Avery Sports Roundup: Lady Vikings Tennis Sweep Conference Championships; Avery Volleyball Recognizes Coaches in Home Finale, Golf Tee Times Announced

The Avery tennis team continued its terrific roll of late, crowning champions in both singles and doubles competition on Thursday at Gardner-Webb University.

In singles play, senior Anna Melton received a bye as a result of holding the #1 seed. In the semis Melton defeated Hendersonville's Christian Bobek by a 10-2 final score. Anna advanced to the title match where she faced Thomas Jefferson's Kasey Owens. Melton was dominant in dispatching the Lady Gryphon by a 10-2 final match score.

In doubles competition the team of seniors Lauren Avery and Morgan Stout received an opening round bye. The duo faced Hendersonville's Ellie Crane and Rose Stroupe, beating the Lady Bearcats tandem by an 8-1 final score. Avery/Stout then faced the pair of Claire and Grace McCurry in a two-set final match score of 6-3, 6-0.

Avery received a bye in state team competition, and will return to action to continue postseason play on October 27th.

On Thursday night the Avery Lady Vikings hosted their final home match of the season, tangling with the Lady Cougars from Mountain Heritage. The Lady Vikings junior varsity team captured the first setin their best-of-three match by a 25-21 final score. In a hard fought second set, the Cougars battled in come-from-behind fashion to even the match at a set apiece with a 27-25 win.

In the rubber set of the match, Avery built an early advantage and led 22-11 midway through the last set. The Lady Cougars cut the deficit but Avery finished the match in style with a 25-17 victory.

Thursday's match was originally set as Senior Night, but since the 2009 Lady Vikings have no seniors on its roster, the Avery volleyball parents and players honored head coach Kim Hayes and assistant Caroline Turner for their time and efforts. The coaches were presented with flowers by the players in an emotional pre-match recognition.

As for the match itself, the Lady Vikings played inspired and put up a valiant fight against a tall and talented Lady Cougars club. Heritage used a number of strong kills and a power game to deny victory to the Big Red, defeating Avery in straight sets by scores of 25-18, 25-16, and 25-19, respectively.

Avery will travel to Mitchell on Tuesday for its final match of the 2009 season.

The North Carolina High School Athletic Association has announced tee times for the 1A regional golf tournament to be held at Asheville Municipal Golf Course on Monday, October 19th.

Avery's pair of regional qualifiers will be teeing off within ten minutes of one another. Avery's top finisher and lone All-Conference selection Catalina Lehmann will tee off at 11:14 a.m., while teammate Arden Stanley will be starting her round at 11:22 a.m.

The top three individuals at Regionals will qualify to participate in the state golf championships at Longleaf Golf and Country Club in Southern Pines, NC on October 26th and 27th.

Vikings Soccer Upsets Second-Ranked Bearcats

The weather may have been cold and raw to the fans Avery High School Wednesday night, but the Avery Vikings men's soccer team kept the action red hot, as it used smothering defense and timely goals to defeat 1A #2 ranked Hendersonville 3-0.

The matchup was originally scheduled to be played in Hendersonville, but poor field conditions at Dietz Field prompted the teams to relocate the match to the turf of MacDonald Stadium.

Avery struck in the very first minute of the match as a shot from Kyle Griewisch rebounded to Zack Strange, who was in perfect position to bury the shot in the back of the net to spot Avery a 1-0 advantage. The two teams jockeyed for position throughout the remainder of the half, as the Vikings defense remained stern and keeper Morgan Bounds turned away every Bearcat shot. The game remained a 1-0 lead for the Big Red until halftime.

In the second half, Avery scored in the 60th minute off a Kyle Griewisch goal assisted by Isauro Estrada to extend the Vikings advantage to 2-0. Just over a minute later, Hendersonville was a beneficiary of a foul in the penalty box and was awarded the penalty kick. In a harbinger of the remainder of the night, the penalty shot ricocheted off the post and the Bearcats were again denied.

"I definitely think that penalty shot miss was a momentum builder for us," Avery head coach Tom Evaul said after the match. "I think they would have gotten the momentum they needed."

Instead of a one-goal margin, Avery held its 2-0 lead and added a third goal in the 67th minute when Jorge Arreola assisted on a second goal by Griewisch to close the scoring in the 3-0 triumph.

Playing without the services of senior defensive stopper Daniel Huff, who underwent knee surgery earlier on Wednesday, the Vikings defense rose to the challenge and blanked the talented Bearcats club.

"I'm really pleased with the defense. Brock (Yackey) has stepped up, Heraclio (Flores), and Cody (Shadoin) have all stepped up and played well of late. We have had to play a lot of the season without Daniel, and we have put in a number of players like Daniel Lusk and Forrest Sickler at stopper who keep us strong on defense," Coach Evaul added. "Morgan had another great game in goal. We did have several shanks and balls that we couldn't clear, yet we still kept them out of goal which says a lot about the players."

Avery's record improves to 10-5-2, and will next return to action on Monday evening at home against the Polk Wolverines, who won 2-1 over Mitchell in a 40-minute match played at MacDonald Stadium immediately following the Avery/Hendersonville match.

Congratulations to the Avery men's soccer team on a great victory!

Vikings Volleyball Falls in Four at Madison; Ladies Golf Competes in Day Two at Conference Tourney

The Lady Vikings volleyball and golf teams were busy on Tuesday with action on the court and on the course.

Avery's women's golf team completed the 2009 Western Highlands Conference Tournament with 18 holes of play at Mountain Glen Golf Club in Newland. The lowest three individual scores from Monday's nine holes at Black Mountain Golf Course was added to the best three individual low scores in Tuesday's 18-hole round to tabulate team totals.

When the day's competition was complete, the Owen Warhorses took the overall team championship with a total score of 433. Mountain Heritage captured second place with a combined score of 458. Hendersonville finished third with a score of 486, followed in fourth place by the Lady Vikings with a team score of 505. Rounding out the team totals was Polk County with a team score of 541.

Avery's Catalina Lehmann finished tied for sixth overall in individual performances with a total of 162, which earned her a berth on the All-Conference team.

Other players from the participating schools to garner All-Conference honors include Conference Player of the Year and top overall finisher Allea Hawkins from Hendersonville, Rachel Trent, Eme Gwynn, and Caitlin Wald from Owen, and Jerrica Ledford, Katlyn Angel, and Megan Reecer of Mountain Heritage.

A pair of Avery golfers, Lehmann and Arden Stanley, qualified for Regional competition by virtue of scoring under 55 for nine holes.

"I think it's great for our team. Most of the girls we competed against have had long established programs. We took it slow and practiced twice a week just to get the girls interested in playing. In our first year to have two girls qualify for regionals is just outstanding," Avery golf coach Boe Barinowski said after the tournament.

Results for Avery players from the Conference Tournament are listed in the table link below:

Congratulations to the Lady Vikings on a great inaugural women's golf season and best of luck at Regional competition.

On Tuesday night, the Avery Lady Vikings volleyball team traveled to Marshall to take on the Madison Lady Patriots. The varsity squad battled to take one set in the best-three-out-of-five match, but the home team Lady Patriots held off the Big Red charge to take the match in four sets.

Avery returns to Viking Gym this Thursday night for the regular season home finale against the Mountain Heritage Cougars.

Lees-McRae Men's Soccer Reaches Highest Ever National Ranking

(Courtesy Lees-McRae Sports Information) BANNER ELK, N.C. – The Lees-McRae College Bobcats men’s soccer team moved up to the number one spot in the NSCAA National Rankings Tuesday after starting the season on a ten-match win streak.

The number one ranking is the highest ranking in school’s history.

The Bobcats moved up to number one after going 1-0 the previous week with a 3-0 win over Belmont Abbey. The Bobcats have started the season 10-0 overall and 5-0 in the Conference Carolinas to earn the number one ranking. The team currently ranked number one in the Southeast Region and has held that ranking since September 8th, six consecutive weeks.
Here is this week's complete rankings

“We are happy and very proud of where we are at right now, but this wasn’t a goal of ours in October,” head coach Chris Whalley said. “We have plenty of soccer left to play this season before we can reach our goals we set at the beginning of the season.”

The Bobcats have a tough schedule left in the 2009 season. They have to travel to currently ranked No. 22 Anderson for a conference match and host regionally ranked Tusculum.

Vikings Seek to Rebuild Momentum at Expense of Wolverines

With a 40-7 loss in its rear view mirror following last Friday night’s contest with Hendersonville, the Avery football team will look to rebound by picking up a win this Friday night at MacDonald Stadium against the Polk County Wolverines.

Last week’s defeat dropped Avery (4-3 overall, 2-1 conference) into a tie for second in the Western Highlands Conference standings, while Polk County (5-2 overall) shut out Mitchell 29-0 last Friday night and is part of the logjam along with the Cougars and Vikings at 2-1 in WHC play.

Last season the Wolverines defeated Avery by a 28-7 score in Columbus, and have won the last three battles between the teams.

Scouting the Wolverines
The Polk Wolverines are led by eighth-year head coach Bruce Ollis. The team was 7-5 a season ago with a young ball club after winning the conference in 2007. In the recent past, the club has utilized a pass-oriented offense, but the Wolverines have adapted a more ground-based running game.

“We’re always optimistic here in Columbus,” Coach Ollis remarked during the preseason. “Our players expect to win and we feel very good.”

2009 marks the first season that the Wolverines play in the Western Highlands Conference as a 2A team, encouraging news to Vikings teams who have also had to face Polk in postseason play over the past four seasons.

Polk entered the season with high expectations behind starting quarterback Andre Overholt (5’9”, 145 lb. Jr.), but an injury forced the run/pass dual threat quarterback out of action before returning two weeks ago against Mountain Heritage.

Backup Dakota Turner filled in admirably in Overholt’s absence however, by ranking among the region’s leaders in passing with 768 yards, mostly in connections with teammate and senior wide receiver Justin Blackburn. Running back Keenan Littlejohn (81 yards on 16 carries in last week’s win over Mitchell) continues to emerge as a ground threat to keep the pressure off the Polk signal-callers.

Defensively, the Wolverines are led by J.J. Maxwell who averages around 12 tackles per contest, while Overholt was All-Conference as a sophomore at defensive back a season ago.

Polk returns a number of players at key positions this season, including RB/LB Justin Ridings, running back/cornerback Landon Schlabach, and tight end/defensive lineman Seth McCool.

The Low Down:
Avery will need to quickly recover from the blowout loss to the Bearcats, as the Wolverines will prove to be another stern conference test. Turnovers plagued the Vikings in last Friday’s loss, while the Wolverines, though not possessing the sheer speed of Hendersonville, still have its share of fast athletes who can quickly get to the football.

Friday’s loss was a watermark for this year’s Avery Vikings team. How they respond in this week’s game may speak volumes on how well the team can respond from adversity and get back into the win column.

Polk County can throw the ball with the likes of Blackburn as the wide receiver position, but the running game and stingy defense was the bread-and-butter last week against Mitchell. Avery must keep the Polk defense guessing to have its greatest chance for success at MacDonald Stadium this Friday.

By the Numbers:
2- special teams touchdowns surrendered by Avery in Friday’s 40-7 loss at Hendersonville Friday night.
4- Avery turnovers in the second quarter of last week’s contest.
19 – passing yards on two completions as Avery sophomore quarterback Alex Villanueva was held in check by the Bearcats last week.
141 – yards in total offense gained by the Vikings in last week’s loss to Hendersonville. Ironically enough, also the total yardage the Polk defense held Mitchell to in its victory last Friday.
446- receiving yards by Polk County wide receiver Justin Blackburn entering last week’s win over Mitchell, good enough for third in the region.

Read next week’s edition of the Journal-Times for a full recap of Friday’s game with Polk County, as well as a preview of next week’s game at Madison.

Vikings Falls to Owen, Providence Academy, Blasts Gryphons

On Wednesday night October 7^th, the Avery soccer team hosted rival Owen in a conference battle at a cool and breezy MacDonald Stadium. The Vikings drew first blood in the match when Dillon Gentry sent a pass ahead to Kyle Griewisch, leaving Avery scorer for the season, slipped through the Warhorse defense and planted a low shot into the lower left-hand corner of the goal to spot the Big Red a 1-0 lead.

Owen managed to answer with a goal late in the half, however, when a long throw-in by Tony Halvorson was headed in by Owen's Pedro Jose Bernio Bernio to tie the match at 1-1 which was the score at halftime.

The first half was physical as the teams combined for 14 fouls, while both defenses were strong, allowing only three shots apiece through the opening 40 minutes. In the second half, the Warhorses managed a pair of goals which served as the difference in the 3-1 final score.

Avery soccer played its second match in two days the following afternoon when it traveled to Johnson City for a non-conference match against Providence Academy. The teams battled to a 1-1 tie in their earlier matchup in Newland. On Thursday Providence took advantage of a non-call inside the box, scoring a goal that proved the difference in a 1-0 Avery defeat.

The clubs brought a powerful defensive effort to the pitch, as neither team could crack the scoreboard through the opening 40 minutes of play. Providence was the beneficiary of a non-call which should have stopped play. Providence took advantage of the situation by scoring a goal that ended up being the game-winner.

On Monday the Vikings traveled to Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy for a Western Highlands Conference match. The contest was all Vikings, as the Big Red blew out the Gryphons by a final match score of 11-0. Avery's record now stands at 9-5-2 on the season.

On Wednesday the Vikings now HOST Hendersonville this Wednesday. The venue has been changed to Avery due to poor field conditions at Hendersonville High School.

Football Contest Week Eight Winner and Week Nine Picks

Congratulations to Sam Burleson, who won the football contest for the second time this season. Sam was correct with 17 out of 20 games last week

Sam is entered in our end-of-season prize drawing. Special thanks again to Avery Tire and Service of Newland (Hwy 181 on the four lane), the Avery Journal-Times of Newland, as well as the Avery High School and Cloudland High School football programs.

Below is the slate of games for this week:

1. Polk County @ Avery
2. Hancock Co. @ Cloudland
3. Fred T. Foard @ Watauga
4. Hendersonville @ Mitchell
5. Asheville @ McDowell
6. Hickory @ Freedom
7. Madison @ Owen
8. Mt. Heritage @ Thomas Jefferson
9. Unaka @ Hampton (TN)
10. Appalachian State @ Wofford
11. Mars Hill College @ Brevard
12. Virginia Tech @ Georgia Tech
13. N.C. State @ Boston College
14. Virginia @ Maryland
15. Wake Forest @ Clemson
16. NFL: Carolina @ Tampa Bay
17. NFL: Cleveland @ Pittsburgh
18. NFL: Tennessee @ New England
19. NFL: Philadelphia @ Oakland
20. NFL: Baltimore @ Minnesota

Tie Breaker: Polk County @ Avery

Total # of points: ______________

Avery HS Scholar-Athletes of the Week

Dylan Aldridge (Football) and Anna Melton (Tennis) are the Edward Jones Scholar Athletes of the Week. Each student currently participates in a varsity sport at Avery High School and maintains an unweighted GPA of 3.5 or better. The Scholar Athlete Award is given for their outstanding performance – not only on the playing field, but also in the game of life. Congratulations to this week’s winners!

Previous Winners:
Week 1 – Kyle Griewisch and Caroline Crenshaw
Week 2 – Cody Shadoin and Morgan Stout
Week 3 – Brock Yackey and Kaley Faulkner
Week 4 – Morgan Bounds and Ariel Franklin

Avery Thursday JV Football Game Cancelled; Soccer Venue Moved

Avery High School Director of Athletics Matthew Bentley has announced that the Avery Vikings junior varsity football game at Polk County originally scheduled for Thursday evening has been cancelled due to illness and injury depleting an already thin Vikings roster this week.

According to Coach Bentley, the team currently plans to return to action on Thursday, October 22nd to host Madison in its next JV contest at MacDonald Stadium.


SOCCER VENUE CHANGE:
Wednesday afternoon's soccer match pitting Hendersonville and Avery which was originally slated to take place at Dietz Field in Hendersonville has now been relocated to take place Wednesday at MacDonald Stadium in Newland. Be sure to come out and support the Vikings Soccer program as it looks to knock off the 2nd ranked team in the state of North Carolina.

Avery Tennis Closes Out Home Portion of Regular Season with Pair of Wins

The Avery ladies tennis team closed out the home portion of its regular season in style, first in beating Hendersonville Tuesday on Senior night, then by avenging a loss suffered earlier this season at the hands of Mountain Heritage on Thursday.

On Tuesday, October 6^th the Avery tennis program recognized five seniors on Senior Night. In pre-match festivities Lauren Avery, Hayden Blackburn, Anna Melton, Leah Powell, and Morgan Stout were lauded for their contributions to Avery Lady Vikings Tennis.

As action ensued, the Lady Vikings did not allow the emotion of the afternoon to affect their play, taking a 7-2 overall match win as the team remained in the top three teams in the Western Highlands Conference.

Two evenings later, the Lady Vikings returned to Lees-McRae College to host the Mountain Heritage Lady Cougars in the final home match of the regular season.

In singles action, the Lady Vikings got strong play from senior teammates Lauren Avery and Morgan Stout, the latter playing a dominant match in winning by a 10-3 match score. Haley Shell was victorious in her singles match, while senior Anna Melton beat Heritage's #1 Penny Lane Buckner by the final score of 10-6 in a great display of tennis between two strong and talented competitors.

The singles match victories put the Big Red ahead by a 4-2 overall scores going into doubles play, where Avery captured two out of the three doubles matches to earn a hard-fought 6-3 team victory.

The victories this week improves the Lady Vikings to 6-3 this season, and will look to pick up its seventh victory overall when they traveled to Thomas Jefferson Classical Academy on Tuesday. Full results of the match can be found in next week’s edition.

Avery Golf Begins Conference Tournament; Soccer Trounces Thomas Jefferson

The Avery women's golf team embarked on the two-day conference tournament on Monday at Black Mountain Golf Course. Combatting the rain and wet course conditions, the girls battled hard all day against fellow conference foes Mountain Heritage, Owen, and Hendersonville.

Today was supposed to have been an 18-hole round, but weather caused a change to only nine holes. Day two will also be a nine-hole affair at Mountain Glen Golf Club in Newland on Tuesday.

Avery girls participating in round one were as follows:

Catalina Lehmann – 52
Mary Chesnut Smith – 56
Nikki Wright - 56
Noelle Henline – 62
Kelli Burleson – 62

The Owen Warlassies finished in first place after day one of competition, while Mountain Heritage is in second place. Hendersonville sits in third place, but has only a two-stroke advantage on Avery. The Lady Vikings will field Leymann, Smith, Wright, as well as Arden Stanley at Mt. Glen in an attempt to overtake the Lady Bearcats for third in conference action, while Lehmann will look to qualify for regional competition with a good tournament showing.

Soccer Shuts Out Gryphons

On Monday night the #12 ranked Avery mens soccer team blanked the Thomas Jefferson Gryphons by the final score of 11-0. The Vikings improve to 9-5-2 overall on the season, with a 5-3 conference record.

The Vikings return to the pitch on Wednesday when they face #2 ranked Hendersonville in a tough road test.

Vols Dominate Georgia, Get 45-19 Victory

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

In the week leading up to the Georgia game, many fans questioned why Jonathon Crompton was still the starting quarterback for the Vols. On Saturday afternoon, Crompton showed them why he should remain the starter.

Crompton led the Vols with an impressive performance as the Vols took the 45-19 victory over SEC East rival Georgia.

"Very big win for us to get our first (SEC) win at home and an SEC game, it was really powerful,” UT Coach Lane Kiffin said.

Crompton’s issues on the field have been documented. However on Saturday, it looked like the beleaguered quarterback had turned the corner.

Crompton was 20 of 27 for 310 yards and had four touchdowns. He also recorded an interception early in the second half, but kept his composure.

“To see Jonathon play so well was really great,” Kiffin said. “Four touchdowns and 300 yards passing verses a very talented defense was great to see."

Crompton’s performance perhaps overshadowed another impressive defensive performance for the Vols.

"I think the storyline of the day is the defense and I hope it doesn't get missed,” Kiffin said. “The score doesn't really show it. But think about this, the defense didn't give up many points. They gave up a 52 yd field goal but they never got inside the red zone. I don t know that I've ever been a part of a game that the defense didn't let a team into the red zone one time.”

The defense held the Bulldogs in check as they allowed the Georgia offense 241 yards compared to the Vols’ 472 yards on offense. The Bulldogs got on the board with a 100 yard kickoff return, an interception returned for TD, a safety, and the field goal.

The Volunteer offense looked the best it has all season. UT got on the board early in the second quarter when Crompton found Gerald Jones for a six-yard score. Georgia got on the board on the ensuing kickoff Brandon Boykin found a seam and went the distance on the return. UT quickly answered again as Crompton found Denarius Moore who made some moves and went 33-yards for the touchdown. Crompton also found Marsalis Teague for a five-yard touchdown before the half as UT entered the locker room leading 21-12.

Tennessee got on the board first in the second half with a field goal. The Bulldogs tried to seize momentum when Bacarri Rambo intercepted a pass and ran in from 28-yards to pull the Bulldogs within five points.

Kiffin’s Vols wouldn’t let them get any closer. Montario Hardesty broke loose for a 39-yard scamper to answer the Georgia score, and then Crompton hit Jones for a 51-yard touchdown pass. By the time Bryce Brown capped the Volunteer scoring when he dived into the checkerboard from 1-yard out with 7:48 left in the fourth, the party was on in Neyland Stadium.

Hardesty had 20 carries for 97 yards. Jones ended the game with five catches for 105 yards and two touchdowns, while Moore had four catches for 74 yards and the touchdown. Luke Stocker and Quentin Hancock added 68 and 31 yards respectively.

"They really responded and had a good week of practice,” Kiffin said of the receivers. “We had talked about stepping up. We had one less receiver this game so we needed guys to step up and play some more plays and they did that."

Tennessee was without receiver Brandon Warren who was dismissed from the team on Monday.

Despite the success, Kiffin was not happy with all of his units as the special teams drew the coach’s ire after giving up a safety on a punt as well as the kickoff return.

“I don't know what more you can do on kickoff coverage than we did this week,” Kiffin said. “Unfortunately, we got momentum and then they got a 100 yd return again. So, we'll have to look at the film and figure something out. We put everybody that we could on that team to try and make a play so we're going to have to figure it out. Obviously the safety on the blocked punt, we got beat inside on that. It was very disappointing.”

For the coaching staff, the win on Saturday meant more than just a normal victory.

“This is a big time match up for us,” Kiffin said. “[Georgia] is a state we do a lot of recruiting at so it was very important for us. I don't know all the Tennessee history and traditions of all the matchups nor do I ever pretend to, but GA is one of the great teams in this conference. I told [the team] that to me, this is the biggest matchup. To me, Georgia, because of what we need to do in recruiting, will be the biggest matchup for this staff and for our team so it was a great win for us.”

The Volunteers will take a much needed week off before heading to Tuscaloosa to face the #2 team in the nation Alabama.

ASU's Moore Named SoCon Offensive Player of the Week

(courtesy Appalachian Sports Information) SPARTANBURG, S.C. — On the strength of 124 rushing yards on just 11 carries in Saturday’s 55-21 win over North Carolina Central, Appalachian State University running back Devon Moore (Mebane, N.C./Cedar Ridge) has been named the Southern Conference Offensive Player of the Week, the SoCon office announced on Monday.

Moore’s award-winning performance included a 73-yard touchdown run that gave Appalachian a 7-0 lead on its fourth play from scrimmage. The run was the longest of the junior’s career and the second-longest play of the season for ASU.

He went on to record his third 100-yard game of the season with a gaudy 11.3 yards-per-rush average and a career-best two touchdowns, all while pacing the Mountaineers’ 407-yard rushing attack. After rushing for 400 yards as a team just three times from October 1977-October 2007, the Apps have accomplished the feat six times in their past 26 games.

Just a year removed from a foot injury that cost him all but three games in 2008, Moore ranks 17th nationally with 488 rushing yards this season (97.6 per game). The SoCon recognition is the first of his career.

Moore and the Mountaineers (3-2, 2-0 SoCon) return to conference action on Saturday when they travel to Wofford (1-4, 0-2). The SoCon battle kicks off at 3 p.m. at Gibbs Stadium in Spartanburg, S.C. and will be televised live on SportSouth.

Mountaineers Roll Over NCCU 55-21

Courtesy of Appalachian Sports Information

BOONE, N.C. - No. 9/10 Appalachian State University football racked up 644 yards of total offense and 34 first downs and held a 407-5 advantage in rushing yardage en route to a 55-21 homecoming rout over North Carolina Central on Saturday at Kidd Brewer Stadium. Appalachian (3-2) dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball to claim the commanding triumph. Led by 124 yards from Devon Moore, ASU rushed for more than 400 yards for the sixth time in its last 25 games while its defense held an opponent to fewer than 50 rushing yards for the third time since the beginning of the 2003 season and less than five rushing yards for the second time in the past eight games (ASU limited Western Carolina to minus-two yards on the ground in last year’s regular-season finale). In all, Appalachian out-gained N.C. Central, 644-194. ASU’s 644 yards were the most NCCU has ever allowed in its 86-year football history. Despite the eye-popping numbers, the Mountaineers had to overcome a sluggish start to post the dominating win. Thanks to a pair of turnovers deep in their own territory, the Apps trailed, 14-7, after one quarter. ASU wasted little time in grabbing a 7-0 lead, as Moore scored on a 73-yard run on the Mountaineers’ fourth play from scrimmage but turnovers on their next two possessions ­— Armanti Edwards’ first interception in 85 attempts this season and a fumble by Moore ­­— led to NCCU touchdown drives of 11 and 24 yards and a 14-7 deficit. From the second quarter on, however, it was all Appalachian. The Apps scored on eight of their final nine possessions, driving at least 53 yards on all nine series, and out-gained the Eagles, 574-130, over the final three periods. The Mountaineers scored 17 points in the second quarter, 10 in the third and 21 in the fourth to turn the early scare into a comfortable victory. The Mountaineers didn’t punt in 12 possessions on the afternoon (seven touchdowns, two field goals, an interception, fumble and one turnover on downs) while forcing NCCU to kick the ball away seven times, including five three-and-outs. Moore led the way with his third 100-yard rushing performance of the season. Thanks in large part to his 73-yard touchdown scamper, which surpassed the previous longest run of his career by 27 yards, the junior needed only 11 carries to amass his 124 yards, good for an 11.3-yards-per-rush average. In addition to the 73-yarder, Moore also scored from three yards out, giving him two touchdowns in a game for the first time in his career. Edwards turned in his usual terrific day with 334 yards of total offense, including 237 on 17-of-29 passing and 97 on 10 rushes. His favorite target was junior Matt Cline, who set career highs with eight catches for 107 yards. It was the first 100-yard performance of his career. Linebackers Jacque Roman and D.J. Smith combined for 15 tackles (eight and seven, respectively) to pace the Mountaineers’ stout defensive effort. Smith recorded two of the Apps’ nine stops behind the line of scrimmage while Malcolm Bennett and Lanston Tanyi each registered one of ASU’s three sacks. Quarterback Michael Johnson starred for N.C. Central with 186 yards and two touchdowns on 16-of-23 passing. Will Scott and Geovonie Irvine each had three catches for the Eagles. With its non-conference slate now behind it, Appalachian embarks on six-consecutive Southern Conference duels to close out the regular season, beginning with next Saturday’s tilt at Wofford. The 3 p.m. affair at Gibbs Stadium in Spartanburg, S.C. will be televised live on SportSouth. NOTES: Appalachian’s six 400-yard rushing efforts in its last 25 games are made even more impressive by the fact that it has only accomplished the feat three other times since 1977 ... ASU extended its home winning streak over in-state opponents to 26 games ... the Mountaineers haven’t lost to an in-state foe at home since it fell to Western Carolina, 34-7, on Oct. 6, 1984 at then-Conrad Stadium ... ASU moved to 35-11-2 all-time in homecoming games at Conrad/Kidd Brewer Stadium ... ASU kicker Jason Vitaris’ 40-yard field goal in the third quarter moved him to 4-for-4 this season from 40 yards and beyond ... the Mountaineers donned gold jerseys in honor of ASU’s 2009 homecoming theme “Solid Gold” ... the game-worn Nike jerseys will be auctioned off this week at GoASU.com.