Mountaineers Fall In Opener Despite Comeback

Courtesy of Appalachian Sports Information

Behind sophomore quarterback Travaris Cadet, Appalachian State University football rallied from a 22-point fourth-quarter deficit with 17 points in the final period, but the comeback came up just short in a 29-24 season-opening loss to East Carolina on Saturday afternoon at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.

Appalachian fell into a 24-0 hole less than 17 minutes into the contest and trailed 29-7 going into the fourth quarter. Three plays into the final period, ASU running back Devon Moore trimmed the deficit to 29-14 when he capped a 12-play, 55-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown plunge.

On East Carolina's ensuing possession, the ASU defense posted an impressive three-and-out and Cadet gave the Apps their best field position of the day when he returned a punt by former Mountaineer Matt Dodge 19 yards to the ECU 38. Seven plays later, Cadet made it a one-possession ballgame when he scored from a yard out to cut ECU's advantage to 29-21.

The volume from the thousands of Black and Gold-clad faithful in attendance at sold-out Dowdy-Ficklen reached a fever pitch when Cortez Gilbert intercepted ECU's Patrick Pinkney at the ASU 33 yard line and returned it 16 yards to the 49.

Cadet marched the Mountaineers all the way to the 22 yard line but had to settle for a 43-yard field goal by Jason Vitaris with 3:24 to go after a misplayed snap exchange on second-and-seven stalled the potential game-tying drive.

Once again, the Mountaineer defense came up with a huge three-and-out and ASU got the ball back on its own 24 yard line with 1:28 left to play. The Apps moved to midfield with three-straight completions but Cadet was sacked on first-and-10 from the ASU 48 with less than a minute remaining. After killing the clock with a spike, Cadet found Blake Elder for an eight-yard gain but a pass to CoCo Hillary on fourth-and-10 was just out of his reach and the Appalachian comeback and upset bid ended with 16 seconds to go.

Making the loss even more heartbreaking for the Mountaineers is the fact that two second-half miscues cost the Apps the decisive five points. Vitaris pushed a 37-yard field-goal attempt wide right on Appalachian's first possession of the second half and punter Sam Martin was forced to concede a safety when he couldn't corral a high snap on ASU's next series. After a disastrous first half in which ECU rolled up 267 yards of offense and 14 first downs en route to a 27-7 halftime lead, Appalachian's defense put the clamps on Pinkney and Co., limiting the Pirates to only 53 yards and four first downs after the break, while shutting out the Pirates in the second half.

It was story of two haves on both sides of the ball, as ASU racked up 183 yards and 14 first downs and held a 20:05-9:55 advantage in time of possession in the second half.

But ultimately, it was the slow start that thwarted the Mountaineers' chance at its eighth win over an NCAA Division I FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision - formerly Division I-A) since 1982. East Carolina scored on four of its first five possessions to grab a 24-0 lead with 13:21 still left to play in the first half.

ASU finally stopped the bleeding with an 11-play, 71-yard drive on the first possession following the Pirates' third and final touchdown of the afternoon. Brian Quick highlighted the series with an acrobatic 31-yard reception and starting quarterback DeAndre Presley capped the drive with a three-yard touchdown run that made it 24-7.

ECU's Ben Hartman kicked his second field goal of the game with 57 seconds to go in the second period to give the Pirates the 20-point halftime advantage and set up the wild second half.

Cadet, who replaced Presley at quarterback with 5:28 to go in the third quarter, finished with 35 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries, 55 yards on 7-of-9 passing and 43 yards on two punt returns. Making his second career start, Presley completed 7-of-15 passes for 89 yards and rushed 12 times for 12 yards. Moore led the Mountaineers with 37 rushing yards on 17 carries and Quick led all receivers with 47 yards on three catches.

ASU's defense limited Pinkney, a Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award candidate, to 131 yards on 12-of-27 passing, but ECU's Dominique Liindsay rushed for 105 yards on only 15 carries to pace the Pirates. Mountaineer linebackers D.J. Smith and Jacque Roman led all tacklers with 13 and 11 stops, respectively.

Top-ranked Appalachian opens NCAA Division I FCS (Football Championship Subdivision - formerly Division I-AA) play next Saturday when it hosts No. 15 McNeese State at Kidd Brewer Stadium. The home opener kicks off at 3:30 p.m. and will be televised on WMYA Ch. 40 in Asheville.

We are in Knoxville to cover the start of the Lane Kiffin era against WKU. Easily the biggest crowd in recent memory @ the Vol Walk. Full recap this week -Matt

LOCAL NETWORK TO TELEVISE ASU FOOTBALL THIS SATURDAY

Many local Mountaineer fans will be able to see their beloved Black and Gold this week thanks to local TV.

The Mountain Television Network (MTN-TV) will be televising Saturday afternoon's Appalachian State Mountaineers season-opener football game in Greenville against East Carolina.

Fans will be able to watch the game on the following channels: SkyBest TV 18, Charter Cable 18, UHF 24 Antenna, UHF 53 Antenna, Cable 15

Kickoff is scheduled for noon from Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium.

Vikings Look to End Losing Streak in Bucket Battle

On Friday night at MacDonald Stadium the Avery Vikings will host the Watauga Pioneers in the renewing of a friendly rivalry known as the “Battle for the Bucket”. The Vikings enter Friday night’s contest at 1-1 on the heels of a convincing 54-27 victory over the West Wilkes Blackhawks. The Pioneers followed up a 30-0 opening week shutout of Ashe County with a 25-12 home loss last Friday night to Shelby.

In 2008, the Pioneers defeated the Vikings 28-14 at Jack Groce Stadium in Boone. Watauga has won three straight games in the series and six of the last eight matchups.

Scouting the Pioneers:
The Watauga Pioneers are members of the Northwestern 3A/4A Conference and are coached by Tim Pruitt, who is in his second year as head coach in Boone. Watauga entered the 2009 season looking to improve on a 5-7 record a season ago. The squad began last season strong with a 4-1 record through non-conference games, but struggled after beating conference rival Alexander Central, losing five consecutive contests. Despite the slump, Watauga qualified for the state 4A playoffs in 2008, losing 35-14 to Crest in the opening round.

Watauga utilizes the Spread offense and returns 18 lettermen from its 2008 squad, including seven starters on both sides of the football. The Pioneers will employ multiple defensive fronts anchored by a veteran defensive line.

Leading the Pioneers on the field is senior quarterback Devan Corum (6’1”, 195 lbs.—30 rushes, 144 yards, TD; 14 for 44 passing, 174 yards, 2 TD in 2009), in addition to senior wide receiver Travis Oliver (6 receptions, 85 yards, TD in 2009), and senior All-Conference running back Logan Smith (19 rushes, 102 yards, 2 TD in 2009). Juniors who make an impact on the squad include tight end Jordan Pineda, and All-Conference FB/DL Robbie Sherrill, and WR/DB Trey Kavanaugh.

Sophomore LB Alex Fox leads the club in tackles through the first two games of 2009 with 17, with Smith, Pineda, and Sherrill tied with 11 tackles each.

The Low Down:
Friday’s clash between High Country schools looks on paper to be one of the more even matchups in the past few seasons. Both teams have dominated opponents in victories, with each losing to perennially strong football programs.

Avery controlled Friday’s win over West Wilkes by going through the air and striking quickly on its opponent. A fast start for sophomore quarterback Alex Villanueva and his Viking teammates will only help build confidence that this year’s club can break the streak against the neighbors to the north.

Watauga’s pounding running game has given Avery fits in previous seasons, with the likes of Eric Britenstein and Baine Martin stuffing the stat sheets at the Big Red’s expense. If Pioneer signal-caller Corum becomes multi-dimensional by effectively using both his throwing arm and running legs, fortunes could bode well for the boys in blue and white.

Avery proved last week that it can win in multiple ways (through the air, on the ground, with punishing pressure defense), and has given Big Red fans a shot of confidence that this year’s team can consistently play beyond its youth. This week’s game, if the Vikes can pull out a victory, could be the springboard to consistent success as the conference season looms on the horizon.

By the Numbers:
0 – no current Avery senior players (or students) have ever experienced a varsity football win over Watauga in the Battle for the Bucket (every class in the past 15 seasons has beaten the Pioneers at least one time in their varsity careers).
6 – touchdowns accounted for by Avery QB Alex Villanueva in the Vikings’ 54-27 win last Friday night.
31.2- average yards per catch by Avery WR Andy Gonzalez thus far in 2009.
72- yards rushing gained by Watauga in last week’s loss (the Pioneers ran for 228 yards in Week One against Ashe County).
74- length in yards of a touchdown pass from Mo Gore to Trey Kavanaugh scored by Watauga via fake punt in last week’s loss to Shelby.
114- rushing yards for Avery junior RB Kenny Hicks to lead the team this season, including an 11 carry, 96 yard performance last week.
142-yards-total receiving yards by Avery WR Andy Gonzalez to lead the Big Red in last week's win.
592- yards in total offense amassed by Avery in last week’s win at West Wilkes.
748- total offensive yards gained by Vikings QB Alex Villanueva through two games this season.

Read next week’s edition of the Avery Journal-Times for a full recap of this week’s Battle for the Bucket, as well as a preview of next week’s Avery Journal-Times Border Battle Classic between Avery and Cloudland.

Presley to Start For Mountaineers In Opener

Courtesy of Appalachian Sports Information

Appalachian State University head coach Jerry Moore announced after Wednesday’s practice that sophomore DeAndre Presley will start at quarterback for the Mountaineers on Saturday when they open the 2009 season at East Carolina. Moore said he does not expect All-American Armanti Edwards, who injured his right foot in a lawn-mowing accident exactly four weeks ago, to play in the season opener.

Saturday’s start will be the second of Presley’s career. His only previous start came in last year’s regular-season finale at Western Carolina, when he racked up 314 yards of total offense (158 passing, 156 rushing) and accounted for four touchdowns (one passing, three rushing) to lead Appalachian to a 35-10 win over its archrival. Thanks to his efforts versus WCU, he was named the Southern Conference’s Offensive Player and Freshman of the Week, becoming only the seventh player in SoCon history and the first in 17 years to receive two of the league’s weekly awards simultaneously.

In nine games as a true freshman in 2008, Presley completed 30-of-45 passes (66.7 percent) for 379 yards and two touchdowns and rushed 73 times for 415 yards (5.7 avg.) and seven scores.

“As a staff and a team, we’re very comfortable with DeAndre Presley starting on Saturday and with our quarterback position as a whole with (sophomore) Travaris Cadet, as well,” Moore said.

In the meantime, Edwards will continue rehabilitation and his status for the Sept. 12 home opener versus McNeese State will be determined as soon as possible next week.

Avery Drops Matches to McDowell, Draughn in Non-Conference Volleyball Action

With the youth of the 2009 Lady Vikings volleyball team, the early portion of the season has provided a few growing pains as the squad matures and improves together.

On August 24^th, the Lady Vikings traveled to Marion to take on neighboring McDowell. A veteran Lady Titans club played tough as it upended the Big Red in four games.

Sophomores Tuccoa Brackett and Megan Gouge gave fits to the Avery defense. Brackett had a strong service game that resulted in nine points on serve, while Gouge added three solo and three assisted blocks and six kills.

Avery opened the match with four straight points, and used the cushion to keep a working margin in defeating the Lady Titans 25-18 in game one. The two squads played a back-and-forth affair in the second contest. McDowell held a 15-7 score late in the game, but fended off a late Avery rally to prevail by a narrow 25-23 score to tie the match.

It was again a case of “close, but no cigar” in the third game, as Avery remained close but came up short in a 25-22 contest, and lost the deciding game of the match by a 25-18 final score.

In JV action, McDowell defeated Avery in straight sets 25-10 and 25-21.

“We mentally just broke down. We missed some critical serves and made some critical errors right at the end. We had the momentum, but just couldn’t pull through,” Avery head volleyball coach Kim Hayes said following the match. “McDowell is a strong team. Not many balls hit the floor, but we just had some errors at the end. Hopefully as the season progresses, those types of errors will go away.”

Last Tuesday, August 25^th, the Lady Vikings again hit the road for a non-conference matchup, this time in Valdese against the Draughn Lady Wildcats. In junior varsity action, the Lady Wildcats remained unbeaten as they were victorious over the Big Red

In varsity action the Draughn team played a strong match, defeating the Lady Vikings in straight sets by scores of 25-12, 25-16, and 25-14, respectively.

A pair of seniors, Aubrey Bradshaw and Sasha Connelly, led the Draughn club, with Bradshaw recording eight kills and seven service aces, and Connelly adding 13 assists.

Despite the loss, the Avery club refuses to hang its head and vows to play hard for every point on the floor.

“We are young but I don't want to use that as an excuse,” Coach Hayes remarked after the match. “We are struggling with finding a strong hitter. Our club could really use the hitting we lost with Katie Ellis graduating. Draughn is a power house who won their conference last year.

Although the team has yet to record its first win for 2009, the tough non-conference schedule, including Avery’s home opener this past Tuesday with Watauga, will make the Lady Vikings a better club once conference games roll around.

“I scheduled tough teams to try and get us ready for the conference. Nobody likes losing, especially me. I am just hoping that these tough teams and tough practices will help us to peak at conference time,” Coach Hayes stated. “The girls are working hard everyday in practice, and we are having many discussions on the importance of defense. Because we don't have a strong offense, we have to out-hustle the opponents and cause them to make the mistakes.”

In addition to Tuesday’s match with Watauga, Avery opens conference play with a match at Owen on Thursday and a Tri-Match at East Rutherford this Saturday.

Vikings Dominate on Both Sides of Football for 54-27 Victory over Blackhawks

The Avery Vikings relied on a potent offense to jump out to a first half lead against the West Wilkes Blackhawks Friday night in Miller’s Creek. The defense made sure it stayed that way, as it pitched a second half shutout to propel the Big Red to a 54-27 victory to earn its first triumph of the 2009 season.

Avery wasted no time in putting points on the scoreboard. On its opening drive the Vikings marched 65 yards over five plays, the highlight being a 50-yard touchdown strike from sophomore quarterback Alex Villanueva to wide receiver Andy Gonzalez. An Andres Castanedas point after kick gave Avery the early 7-0 advantage.

Avery’s defense held West to a three-and-out on its first series, forcing a Blackhawk punt. The Vikings picked right up where they left off with its ensuing series, this time hitting pay dirt in only three plays while covering 61 yards of real estate. Villanueva did the honors with his legs this time, scurrying 57 yards for a Viking touchdown. The PAT put Avery ahead by two touchdowns with less than four minutes elapsed in the opening stanza.

The early lead was huge in building positive momentum and confidence to a club coming off a difficult loss the previous week.

“Anytime you can score quickly it helps you. It’s like we carried the positive momentum we took from how hard we played at Robbinsville and just picked up where we left off,” Avery head football coach Darrell Brewer said after the victory. “Anytime you can put a couple of quick scores on somebody, it gets into your opponent’s head. It was good for us as a young football team too. We’ve been preaching to them over and over that we’re a good football team, and now they’ve seen it and believe it for themselves.”

West Wilkes regrouped with its second series as the offense found its rhythm. Senior quarterback Logan Hallock completed three passes on a drive, the last of which went to Andrew Marley for a 25 yard touchdown. The successful PAT cut Avery’s lead in half at 14-7.

In need of a score to retake momentum, the Avery offense methodically marched the football down the football field, chewing up 65 yards of turf over11 plays in a drive that consumed over four and half minutes of time off the clock. A key play that sustained the drive was a 4^th and 1 carry by fullback Nathaniel Buchanan to move the chains. Villanueva capped the drive when he dove into the end zone from a yard out to boost the Big Red advantage to 21-7 with two minutes left in the quarter.

As the second stanza began, the Blackhawks again charged downfield to the tune of a 12 play, 80 yard drive the resulted in a one-yard touchdown toss from Hallock to Andrew Adams. The score cut the Viking lead back to a seven-point cushion at 21-14. Following an Avery interception, West took full advantage of the situation, finding the end zone again on a 19-yard pass from Hallock to wide receiver Dalton Moore. The PAT was blocked by Avery, preserving a slim 21-20 edge early in the second period.

Rather than taking a downward spiral as occurred the previous week at Robbinsville, the Vikings responded almost with disdain at the West comeback. The Big Red offensive machine kicked into high gear to put more points on the board. Avery covered 74 yards with only three pass plays, the final of which a 41 yard touchdown connection from Villanueva to wide receiver Keith McKinney. The PAT pushed the Vikings ahead by a 28-20 score with 4:30 left before halftime.

Following the latest Avery score, the Viking defense made a huge play. On the first play of its ensuing series West quarterback Hallock broke containment for a 31-yard run. The Viking defense stripped the signal-caller of the football at midfield as he was being tackled, however, and the Big Red recovered the loose pigskin. The Avery offense expressed its appreciation by returning to the West Wilkes end zone just 38 seconds later when Villanueva tossed his third touchdown pass of the half, this time a 25-yard dart to Taylor Potter. The PAT failed, but the Vikings led 34-20.

Faced with the prospect of a blowout loss, the West Wilkes special teams electrified the partisan Blackhawk crowd when Dalton Moore received the ensuing kickoff, maneuvered between Avery tacklers, and raced 82 yards for a touchdown. The extra point kept West hanging around and trailing by only seven at 34-27, a score which was unchanged for the remaining 3:19 of the first half.

As the second half began the Vikings made a number of adjustments. One change was defensively, changing the front line from a three-man front to a four-man front line.

“We tried to play a three-man line and try to cover their quarterback who runs so well. Finally we chunked the line because we weren’t getting to him and decided at halftime to go with a four-man line and put pressure on him,” Coach Brewer stated. “We felt that getting to the quarterback was our best chance at winning, and in the second half we were able to get to him. He still made some great throws in the second half, but we were hitting him and he was hearing footsteps with almost every pass.”

Another halftime adjustment came in utilizing a Wing-T offensive formation to shorten the game and pound the football at the tiring West Wilkes club.

“We felt like we were in a little better shape than they were and could pound them in the second half,” the coach elaborated. “Also, anytime a defense gets into a rhythm it can be good to change the look they see. It’s completely different for them from the first half, and is almost like they’re playing another different football team.”

With its first possession of the second half, the Vikings worked to add to their lead, but the drive stalled at the Blackhawk 11 yard line. The Big Red defense forced a sack and pushed the ball all the way to West’s own goal line, where a short punt gave Avery possession at the Blackhawks 35-yard line.

A short five-play drive, all rushing plays, resulted in a return trip to the end zone for the Vikes, as Villanueva scored from two yards out to increase the Avery margin to two scores at 41-27.

Needing to score, West moved the football into Avery territory with its ensuing possession as the final quarter began. The Vikings defense stiffened, however, and again made the Blackhawks punt the pigskin away.

The back-breaking drive which effectively removed doubt from the outcome was a 84-yard march bolstered by a 41-yard pass completion from Villanueva to Gonzalez and topped off by a Taylor Potter one-yard plunge into the end zone. With 8:34 left in the game, Avery was comfortably on top by a 48-27 score.

Avery’s special teams partially blocked a West Wilkes punt following yet another stalled drive on the next Blackhawks possession. The Vikings added icing on the cake when Keith McKinney scored on the next play following the block, a 24-yard jaunt to provide the final margin for Avery’s first victory of the young season.

The Avery offense was dominating in gaining 592 yards (365 passing, 227 rushing) and the defense recorded seven quarterback sacks for the game. The Avery defense stifled the Blackhawks offense when it counted most, allowing only 57 total yards for West for the entire second half.

A star may very well have emerged in sophomore Alex Villanueva, who accounted for 455 yards in total offense and had a hand in six of Avery’s touchdowns.

“Alex is a very intelligent football player. He’s a student of the game and doesn’t carry himself like an underclassman,” Coach Brewer explained. “He made a couple of mistakes at Robbinsville, but he learned quickly from them right then. When he makes mistakes, he’s not likely to make the same mistakes again. He threw some great footballs tonight and has the potential to be something special in Avery County.”

Kenny Hicks led the Vikings with 96 yards rushing on 11 carries, while Andy Gonzalez hauled in five passes for 142 yards and teammates McKinney and Potter accounted for over 140 yards receiving and a pair of touchdown catches combined.

“I knew the kids would play hard. Take talent and everything away. If you have kids that will play hard, you’re going to win some ballgames,” Coach Brewer said. “I thought we executed our game plan well and ran better routes. We came out with a fire, and we told the team that we have a game under our belts and the time for being a young football team is over. I think we got better.”

The Vikings will look to make it two straight wins when they try to snap a three-game losing skid to the Watauga Pioneers in the Battle for the Bucket this Friday night at MacDonald Stadium.

FOOTBALL CONTEST WEEK THREE GAMES

Congratulations to Thomas Jackson who became a repeat winner with a 12-7-1 mark in the Weekly picks contest for week two.

Below are this week's slate of games.

To play, go to the Avery Journal-Times sports website at www.ajtsports.blogspot.com each Tuesday to find the games to be picked for the upcoming week. Email picks by midnight on Thursday, or drop off picks at the newspaper's office by 5 p.m. on Friday. Limit one entry per person per week, regardless of entry method. No postal mail-in entries will be accepted. Each week's winner will be posted on the Blog as well as in the following week's edition of The Avery Journal-Times.

WEEK THREE GAMES (includes High School and College games):

1. Watauga @ Avery
2. North Greene @ Cloudland
3. Brevard @ Mitchell
4. Appalachian St. @ East Carolina
5. Jacksonville St. @ Georgia Tech
6. Mountain Heritage @ Rosman
7. The Citadel @ North Carolina
8. Baylor @ Wake Forest
9. Western Kentucky @ Tennessee
10. Georgia vs. Oklahoma State
11. Richmond @ Duke
12. Maryland @ California
13. Mars Hill @ Gardner-Webb
14. N. Henderson @ Hendersonville
15. AC Reynolds @ Owen
16. RS Central @ Polk Co.
17. Madison Co. @ Erwin
18. Thomas Jefferson @ Asheville School
19. Alabama @ Virginia Tech
20. Western Carolina @ Vanderbilt

Tie Breaker Game: Watauga @ Avery
Total # of points Scored: _____________

Vikings Soccer Falls in One-Goal Affair at West Henderson

After a busy week featuring back-to-back matches, the Avery soccer team got a small reprieve as it played a single match last week, traveling to Mills River to take on the West Henderson Falcons. Despite playing without its best defender and an ailing scoring leader, the Big Red hung tough with the Falcons but inevitably fell on the wrong end of a 3-2 defeat.

West Henderson struck first as Delfino Islas scored the first goal for the Falcons in the opening five minutes of the contest. The Avery defense settled down, however, and held the Falcons scoreless for the remainder of the first half of play. Avery tallied the equalizer in the final seconds of the half when Kyle Griewisch connected for a goal.

“Our biggest concern has been how our chemistry is going to work with Daniel Huff still out with injury. Kyle had not been feeling well and could hardly practice the day before. He had to sit down several times during warm-ups, so we have our best defensive player out and our best offensive player hurting,” Avery head soccer coach Tom Evaul said after the match. “Kyle had about four breakaways against the goalkeeper, and I think if he felt up to par he would have scored on those. Kicks he normally scores on went straight to the goalie. Late in the half after a couple of shots at the keeper he was dragging so we brought him off to rest. When he came off he said “I’ll score before halftime, I promise.”, and sure enough, with 16 seconds left in the half he scored a goal to tie the score at halftime.”

As the second half ensued the Falcons took advantage of scoring opportunities to tally a pair of goals. Jake Riportella scored in the 45^th minute to put West up by a 2-1 margin, and tallied his second goal on a penalty kick near the 60 minute mark to double its advantage to 3-1.

The Vikings reduced the margin to a single goal at the 70 minute mark. A throw-in by Avery senior Cody Shadoin was blasted in goal by Jorge Arreola. In the closing minutes of the match Avery created multiple opportunities to tie the match, but was unable to find the back of the net for the equalizer as West held on for the win.

“I was pleased with the guys. I thought they played hard,” Coach Evaul said. “Not having Daniel on defense and having Kyle not feeling well, the rest of the guys picked up their intensity and played much better than they did at North Henderson. It was a winnable game, but we didn’t have just what it took to put it away.”

The match could have been a greater margin of victory at West, had it not been for strong play in goal from keeper Morgan Bounds and determined play from a number of Avery defenders. “Morgan did a great job in goal. The score could have been higher on their part, but he made several great saves,” Coach Evaul added. “Brock Yackey has been filling in for Daniel Huff and has done a great job of coming around and holding down that key position.”

Avery played at Draughn on Monday night and will host Providence Academy at the special starting time of 5:30 p.m. Thursday in its home opener at MacDonald Stadium. A report on both matches can be found in next week’s edition, as well as online at the Journal-Times Sports Blog at: www.ajtsports.blogspot.com