AJ-T Sports Blog: LIVE FROM... KIDD-BREWER STADIUM

We are live again this afternoon from a gusty and cool Kidd Brewer Stadium for today's Black Saturday contest between App and Furman. This game has had many great memories, most memorably the Miracle on the Mountain in 2002. The Apps are 5-2, 3-0 in the SOCON and the Palladins of Furman are 6-2, 3-1 in SOCON play.

We'll do our best to keep things updated and flowing from The Rock, as long as the fingers don't freeze up!

3:30 PM - Coming up to kickoff. The weather is brisk and windy, with temps in the 40s. The breeze will wreak havoc on kicks today, which may be something worth remembering.

Opening drive of the game: Armanti Edwards is in the end zone on a 14- yard quarterback draw. Extra point no good. App leads 6-0 at the 12:29 mark.

Furman is held to three-and-out on its first drive, giving the Mountaineers back the football near the Furman 40 after the punt. Appalachian drove to near the Furman 20, but could not convert a fourth and two pass play. 8:53 left in the first, still 6-0 ASU.

3:55 PM - Furman with another three-and-out, and the third Mountaineers offensive series begins at their own 32 yard line. Three and out by the ASU offense, a Neil Young punt puts the Palladans back inside their own 30 yard line to open possession. 5:53 left in the first, 6-0 ASU.

Furman had a solid drive downfield, converting on a fourth and short, plus getting the benefit of a pass interference call against the Mountaineers. However, a fumble inside the ASU 5 yard line was recovered by the Apps, turning the Palladins away from their first points of the game. After one period of action, it's 6-0 ASU.

4:10 PM = from inside its own 5 yard line, App drives it downfield quickly to open the second period. An 84-yard run from Devin Radford was capped off one play later by a four-yard run by Josh Jackson, putting the Mountaineers up by two scores. A Vitaris PAT gives the Apps a 13-0 lead at the 13:22 mark of the second quarter. ASU's scoring drive was six plays, covering 99 yards in only 2;33.

4:25 PM - Furman's offense is on the move, driving the field into the ASU red zone. A four yard touchdown run by Tersoo Uhaa puts the Palladins on the board capping a 12 play, 85 yard drive. The PAT is good. 13-7 Appalachian with 7:00 left in the half.

4:55 PM - App leads at the half 13-7. Furman has outgained App. 224-207 and had another opportunity to score late in the half, but fumbled the play away as Jacque Roman came up with a recovery.

Armanti Edwards was 6 for 10 passing in the half for only 57 yards, while rushing for only 21. Great job thus far by the Palladins in containing the all-everything quarterback.

Second half of play coming up!

5:20 PM -- The teams have traded punts thus far in the third quarter. Furman football just past midfield with 7:16 left in the quarter. Mountaineers still lead 13-7.

Appalachian drives inside the Furman 30, but a quick snap sails past QB Edwards, rolls all the way back to the ASU 29, where the Palladins recover. Furman runs uses the run and is first and goal at the ASU 4 yard line as the quarter expires. End of three quarters. 13-7 ASU.

5:35 PM - Two plays into the fourth quarter, Furman scores on a two yard run. The PAT was successful, giving the Palladins a 14-13 lead with 14:20 left to go in the game.

Appalachian scores just three plays after the Furman score. A 44 yard pass from Edwards to Quick was followed immediately by a 17-yard touchdown pass from Edwards to tight end Ben Jordan. The two-point conversion attempt failed, but App regains the lead at 19-14 with 13:12 left in the game.

5:50 PM The Appalachian defense does it again! A blindskde hit on the Furman quarterback resulted in a fumble which was scooped up by the Mountaineers and returned to the Furman 40 yard line. The third costly fumble for the Palladins today.

Furman held Appalachian to fourth down from the Furman 33, but a pass interference call on an incompletion kept the drive alive. Appalachian made the penalty cost the Palladins as TJ Courman caught a TD pass from Armanti Edwards for 15 yards. The PAT is good, and App leads 26-14 with 5:45 left in the ballgame.

6:10 PM -- Furman had one final drive in them, moving the ball all the way to the ASU 12 yard line, but an incompletion on fourth down with 1:50 remaining gives the Black and Gold back possession of the football holding a 26-14 lead.

Armanti Edwards picks up a first down on a QB draw to pick up a first down. Furman is unable to stop the clock with no timeouts remaining. ASU takes a couple of knees to run out the clock. ASU picks up a tough 26-14 victory at chilly Kidd-Brewer today.

Appalachian improves to 6-2, 4-0 in SoCon play, while Furman drops to 6-3, 3-2 in SoCon play. Congratulations to Mountaineers head coach Jerry Moore on career coaching victory #200 with todsy's win.

That is it from Boone this evening. Thanks for following the Blog!

10:30PM: Updated with pictures from today's game.

Vikings JV Football Fails to Put Away Patriots in 20-14 Loss

The Avery junior varsity trailed early in Thursday's game in Marshall against Madison, roared back to lead 14-6 at halftime, but a special teams error, the inability to finish scoring drives, and a key injury on the Vikings' final drive hampered the Big Red in a 20-14 loss.

Avery surrendered the first points in the game as Patriots running back Ethan Ball scored on a run through the Viking line for a 6-0 lead.

The Vikings tied the contest up at 6-6 primarily using its ground game with the running of the triumvirate of Kenny Hicks, Nathaniel Buchanan, and Hunter Shields. A Hicks touchdown run put the Vikings on the board.

Avery scored its second touchdown on defense in the final minute of the first half as Remington Austin rushed Madison quarterback Shelton who threw a backward pass to prevent a sack. Tyler Long alertly scooped up the pigskin and raced 37 yards for a touchdown.

The Vikings converted a two-point conversion pass from quarterback Alex Villanueva to wide receiver Andy Gonzalez. Avery took the 14-6 lead into halftime.

A special teams error cost the Vikings greatly in the third quarter as, on a Madison punt, the Avery receiver muffed the punt deep in Viking territory. The football caromed into the end zone and was recovered by the Patriots for a touchdown. Madison failed to convert the two-point conversion, but had cut the Avery lead to 14-12.

The Vikings had the opportunity to put the dagger in their opponent midway through the fourth quarter, as the ground game picked up chunks of yardage and a pair of Villanueva completions pushed Avery to the Madison 15 yard line. The Patriots held, however, to get back the football at its own 20 yard line.

Madison used only two plays following the turnover on downs to score what proved to be the winning score. A 30-yard pass play to midfield was immediately followed by a second scoring run from Ball, a 50-yard gallop to the pylon giving the Patriots an 18-14 edge. A conversion run gave Madison a six-point bulge with 2:18 left in the game.

Avery had one final chance to drive for a winning score, but a big hit on a first down carry by quarterback Villanueva forced the talented freshman out of action for the remainder of the game.

The loss of its field general shook the Viking offense, as the next three plays netted negative yardage. A fourth down pass play fell short, giving Madison the football for two quarterback knee plays to end the contest.

The Vikings drop to 3-5 on the season and return to MacDonald Stadium next Thursday night to host the Mountain Heritage Cougars junior varsity squad.

Audio Interview with Vikings head football coach Darrell Brewer

Click the link above for an audio interview with Vikings head football coach Darrell Brewer discussing this Friday night's football game with the Madison Patriots.

Winless Mountaineers Upend Vikings to Close Soccer Season

The Mitchell Mountaineers used Senior Night at Memorial Stadium in Ledger as just the right motivation to play inspired soccer, scoring three quick first half goals to take a commanding lead, then hung on to defeat the Vikings 4-2.

Mitchell scored three goals over the first 12 minutes of the match, but the Vikings rallied in the final portion of the first half. Senior Andrew Ingram played with great heart, gutting out a knee injury to score both Avery's goals in the match. The Big Red got on tbe board with an Ingram tally to the lower left corner of the goal in the 27th minute to cut the lead to 3-1.

Ingram's second goal came off a great send which split the Mitchell defense. Ingram used his strong leg to shoot a high attempt of the net's crossbar and into the net, providing the final score for Avery. Mitchell rallied with an inurance goal in the second half to preserve the win.

Lady Vikings Conclude Season with Second Round Loss at Swain County

Updating our earlier story, the Avery Lady Vikings were defeated by the Swain County Lady Maroon Devils in three straight games by scores of 14-25, 13-25, and 17-25 on Tuesday night in the second round of the NCHSAA 1A state volleyball playoffs.

Katie Ellis led Avery with 8 kills and 4 digs, with 8 assists from Cassie Bumgarner, 5 digs by Rachel Buchanan, three service points by Sara Singleton, a pair of kills by Megan Tennant, and a dig by Savannah Dellinger.

"Swain was a very solid team. I tried three different rotations to see if I could get something going," Coach Kim Hayes remarked after the match. "They were all seniors who having been playing together for four years playing club, et cetera. They will play Polk next. It will be an awesome game. I think whoever wins that game will be the next state champions."

Polk and Swain meet in the third round, while the Hendersonville Lady Bearcats were upset by Hiwassee Dam on Tuesday night. The Lady Vikings finish with a 10-11 overall record. Although the team loses five seniors, Coach Kim Hayes's club looks to have a promising future ahead. Congratulations to the Lady Vikings on a terrific season!

Cross Country Competes in Conference Championships

The Avery boys and girls cross country teams traveled to Montreat College in Black Mountain to take part in the Western Highlands Conference championships on Thursday. The event was held on a 5K course with a number of challenging hills to test the racers’ will and endurance.

It was the men who competed first on the course, with Avery fielding four runners in the meet with Ethan Church, Jared Clark, Will Fox, and Jose Munoz.

Avery as well as Mitchell did not have enough male entrants to comprise a full team for statistical and team championship purposes, as Owen won the team boys championship followed by Hendersonville. Munoz came in with the fastest time out of the Avery boys contingent with a time of 21:09, good enough for 28th overall in the competition.

In the girls competition, Avery fielded enough to qualify for team points as Mary Chesnut Smith, Caroline Crenshaw, Elyse Perry, Katelyn Eudy, Taylor Lacey, Debra Anderson and Teddie Jablonski competed for the Big Red.

The girls race was a competitive affair, as Kristen Stout, WHC Female Runner of the Year, captured first place with Avery’s sophomore Mary Chesnut Smith finishing just behind her in second place overall with a time of 21:27, with Crenshaw finishing 19th best overall.

Six schools had enough female participants to qualify for the overall team championship, with Hendersonville capturing first place overall. Avery finished the day in fifth place, with an average time a shade under than four minutes behind third place Polk County.

Interview with Mars Hill's Johnson and Spradling

Mars Hill and former Avery High School football teammates Ricky Spradling and Zach Johnson have played pivotal roles in the success of the Lions football program this season. Click the post title above for a link to an audio interview with the players following their 28-14 win last Saturday over the Brevard Tornados.

TSSAA Class Divisions Released

(Coutresy of TSSAA.ORG)
The Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association announced football class divisions for the 2009-12 seasons on Monday. All-male schools' enrollments were doubled. Division I private schools' enrollments were multiplied by 1.8. Regions will be announced on Nov. 13.

Division I

Class 1A

Sunbright 154, Gleason 169, Oakdale 176, Pickett Co. 187, Greenfield 195, David Brainerd 198, Huntland 210, Copper Basin 222, Coalfield 224, Greenback 226, Red Boiling Springs 234, S. Pittsburg 243, Hollow Rock-Bruceton 245, S. Fulton 248, Cloudland 251, Lookout Valley 253, Lake Co. 261, Midway 287, Jo Byrns 315, Hancock Co. 316, Nashville Chr. 319, Moore Co. 321, McEwen 322, Cornersville 326, Clarksville Acad. 329, Columbia Acad. 331, West Carroll 334, Perry Co. 334, Gordonsville 334, Union City 344, Collinwood 347, Monterey 350, Clay Co. 352, Harriman 367, Halls 377, Middle Tenn. Chr. 382, Whitwell 382, Wayne Co. 382, Huntingdon 382, Eagleville 383, Grace Chr. 389

Class 2A

Jellico 390, Friendship 392, Watertown 398, North Greene 398, Middleton 403, Rockwood 404, Oneida 405, Treadwell 409, Peabody 412, Richland 413, Unaka 419, McKenzie 419, Dresden 419, Silverdale 425, Mt. Pleasant 426, Grace Baptist 434, Community 436, Hampton 437, Trinity 443, Humboldt 447, Scotts Hill 448, S. Gibson 450, Trousdale Co. 451, Signal Mountain 454, Houston Co. 455, E. Robertson 456, Wartburg 457, Oliver Springs 460, White House-Heritage 461, Forrest 478, Adamsville 479, Cosby 483, Marion Co. 494, Cascade 498, Boyd Buchanan 500, Westwood 501, Jackson Co. 511, Douglass 513, Tellico Plains 515, Decatur Co. Riverside 517, Loretto 519

Vikings Soccer Shuts Out Cougars on Senior Night

The Avery men's soccer team closed out its home schedule on Monday night with an impressive 1-0 shutout of Mountain Heritage on Senior Night.

Prior to the match Avery Vikings head soccer coach Lou Brancourt, a native of France, was honored with the playing over the public address system of "La Marseillaise", the French national anthem, as friends and colleagues hung a French flag outside of the box for the coach to see.

Once the match began Avery greatly outshot the Cougars throughout the first half, but had nothing on the scoreboard to show for it.

At halftime the Vikings honored five seniors who had given much time and talent to the Avery soccer program. Honored seniors with families included John Ray Benfield, Alex Brannon, Quentin Burleson, Andrew Ingram, and Sutton Stanley.

The teams continued to battle into the second half when the Big Red finally broke through.

Avery was awarded a corner kick in the 57th minute of the match. Kyle Griewisch took the corner and sent a ball into the box where Alex Brannon sent a shot screaming past the Heritage keeper for the lone goal of the evening. Morgan Bounds was sterling in goal as he saved every shot that came his way during the match.

Avery improves its record to 5-12-3 overall, with a 2-6-3 record in Western Highlands Conference play. The Vikings conclude the regular season by traveling to Mitchell High on Wednesday. (Photo of soccer seniors courtesy Skip Sickler)

Vikings Look for Second Win against Hapless Patriots

After a disappointing performance last Friday night in Columbus during a 28-7 loss to Polk County, the Avery Vikings (1-7, 0-3 WHC) are prescribed the best tonic possible to cure what ails them, a date with the winless Madison Patriots.

Madison (0-8, 0-3 WHC) fell 40-14 to Owen last Friday night at home last Friday night. The Vikings snapped a three-game losing streak last season when they defeated Madison 30-6 in Marshall.

Scouting the Patriots:
The Madison Patriots are coached by first-year head coach Eric Schneider, who was promoted from the junior varsity position following the resignation of former coach Darren Ponder.

Madison returned only four starters in 2008 from a team that was the depiction of turmoil in 2007. Disciplinary measures severely depleted the ballclub, but the team has already doubled the number of times it scored in double figures from a season ago, having scored ten or more points four times this season.

Coach Schneider installed a multiple offense, running the football a majority of the time. Zack Sawyer (30 for 80 passing, 403 yards, 3 TD, 8 INT) began the season as the team’s starting quarterback, but Cameron Garrison (54 rushes, 225 yards, 5 TD; 9 of 24 passing, 89 yards, 4 INT passing) has seen time at the position the previous two contests.

Corry Heath Miller (54 rushes, 284 yards, TD) is just one of a number of running backs who have shared the burden of toting the pigskin for the Patriots this season.

Defensively, the Patriots have used a 3-5 alignment to prevent clubs from running to their outside, but will employ multiple defensive fronts as the play warrants.

The Low Down:
For Avery to come away victorious Friday night, the team must put the memory of last Friday night’s difficult loss behind them. Madison is a squad that has seen its share of struggles, and is a team that Avery matches up well against.

There is the potential for Friday night’s contest to transpire quickly as both teams will likely concentrate on running the football and grinding out yardage.

This week’s game may easily depend on turnovers, and which team’s defense can create team. On paper Avery appears to be the more diverse offense despite injuries, but Madison has given Avery trouble in the past (a 20-14 overtime win in Avery’s 11-3 third round playoff season of 2005, for example).

By the Numbers:
0 – number of points for Avery through 47:50 seconds of 48 minutes during last week’s loss to Polk County.
2- number of touchdown runs by Madison QB/RB Cameron Garrison in last week’s loss to Owen.
5- turnovers forced by the Avery defense in last season’s win over Madison.
60 – total passing yards by the Vikings in last week’s loss.
328 – total rushing yards surrendered by Madison in last week’s home loss to Owen.
351- total yards gained by Avery in last year’s 30-6 victory over the Patriots.
413- total yards surrendered by the Avery defense in last week’s game against the Wolverines.

Read next week’s edition of the Avery Journal-Times for a recap of this week’s game against Madison, as well as a preview of next week’s game at Mountain Heritage.

Lady Vikings Close Regular Season with Win over Rival Mitchell; Advance to Second Rd. of State Playoffs

The Avery volleyball appears to have peaked at just the right time as they swept Mitchell in junior varsity and varsity matches last Tuesday, then traveled to Highlands and defeated the higher seeded Lady Highlanders in four games.

On Tuesday Avery traveled to Ledger and took care of business in upending the Lady Mountaineers. In junior varsity action the ladies fought hard in winning a closely contested three-game match by the scores of 20-25, 25-19, and 25-22, respectively.

Once the varsity took the floor, the Lady Vikings played with precision and purpose in dominating the Lady Mountaineers in three straight contest, winning by scores of 25-17, 25-21, and 25-11.

Senior Katie Ellis led the team with 15 kills while adding 11 digs. Sara Singleton registered 22 assists, with three kills, seven digs, and ten service points (three aces) from Savannah Dellinger and seven service points and a pair of digs by Lacey Barrier.

“The girls played great at Mitchell, finally!” Vikings head coach Kim Hayes exhorted. “We needed a good win before playoffs. Tuesday night was the first match we won in three games. It was a great game to end the regular season for both the varsity and for my JV team.”

On Saturday morning at 7:30 a.m. the team loaded onto the bus and made the three-hour drive to Highlands (near the NC/GA border) to take on the Lady Highlanders for a 2 p.m. tipoff in the opening round of the state 1A volleyball playoffs. Despite the long commute, the Lady Vikings remained focused on the task at hand in dispatching of their opponent in four games.

Avery won the opening two games by scores of 25-19 and 26-24, respectively. Highlands rallied to capture the third game 25-15, but the Big Red closed out the match with a decisive 25-13 victory in the fourth and final contest.

“Once we got to the school we ran around to loosen up. It was a beautiful place, but the drive was not so much,” Coach Hayes explained. “We were a bit sluggish at first, which I expected. In the fourth game, we were finally with it and we killed them,” Coach Hayes said after the exciting victory.

Ellis tallied 32 kills in the match, with 15 digs from Dellinger, 27 assists from Singleton and ten digs by senior Rachel Buchanan.

Avery’s reward for the victory was a ticket for a Tuesday date with Swain County to take on the 25-1 Lady Maroon Devils. Swain swept Cherokee in three straight games to advance to the second round, their 75th consecutive win against a Smoky Mountain Conference team, and have won the Smoky Mountain Conference Tournament the past five seasons.

“They are definitely a good team. They are not Hendersonville or Polk good, but a very solid team with a couple of strong hitters,” Coach Hayes remarked. “Several number ones have been knocked out in the tournament already. IF the girls can get it in their heads that they are a good team, they can beat anybody. Swain will have the pressure on them, as they are “supposed” to win since they are the higher seed. We just need to go and play our style of ball, and we will see what happens. We’re very excited!”

Swain is paced by a six-pack of seniors Auburn Lowe, Anna Burns, Alisha Lambert, Megan Brown, Cayla Crawley, and Lauren Maennle. Avery’s second round match with the Lady Maroon Devils took place after press time this week, but check here at the Blog for scores and updates.

Avery Tennis Concludes Season with State Duals, Regional Championships

The Avery tennis team wrapped up a highly successful 2008 season last week with team dual meet action at Lees-McRae College against North Stokes, as well as regional singles and doubles competition.

On Tuesday the Lady Vikings welcomed the Vikings from North Stokes High School to Lees McRae College for first round state duals action. Avery performed valiantly, but was unable to advance in tournament play as North emerged with the team victory.

In singles action, Avery’s Anna Melton defeated Amber Nelson 6-4,6-1, while Morgan Yackey defeated Jordan Wilkins 2-6,6-3, (7-4 in tiebreaker) to provide Avery with its two points for the afternoon.

Judi Dillishaw was defeated by North’s Holly Whitener 4-6, 4-6, while Hayden Blackburn fell to Haley Pack 1-6, 3-6, Leah Powell was defeated by Taylor York 0-6, 1-6, and Morgan Stout fell to Alysha Hutchins 1-6, 0-6.

In doubles play, the team of Yackey and Melton were defeated by North’s team of Whitener and Hutchins 5-10, mathematically eliminating the Vikings from the tournament. Avery’s team of Dillishaw and Blackburn led their opponents 7-4 and the Avery team of Lauren Avery and Leah Powell trailed 4-7 when the dual match was declared over.

“I hated to see the season end. The girls played the best they could against North Stokes, and I was pleased with how we competed,” Avery head tennis coach Rhiannon Manis remarked after the matches. “There were a few close matches that could have changed the ending result, however it is such an achievement for the girls and program to have gotten this far.”

This past weekend Avery’s doubles team of Dillashaw and Blackburn competed in regional competition, as did Avery junior Anna Melton for her third consecutive year.

In singles action Melton defeated Albemarle’s Sophia Pastorini in straight sets by the scores of 6-1 and 6-1. Melton was defeated in the second round by Jessica Curtis of Gray Stone High School by the final of 2-6, 1-6.

In doubles play, senior Judi Dillashaw and junior Hayden Blackburn, undefeated the past two seasons, made their first doubles appearance in regional competition, taking on Alysha Hutchins and Holly Whitener from familiar foe North Stokes High School, falling in straight sets 6-2 and 6-2.“

All three ladies represented Avery County well. Traveling, trying to deal with the weather, and then playing tennis is not easy to do,” Coach Manis said of the girls’ performances at Regionals. “The girls adjusted and met the challenges head on and gave it everything they had. They ended their individual season on a high note, and I am very proud of their accomplishments.”

Berry, Defense Shines In Volunteer Victory

by:Matt Laws (matt.laws@averyjournal.com)
Avery Journal-Times

KNOXVILLE- The Volunteers were tired of losing. Eric Berry and the Tennessee were determined to avoid a 0-4 league start.

Berry intercepted a Mississippi State pass with 10:37 left in the contest and returned it for a touchdown that put Tennessee (3-4, 1-4) up 20-3, and swung the momentum to the Volunteer side as Tennessee took a 34-3 victory over the struggling Bulldogs.

"It's almost indiscernible the difference between winning and losing,” Coach Phillip Fulmer said. “I want to say a special thanks to the team who did one heck of a job this week preparing, staying the course and working. To the coaches, for the work they did during the week and especially tonight we got some really nice work done. Overall, it was just a fantastic win for us. That win is something to build on."”

The game was suppose to be a lackluster affair between two of the SEC’s worst, and for the first half it appeared to be headed in that direction. The Vols scored on two Daniel Lincoln field goals, and took a 6-3 lead into the locker room.

However, Nick Stephens and the Volunteer offense answered the call as they marched down the field on the opening possession in the second half. Austin Rogers appeared to catch a Stephens’s 21-yard touchdown pass, but was ruled down at the one yard line.

However, the offense would not be shut out of the end zone as Montario Hardesty jumped over the pile into the end zone.

The Tennessee defense continued to shut down the Bulldogs offense. Berry electrified the Neyland Stadium crowd as he returned an interception 72 yards.

“I don't know if I've ever seen anybody like Eric Berry,” Fulmer said. “It's amazing what he does when he has a football in his hands and the spirit that he brings to the team.”

Berry finished the game with 10 tackles, one tackle for loss, one sack, and an interception for a touchdown. With the interception, Berry became the SEC’s career interception return leader as a sophomore.

"On the interception I was headed to the ball and I think Ellix (Wilson) tipped it and it went downhill from there,” Berry said. “As far as breaking the record, I feel like it's really a team effort as well as an individual effort. We're getting great pressure up front week-in and week-out and doing great blocking down the field after the interception."

On the next Bulldog possession, it was Dematrice Morley’s turn to get an interception as he sprinted 32 yards for the touchdown. The Vols then put the game in Lennon Creer’s hands as he carried the ball for 12 straight plays for 51 yards, and Creer got into the end zone from one yard out.

Creer ended the game with 17 carries for 68 yards and one touchdown. Stephens ended the game 10 of 20 for 136 yards, and Adrian Foster added 40 yards on 11 carries.

The Volunteer defense had five sacks on the night, and limited Mississippi State’s offense to 189 yards.
However, Coach Fulmer knows that the victory was important, but UT still have work to do.

“There is still much to be done, but I think this is something we could build-on and build the confidence of the football team,” Coach Fulmer said. “The energy from the team and the stadium in the second half when we finally started making plays (was great). We have sometimes been our own worst enemy. We had no turnovers tonight and one penalty for the evening, and if nothing else, that's great progress.”

The Vols host #2 Alabama on Saturday evening.

Apps Survive Wild One

STATESBORO, Ga. – Writing perhaps the most dramatic chapter in the always-thrilling Appalachian State-Georgia Southern rivalry, No. 2 Appalachian took the lead with 2:36 to play and stood up GSU in the red zone twice in the final two minutes to hold on for a 37-36 win on Saturday afternoon at Paulson Stadium.

Armanti Edwards almost single-handedly led Appalachian (5-2, 3-0 SoCon) in the heart-stopping triumph, accounting for 333 of ASU’s 454 total yards and all five touchdowns in the win.Edwards capped off his amazing performance by flying over the Mountaineer front for a one-yard touchdown dive on fourth-and-goal that gave the Apps a 37-34 advantage with 2:36 to go in the ballgame. The fourth-down conversion was the second of the drive for the Mountaineers, as Edwards eluded several would-be tacklers in the backfield on fourth-and-five from the GSU 43 before finding CoCo Hillary for a 15-yard gain to keep the possession alive.Immediately following Edwards’ score, Georgia Southern (3-4, 1-3 SoCon) marched 69 yards in four plays to the ASU 13 yard line. On third-and-eight, defensive back Travis Dowdaintercepted GSU quarterback Antonio Henton at the goal line to seemingly seal the Appalachian victory.

However, the officials ruled Dowda down inches outside the goal line and on ASU’s first play after the turnover, GSU’s Larry Beard stopped Edwards for a safety that cut the Mountaineer advantage to 37-36.After the free kick, the Eagles took over on their 42 yard line and moved all the way to the Mountaineer 27 before a huge sack by Anthony Williams pushed the Eagles back to the ASU 39. After two incomplete passes, safety Mark LeGree intercepted Henton at the goal line on fourth-and-22 with 14 seconds remaining. The officials again spotted the the ball inside the one yard line, but after a brief discussion, the ruling to a touchback and Edwards took a knee on the final play to run out the clock.

The fourth-quarter was a microcosm of the entire game, as the affair featured eight lead changes. Appalachian opened strong with a nine-play, 80-yard drive that was capped by an acrobatic catch in the corner of the end zone by B.J. Frazier on an option run-turned-pass from Edwards, giving ASU a 7-0 edge less than five minutes in.After GSU kicked a field goal on its initial possession and forced an ASU punt on the next series, the Eagles took their first lead of the game when Raja Andrews returned the Mountaineer punt 84 yards for a touchdown. The touchdown return was the fourth allowed by Appalachian this season (two kickoffs and two punts).Georgia Southern extended its lead to 13-7 on a 37-yard Adrian Mora field goal early in the second period, but Appalachian regained the advantage on its ensuing possession when Edwards directed a six-play, 62-yard drive, capped by his five-yard touchdown run that made it 14-13, ASU.

It remained 14-13 until the Eagles put together their first sustained drive of the afternoon, a 10-play, 80-yard series that culminated with a four-yard touchdown run by quarterback Antonio Henton that gave GSU a 20-14 halftime advantage.

The Mountaineers started fast again in the second half, turning the halftime deficit into a 24-20 lead on a 14-yard touchdown pass from Edwards to Brian Quick and a 22-yard Jason Vitaris field goal.The advantage flip-flopped three more times over the next 7:13, with Michael McIntosh’s 15-yard touchdown catch from Henton giving Georgia Southern a 34-31 lead with 9:46 left in the game and setting up the wild flurry at the finish.

In all, Edwards ran 33 times for 157 yards and three touchdowns and completed 12-of-22 passes for 176 yards and two more scores. Josh Johnson was his top target, hauling in four receptions for 49 yards. Devin Radford chipped in with 76 yards on the ground and one catch for seven yards.Defensive, the Mountaineers were paced by Williams, who had one-and-a-half sacks among his five tackles and forced a fumble. Linebacker Jacque Roman tallied a team-best 11 stops and cornerback Cortez Gilbert notched seven tackles and broke up three passes.Henton finished with 292 yards through the air and 99 on the ground in the loss.

Appalachian’s triumph marked the first time it has ever won back-to-back games at Georgia Southern, while its 37 points were the it has ever scored in Statesboro. For the first time in the series that dates back to 1932, the visiting team has won three-straight decisions.

Standing at 3-0 in Southern Conference play for only the 11th time in their 37 years in the league, the Mountaineers host longtime rival Furman next Saturday at Kidd Brewer Stadium. The “Black Saturday” kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m.