was no time to rest. The team had to run across the town to play in their last game against a well-rested home team which was playing their first game that day. Smush of Asheville had come to the game to play the tired LA Mountaineers which had only a couple of substitutes for their last game. This game demonstrated the greatness of the LA Mountaineers and was the highlight of the tournament. As everyone had safely bet on an easy win by the Smush, LA Mountaineers took the lead in the middle of the first half on a Phonix own goal. The substitute situation got worse for LA Mountaineers when Juan Bautista was injured in the 55th minute. Now LAMs had to play with only one substitute. In minute 70, the team watched a beautiful goal by Alfredo Alvarez when he sent a ball above the Smush’s
keeper’s head who had come out to challenge Alfredo’s great run. There was a
significant pressure from Smush, but the strong LA Mountaineers defense, Mark Minis,
Todd Wood, Cliff Hampton, and Victor Rangel appeared like a concrete wall. Due to the
superior performance of Matt McFall, Lou Brancourt, Chris Arquette, Leonardo Garcia,
Rahman Tashakkori and Genaro Leon and David Lynch at the midfield, Phonix was left
with nothing but frustration. The LA Mountaineers’ win against Phonix sealed the first
place title in the division. By the time game ended, the players had given it everything
they had. LA Mountaineers of Boone was impressive both in and outside the field and
had impressed everyone with great characters and team work. The best keeper-defense
pair of the tournament had only given up two goals, one on penalty kick and another on a
free kick from behind the line.