On a beautiful Saturday afternoon in Boone, the ASU Mountaineers will host the Citadel Bulldogs for Homecoming. The #2 Mountaineers are 2-2 on the season as they open Southern Conference play against the #12 Bulldogs who are 3-1 this year.
Quickie Preview:
For the Mountaineers, the team must find a way to get consistency out of the offense. Armanti Edwards has completed less than 50% of his passes, and also suffered an injury in last week's win. Edwards has been cleared to go today and will need a superb effort to hold off the most talented Citadel squad to visit Boone since a win here in 1992.
Avery HS product Josh Johnson has six catches over his past two games, but has been scrutinized by some for putting the ball on the ground against Presbyterian last week. He, T.J. Courman, CoCo Hillary, and the remainder of the receiving corps must make themselves available and make plays if the Apps want to hold serve at home and get off to a good conference start.
The running tandem of Robert Welton and Devin Radford have picked up where Devin Moore left off when he suffered a broken ankle. They and Edwards, the team's leading rusher, will need
The Citadel is paced by quarterback Bart Blanchard (832 passing yards, seven TDs, six interceptions) and one of the nation's best wideouts in Andre Roberts (26 receptions, six TDs). But the Bulldogs will look to establish the run with Asheton Jordan (268 yards, three TDs) to give Blanchard time to pass.
The Citadel had the Southern Conference's best defense last season, but has slipped to third in total defense (322 yards per game, 150 yards rushing). Leading the Bulldogs on defense is linebacker Reggie Rice, who has accounted for 27 tackles.
3:05 pm - ASU receives the opening kickoff on a sun-drenched Kidd--Brewer Stadium. The Mountaineers pick up a first down and advance near midfield before taking a timeout. Two running plays net an additional three yards, but ASU is forced to punt from the Citadel 47. The Bulldogs take over for their first offensive series at its own 15 yard line.
Blanchard to Roberts has been a connection on a number of occasions on the Bulldogs' first series. The Mountaineers hold on third down after a holding penalty negated a large gain. Citadel punts to the Mountaineers, and Appalachian sets up first down on its own 9-yard line. No score.
3:25 PM - THe Mountaineers are trying to establish the run on its second possession of the game. Radford and Edwardsd have had great success on this drive. Edwards scrambles for a 16-yard gain, and had gained several yards on an option run two plays earlier.
Appalachian gets on the board first as Devin Radford makes a great cut to the outside and scampers 29 yards for a Mountaineer touchdown. The successful PAT gives the Mountaineers a 7-0 lead at the 5:26 mark of the first period.
The ASU defense forced a three-and-out from the Bulldogs on their second series of the game, forcing them to punt from their own 20 yard line. A terrific kick plus an ASU illegal block penalty pushed the Mountaineers to begin their third offensive series at its own 11 yard line. App drives to just over midfield as the first quarter expires. Mountaineers end the first period leading 7-0.
The second quarter begins and three plays in Armanti Edwards hits running back Matt Cline with a 25-yard touchdown pass. Vitaris misses the extra point, however, leaving the Apps up 13-0 at the 13:57 mark of the period.
3:55 PM - The Bulldogs appeared to be going three and out, but a personal foul penalty against ASU gave the Citadel new life. The defense stepped up and stopped the Bulldogs again. On fourth down, a high snap over Citadel punter Mark Caspar's head. It results in Appalachian getting a first down at the Citadel 11-yard line. A huge blunder by the Bulldogs on special teams.
The Mountaineers immediately capitalize as Armanti Edwards scampers 16 yards around left side for a touchdown. A successful PAT makes the score 20-0 Mountaineers at the 11:05 mark of the second period.
Quickie Preview:
For the Mountaineers, the team must find a way to get consistency out of the offense. Armanti Edwards has completed less than 50% of his passes, and also suffered an injury in last week's win. Edwards has been cleared to go today and will need a superb effort to hold off the most talented Citadel squad to visit Boone since a win here in 1992.
Avery HS product Josh Johnson has six catches over his past two games, but has been scrutinized by some for putting the ball on the ground against Presbyterian last week. He, T.J. Courman, CoCo Hillary, and the remainder of the receiving corps must make themselves available and make plays if the Apps want to hold serve at home and get off to a good conference start.
The running tandem of Robert Welton and Devin Radford have picked up where Devin Moore left off when he suffered a broken ankle. They and Edwards, the team's leading rusher, will need
The Citadel is paced by quarterback Bart Blanchard (832 passing yards, seven TDs, six interceptions) and one of the nation's best wideouts in Andre Roberts (26 receptions, six TDs). But the Bulldogs will look to establish the run with Asheton Jordan (268 yards, three TDs) to give Blanchard time to pass.
The Citadel had the Southern Conference's best defense last season, but has slipped to third in total defense (322 yards per game, 150 yards rushing). Leading the Bulldogs on defense is linebacker Reggie Rice, who has accounted for 27 tackles.
3:05 pm - ASU receives the opening kickoff on a sun-drenched Kidd--Brewer Stadium. The Mountaineers pick up a first down and advance near midfield before taking a timeout. Two running plays net an additional three yards, but ASU is forced to punt from the Citadel 47. The Bulldogs take over for their first offensive series at its own 15 yard line.
Blanchard to Roberts has been a connection on a number of occasions on the Bulldogs' first series. The Mountaineers hold on third down after a holding penalty negated a large gain. Citadel punts to the Mountaineers, and Appalachian sets up first down on its own 9-yard line. No score.
3:25 PM - THe Mountaineers are trying to establish the run on its second possession of the game. Radford and Edwardsd have had great success on this drive. Edwards scrambles for a 16-yard gain, and had gained several yards on an option run two plays earlier.
Appalachian gets on the board first as Devin Radford makes a great cut to the outside and scampers 29 yards for a Mountaineer touchdown. The successful PAT gives the Mountaineers a 7-0 lead at the 5:26 mark of the first period.
The ASU defense forced a three-and-out from the Bulldogs on their second series of the game, forcing them to punt from their own 20 yard line. A terrific kick plus an ASU illegal block penalty pushed the Mountaineers to begin their third offensive series at its own 11 yard line. App drives to just over midfield as the first quarter expires. Mountaineers end the first period leading 7-0.
The second quarter begins and three plays in Armanti Edwards hits running back Matt Cline with a 25-yard touchdown pass. Vitaris misses the extra point, however, leaving the Apps up 13-0 at the 13:57 mark of the period.
3:55 PM - The Bulldogs appeared to be going three and out, but a personal foul penalty against ASU gave the Citadel new life. The defense stepped up and stopped the Bulldogs again. On fourth down, a high snap over Citadel punter Mark Caspar's head. It results in Appalachian getting a first down at the Citadel 11-yard line. A huge blunder by the Bulldogs on special teams.
The Mountaineers immediately capitalize as Armanti Edwards scampers 16 yards around left side for a touchdown. A successful PAT makes the score 20-0 Mountaineers at the 11:05 mark of the second period.
4:05 PM - The Citadel takes advantage of a 55 yard kickoff return to drive a short field on the ASU defense. The Bulldogs get on the goard with a two yard touchdown run by Andre Roberts. An extra point by Sam Keeler makes the new score ASU 20, Citadel 7 at the 6:55 mark of the first half.4:10 PM - The Mountaineers are back on the board again, taking advantage of a long Coco Hillary kickoff return. The Mountaineers score on an Armanti Edwards touchdown pass to make the score 27-7 in favor of ASU with 4:41 remaining in the half.
The offense has looked sharper today than at any point thus far in the season. The Citadel defense almost looks to be in slow motion compared to the Mountaineers' speed.
4:20 PM - Citadel started its next drive from the 20, but a Blanchard pass on third down was tipped and intercepted at the Citadel 34-yard line and returned to the 13. Three plays moved the Mountaineers to a first and goal at the one yard line. Armanti Edwards runs in a three-yard touchdown to boost the lead to 33-7. The point-after made the score 34-7 with 1:14 remaining in the half.
The Bulldogs have shot themselves in the foot several times this half, and the Black and Gold has made them pay every time. A dominating half of football against a team that came to Boone ranked #12 in the latest FCS poll. When the Mountaineers are clicking, they are next to impossible to stop.
Following the ASU kickoff, the Bulldogs are held to a three-and-out. Appalachian uses a time-out on fourth down with 41 seconds left before intermission, looking to get the football back for one more opportunity to score. App regains possession on offense with 28.4 seconds to go at its own 37-yard line.
4:25 PM - On the first play following the punt, a screen pass to Devin Radford was busted open by the WR, hurdling a tackler at the 15 yard line on the way to a 63-yard touchdown play with 15 seconds to go. The PAT gives the Mountaineers a commanding 41-7 lead. A single play indicative of the quick-strike nature of the ASU offense. Team morale for the Bulldogs can't be high at this point.
Halftime - ASU 41, Citadel 7 at the half.
Appalachian has 38 plays for 363 yards of total offense, to go with 65 kickoff return yards, while the ASU defense held Citadel to only 82 yards on 35 plays. Armanti Edwards rushed 11 times for 83 yards and a pair of scores, while throwing at a 10 for 12 clip for 177 yards and three touchdowns.4:50 PM - The Bulldogs receive the opening kickoff, execute a successful fake punt, but still end up punting to the Mountaineers. The punt pins ASU at its own 1 yard line. The Citadel defense forces ASU to punt from its own end zone, where Andre Roberts returned the kick 50 yards for the Bulldogs' second score of the game. 7:58 remaining in the third qtr. 41-14 ASU
5:15 PM - Josh Johnson picks up his first catch on the next ASU drive, picking up a first down near midfield. The Mountaineers are held to three-and-out after the catch and are forced to punt the ball. Punter Neil Young coffic corners the punt to the Citadel's 4-yard line. Citadel cannot advance the football and kicks it back to App., where the Black and Gold take over at the Citadel 41 yard line leading 41-14. The clock expires with the Mountaineers holding the football and the same lead.
5:30 PM - The Mountaineers drive into Citadel territory, but are forced to settle for a field goal attempt. Vitaris is unable to make the 42-yard attempt, giving the football back to the Bulldogs with 12:56 left in the contest.
On a side note, in today's contest ASU QB Armanti Edwards became only the third quarterback in Division 1 (FCS and FBS) history to run and throw for 3,000 yards in his career, joining the likes of Nebraska's Heisman Trophy winner Eric Crouch to accomplish that feat.
5:38 PM - The Bulldogs get on the board with a nine-yard TD pass from Blanchard to Sellers. The PAT is good, with 8:52 remaining, the Mountaineers lead 41-21. Appalachian has given up a few wide open receptions this afternoon, something I'm sure the coaches will discuss and address in practice next week.
The Apps are on the board again... a 24-yard touchdown pass from Edwards to Josh Johnson. Johnson ran a sideline pattern and was open to haul in the pass as he crossed the end zone giving the Mountaineers a 47-21 lead with 8:09 remaining in the game.
The Citadel is stopped when it attempts a fourth down conversion at its own 30 yard line. The pass is short of the marker, giving the Mountaineers the football at the Citadel 38. DeAndre Pressley enters the game at quarterback, and ASU fumbles on its first play following the possession change, giving the Bulldogs the football back.
6:00 PM -- The Mountaineers deny the Bulldogs another score by turning them away on a fourth down conversion attempt near the Appalachian 35 yard line with 3:35 left in the contest. The Josh Johnson touchdown catch has been the only points of the half for the Mountaineers to this point, and a number of ASU substitutes are in to close out this first Southern Conference victory.
6:10 PM -- ASU wins it 47-21 to start the SoCon season with a win and move to 3-2 overall. We hope to have final stats for this one before we close out for the night. ASU returns home of October 25th when they host the Furman Palladins.
