AJ-T Sports LIVE FROM...Kidd-Brewer Stadium (WCU @ ASU)

It's Senior Day at Kidd-Brewer Stadium as the Mountaineers play host to the Western Carolina Catamounts in the Battle for the Old Mountain Jug. A number of seniors, including quarterback Armanti Edwards, are playing their final regiular season home game before the Black and Gold faithful.

ASU clinched at least a share of the Southern Conference title last week in its win over Elon, and hope to improve seeding and increase the likelihood of home field advantage through the playoffs with its ninth win of the season and an undefeated conference season.

We'll be here providing updates throughout the afternoon live from the press box!
The Avery Journal-Times Sports Blog---your ORIGINAL and most trusted source for local middle, high school, and college athletics!

Update #1: WCU is held to a three-and-out on its first series. Tavaris Cadet returned the ensuing punt for a touchdown, only to see it called back by a penalty. Cadet is also starting for Armanti Edwards at QB on the Apps' opening drive The Mountaineers are held to three-and-out as well and have to kick it back to the Catamounts. Opening minutes first quarter: scoreless.

Update #2: WCU is held on its second series and pins ASU back with a punt to its own 9 yard line. Bad field position didn't matter, however, as the Mountaineers used a big gainer on a run by Devon Mooreto get into Catamount territory. ASU managed to drive the football inside the WCU 15-yard line, but the Catamount defense holds. The 11 play, 76-yard drive ends with a field goal of 32 yards from Jason Vitaris. 5:45 remains in the opening quarter and the Black and Gold lead 3-0.

Update #3: Western is threatening to score as a 47-yard scamper by WCU running back Michael Johnson gives the purple and gold a first and goal inside the Mountaineer ten-yard line. Western ends up going for it on fourth down from the one yard line, and two old Western North Carolina high school names, former Pisgah quarterback Zach Jaynes and former Owen running back Dion Wilson, connect on a one-yard scoring pass. The PAT puts the Catamounds ahead 7-3 with 2:42 to play in the opening quarter.

Update#4: Western's defense holds ASU's offense to another three-and-out despite a kickoff out of bounds following their touchdown. WCU takes over at its own 20 yard line. Western has advanced the ball to the 40 yard line as the first quarter clock expires. Western Carolina leads it 7-3 after one quarter of action from The Rock.

Update#5: Western again advanced the ball into ASU territory, but the Black and Gold defense stiffens thanks to a pair of stops for loss by lineman Langston Tanyi. WCU punts the ball back to App, where they start 1st and 10 from its own 9-yard line with just under ten minutes remaining before halftime.

Western's defense has been solid thus far, holding the Mountaineers to yet another three-and-out to force another Sam Martin ASU punt. WCU takes over at midfield for the next Catamount offensive series. 8:48 left before halftime and the Catamounts cling to a 7-3 lead. WCU is held to another three-and-out series and kicks the ball back to Appalachian. 7:00 exactly remains on the second quarter clock and Appalachian trails Western 7-3.

Appalachian finally gets something moving offensively, moving the football to the WCU 32 yard line, but are facing a 4th and 5 play, enticing the coaching staff at ASU to go for the first down rather than kick the field goal attempt. ASU goes for the first down, but the WCU defense deflects the pass, turning the ball over on downs to the Catamounts with 2:32 to go before halftime. Great defensive effort thus far from WCU. App seems a little sluggish without all-everything QB Edwards in the game. We may see #14 in the game come second half for the Mountaineers.

Update #6: Western Carolina drives into Appalachian territory in its final series of the first half, but a holding call pushes the Catamounts back near midfield. The connection of Jaynes to Wilson connects again on a screen pass to move Western to the Appalachian 26-yard line with under 40 seconds to play. A third down pass play to the end zone is ruled caught out of bounds, forcing WCU to settle for a field goal attempt, which was no good.

Appalachian takes over and runs out the clock. Western Carolina leads it at the half 7-3. We'll have stats and more during the half from The Rock!

Update #7: As the second half begins, it appears that the Mountaineer offense behind the running of Devon Moore has awakened. With its first drive of the second half, Appalachian maneuvers 73 yards over six plays, capping the drive with a 25-yard touchdown run by Moore. The extra point gives ASU the lead back at 10-7 with 13:06 to play in the third quarter.

The Mountaineer offense was held to only 147 total yards at halftime (126 on the ground), Tavaris Cadet was only 4 of 10 for 21 yards passing in the first half.

Update #8: The teams have traded punts and Western has possession at its own 30 yard line with 6:48 to play in the third period. Appalachian moved the ball to near midfield, but the Western defense held to force another ASU punt. The third quarter clock expires with the Mountaineers holding a narrow 10-7 lead.

Langston Tanyi and Jabari Fletcher sack Zach Jaynes on third down from the WCU 15-yard line for a SAFETY! The gaffe adds a pair to the ASU ledger, as the Mountaineers lead it 12-7. ASU then gets the football back on the free kick. Big defensive play by the Black and Gold in this afternoon's struggle.

A 43-yard pass connection from Cadet to DeAndre Pressley moves the Mountaineers to the WCU 2-yard line, where Devon Moore punches the football over the goal line on the next play. The PAT makes the score 19-7. A four play, 45-yard drive taking only 1:43 off the fourth quarter clock gives the Apps the dozen-point advantage. 19-7 ASU leads it with 12:57 left to play. Note: Devon Moore has rushed for 190 yards in today's game, a career high.

Following a Mountaineer punt in the final two minutes, Western shows that it refuses to go away silently, driving the field quickly to score on a 2-yard touchdown run by Michael Johnson score to cap a six-play, 59-yard drive. Johnson goes over 100 yards on the day with the run, and the PAT cuts the deficit to 19-14 with only 39 seconds left in the game.

Western attempts the onside kick, but Brian Quick of the Mountaineers recovers the ball, stepping out of bounds at the WCU 37. Appalachian appears to have sealed its 23rd win in 25 games in the Battle for the Old Mountain Jug. The Mountaineers improve to 9-2 for the regular season and awaits its playoff seeding and opponent to be released Sunday afternoon.

We'll have some final stats from this big Mountaineer victory momenta

9:00: The second half has just gotten on the way here in Neyland Stadium as the Vols took a 24 to 10 lead into the the locker room.

At the end of the third quarter, UT continues to lead 24 to 13 over Vandy.

Middle School Hoops: Avery Upends Cranberry in IntraCounty Battle

Last Thursday evening the intra-county rivalry between the Avery Middle School Panthers and the Cranberry Middle School Wildcats was renewed at Avery High School’s Viking Gym. The night was a stellar one for the silver, white, and black attack, as the Panthers swept both halves of the girls/boys basketball doubleheader.

The ladies opened play, and the two squads played evenly through a tightly contested first quarter. Despite the absence of two starters due to illness, the Lady Wildcats used a slow-down pace to look for good shots and keep the game close. Avery, a team that enjoys running the floor, managed to pick the pace up near the close of the period to take a 7-5 lead after one quarter.

Avery sped up its offense in the second quarter, as the duo of Lauren Burleson and Breanna Heaton combined to score ten of the 11 Lady Panthers points in the stanza. Cranberry was only able to muster three baskets in the quarter, one each from Bethany Burleson, Sarah Beth Daniels, and Amber Johnson, as Avery took an 18-11 halftime lead.

In the second half the Lady Panthers clamped down defensively, holding Cranberry scoreless for over half the period. Meanwhile Avery started clicking on its turnover-induced fast break. Heaton was a force with her ability to shoot and drive, scoring 10 of her game-high 16 points in the quarter. Avery doubled its entire first half output in the third quarter alone, leading 36-16 after three quarters.

Cranberry’s Abby Thompson drained a pair of three-pointers to try to get the Lady Wildcats back into the game in the final stanza, but Avery proved too strong as it netted a 42-25 win.

“I thought we could create some turnovers with our zone and play tight, but weren’t able to do so in the early part of the game. We switched to a man-to-man to speed up the tempo,” Avery head coach Donnie Johnson said after the game. “If it involves speed of the game, we’re going to excel and get more possessions. We tried to keep running and shots started to fall in the second half.”

Breanna Heaton led Avery scorers with 16 points, with 11 points from Lauren Burleson and eight from Haley Woody. Bethany Burleson paced Cranberry with seven points, with six apiece from Abby Thompson and Sara Beth Daniels.

The win puts Avery alone in first place in the Toe River Conference standings at 5-0, and the team believes it has the ability to sweep the second half of the season as well.

“I think we’re good enough to finish the regular season undefeated. We are improving with each game,” Coach Johnson said. “We worked the ball better tonight, but it will all depend on our shooting on a given night. Our defense is going to be there, but how well we shoot the ball with be the difference.”

The boys game closed out the evening, and Avery established its dominance early with a 14-2 scoring margin through the opening six minutes of play. Stetson Stafford managed the lone Cranberry field goal, while Avery’s Chase Buchanan was strong inside with seven points for the quarter.

Avery continued to pour it on, using a 12-5 run in the second quarter to take a 26-7 lead at halftime.

Stafford and Cranberry teammate Chandler Austin combined for six points in the third quarter to try to mount a comeback, but Avery answered with field goals each from Chance Watson, Ty Polsgrove, Kobe Pittman, and Luke Wotell to lead 34-13 after three periods and eventually capture the win with a 41-23 victory.

Chase Buchanan led ten Avery scorers with 11 points. Watson added eight in the win, with five points from Polsgrove. Stafford and Austin were Cranberry’s high scorers with seven points apiece.

Both teams continue the road this week to the Toe River Conference regular season championship and each will host a conference game this Thursday evening with girls action starting at 5 p.m. at the respective schools.

SECOND HALF STING: Speed, Defense Lifts Yellow Jackets over Vikings in State Football Playoffs

For two quarters of Friday night’s NCHSAA 1AA football playoff opening round contest in Bessemer City, the Vikings defense stymied the host Bessemer City Yellow Jackets. Touchdowns on the first three drives of the second half eventually sounded the death knell to the season for Avery, however, as the Jackets took a 33-9 victory.

Avery opened the game on offense and utilized the Wing-T offense to run the football. The Vikings gained a first down, but Bessemer City quickly adjusted, forcing an Avery punt. Bessemer City’s offensive speed was prevalent with its first offensive series. Wide receiver Raheem McMiller took an end around for a 29-yard gain, with an Avery penalty tacked onto the end of the run to set the Yellow Jackets up in the Avery red zone.

Three plays later Logan ran around the right side inside the Viking 10-yard line. Logan was separated from the football on the run, however, and Colton Blackburn fell on the ball to give Avery the first big break of the contest.

With the turnover, the Vikings gained a first down, but could get only as far as their own 24-yard line. Avery looked to draw Bessemer City offside on a fourth and less than a yard, but a false start by the Big Red forced Avery to kick the ball back to the Yellow Jackets.

Bessemer City wasted little time in scoring its first points of the game as Xavier Logan topped a three-play, 54-yard drive with a 19-yard touchdown jaunt. The PAT gave the Yellow Jackets a 7-0 lead with 14 seconds left in the first quarter.

Avery held possession of the football for the opening minutes of the second period and marched with its ensuing drive following the Yellow Jacket touchdown to the BC 30. The Vikings opted to go for it on a fourth and inches play, and Bessemer City rose up to stop the Alex Villanueva quarterback sneak shy of the marker, turning the football over on downs to the Yellow Jackets.

The Avery defense rose to the occasion and forced Bessemer City to punt the ball back to the Viking offense with 5:30 left in the half. From that point, Avery chewed up the clock as well as yardage, driving inside the Bessemer City 5-yard line. Key to the drive was a fourth down conversion pass from Villanueva to wide receiver Andy Gonzalez.

Avery got as close as the BCHS 1-yard line, but was unable to punch the football across the goal line, so the Vikings settled for an Andres Castaneda field goal as time expired, drawing Avery to within 7-3 at halftime.

Bessemer City seized control of the game early in the second half. Less than a minute after a short kickoff, the Yellow Jackets took advantage of positive field position to extend its lead. On the third offensive play of the half, Xavier Logan slipped through the Vikings secondary for a 37-yard touchdown carry, bolstering the home team’s advantage to 14-3.

The stern BC defense held the Vikings to a three-and-out to force a punt. With its next drive the Yellow Jackets took a more methodical approach, as the team maneuvered 61 yards over ten plays. A key third down conversion pass play from Logan to McMiller picked up a first down. Avery’s defense buckled down to force a fourth down from the Viking 11. Bessemer City went for the first down and managed to reach the end zone on a corner route from Logan to Terrance Dawkins. The PAT failed, but the Big Red was behind 20-3.

Avery looked to get things going offensively, but the team’s lone turnover occurred when Alex Villanueva was hit from behind on a pass attempt. BC’s Kameron Wilson was at the right place at the right time to possess the football for the Yellow Jackets inside the Avery 15 yard line.

The Yellow Jackets effectively secured the game as it capitalized on the Viking error. Three carries by Jhalen Adams eventually pushed the Yellow Jackets to pay dirt. Another extra point attempt failed, but the 19 unanswered Bessemer City points left the Jackets leading the Vikings 26-3 as the fourth quarter got underway.

The Vikings turned the football over on downs as they tried to piece together a scoring drive. Bessemer then looked to add to the lopsided score when Logan completed a long touchdown pass to wide receiver Brandon Corry, but a penalty against the Jackets negated the score.

Reaching deep and displaying great pride, Avery forced a Bessemer punt and on its ensuing offensive series scored its only touchdown of the game. The Vikings moved 84 yards with nine plays in just under three minutes of clock time. Villanueva connected with Andy Gonzalez on a 37-yard pass completion, then Villanueva called his own number for a two-yard touchdown run to cut the margin to 26-9.

Bessemer City added a final score to provide for the final margin of victory when Logan found open space for a 20-yard touchdown run.

Bessemer City out-gained Avery 336-208 in the game, while its defense held Avery under the 13 point average surrendered during the regular season. Xavier Logan had 12 carries for 101 yards and three touchdowns, while teammate Jhalen Adams added 92 yards on 14 rushes and a score.

For the Big Red, Alex Villanueva was 14 for 23 for 133 yards, with 100 yards on nine catches from wide receiver Andy Gonzalez. Colton Blackburn led the Vikings in rushing with 13 carries for 56 yards.

Avery finishes its season with a 5-7 overall record, but return most of its roster next season, leaving hopes high that the Vikings can achieve even greater goals in 2010.

Weekly Contest Winner and This Week's Picks

Congratulations to Thomas Jackson who continued his hot predicting streak with another weekly win in our weekly picks contest.

Only this week and next week remain in the picks contest for this season. Best of luck to all!

Here are this week's games!:

1. Eastern Randolph at Mountain Heritage
2. East Wilkes at Hendersonville
3. Polk County at Thomasville
4. Bessemer City at Swain County
5. Rockwood (TN) at Hampton (TN)
6. Maryland at Florida State
7. North Carolina at Boston College
8. Virginia at Clemson
9. N.C. State at Virginia Tech
10. Duke at Miami (FL)
11. California at Stanford
12. Ohio State at Michigan
13. LSU at Mississippi
14. Vanderbilt at Tennessee
15. Western Carolina at Appalachian St.
16. Oklahoma at Texas Tech
17. NFL: Washington at Dallas
18. NFL: Atlanta at N.Y. Giants
19. NFL: Indianapolis at Baltimore
20. NFL: San Diego at Denver

Tie Breaker: LSU at Mississippi
Total # of points: ____________

Trotman Takes First at Michigan State Open

(courtesy ASU Sports Information)
EAST LANSING, MICH. - Austin Trotman (Winston-Salem, N.C./Mount Tabor) won the 174 pound weight class to lead Appalachian State University wrestling in the season-opener at the Michigan State Open on Sunday.

ASU had eight wrestlers finish in the top-six in their weight class as the Mountaineers had a solid debut to the 2009-10 season. The tournament featured more than 20 schools, including ranked opponents such as Central Michigan, Indiana and Michigan State.

A redshirt sophomore, Trotman led the way for ASU with his first place finish. He defeated The Citadel’s Jonathan Oddo 14-5 in the first round and followed that with a 7-0 decision over Ian Hinton to reach the finals. In the finals he dominated Findlay’s Justin Shannon 10-1 to take home first place honors.

Frank Celorrio (Miami, Fla./Hialeah) was the Apps’ next highest finisher, taking fourth at 133. He won three match on the day, including a 4-2 decision over Zach Neibert to clinch fourth place.
Three Mountaineers earned fifth place finished in the open division, including Mike Kessler (Bay City, Mich./Bay City Western), Kyle Blevins (Sapulpa, Okla./Sapulpa) and Dylan Temple (Marietta, Ga./Walton).

Kessler won his first match of the day by pinning Ohio’s Heath Allen. After a second round loss, Kessler went 1-1 in the consolation bracket before defeating Ohio’s Darren Boing 10-8 in the fifth place match.

Blevins opened his season with a 2-1 win over Kris Bowser before falling in the next round to Indiana’s Ryan LeBlanc. Blevins, like Kessler, went 1-1 in the consolation round before beating Michigan State’s Ben Boudro 9-4 for fifth.

After falling in the first round, Temple won five-straight matches to capture fifth. The junior defeated North Idaho’s Jacob Burge to capture fifth.

Savva Kostis (Boone, N.C./Watauga) captured sixth place, picking up two wins in the process, beating The Citadel’s Derek Royster 8-1 and Cleveland State’s Collin McCreary 14-5.

Paul Glover (Rochester, N.Y./Spencerport) and Carter Downs (Tequesta, Fla./Jupiter Christian) represented ASU well in the under 21 division, earning fourth and fifth place finishes, respectively.

Also for ASU, Brock Durfee (Sherrills Ford, N.C./Bandys), Jacob Earp (Boone, N.C./Watauga) and Richie Dehnz (Naples, Fla./Palmetto Ridge) picked up two wins apiece while freshmen Brett Boston (Morganton, N.C./Freedom) and Chris Collura (Spencerport, N.Y./Spencerport) picked up a win and sophomore Travis Puckett (Matthews, N.C./David W. Butler) earned a win.

Appalachian is back in action on Sunday, Nov. 22 when they travel to the Keystone Classic in Philadelphia, Pa.

Bobcats Elite Eight Bound! Lees-McRae Tops Brevard in OT

Courtesy of Lees-McRae Sports Information

BANNER ELK, N.C. – Lee Squires scored the golden goal in the 91st minute as the Lees-McRae College Bobcats defeated the Anderson University Trojans 3-2 in the 2009 NCAA Tournament’s Southeast Regional at Tate Field Sunday afternoon in an overtime thriller.

With the win, Lees-McRae improves to 17-2-1 overall and will advance to the Elite Eight of the 2009 NCAA Tournament, which will be held at Tate Field Saturday, November 21st at 7 p.m. against the South Region winner Tampa. The Bobcats made it to the Elite Eight in 2007, but suffered a 2-0 loss. Anderson, who made its first ever NCAA Tournament appearance and Sweet Sixteen appearance, ends their season at 13-4-3 overall.

Anderson’s Lasse Sohrweide opened the scoring in the 17th minute off a corner kick from Paulo Passini to give the Trojans the 1-0 lead, but Lees-McRae’s David Palmer responded in the 22nd minute cross from Jamie Price that Richard Guffens flick onto Palmer’s head for the one-timer and to tie the match at one.

After the intermission, it was Lees-McRae’s Squires that broke the tie with his goal in the 73rd minute. Palmer crossed the ball to Squires, who was all-alone on the back post for the goal to make it 2-1, but Anderson would answer in the 90th minute to the tie the match.

With 29 seconds left in the second half, Anderson took a free kick from just inside midfield that was cleared for a throw-in. On the throw-in, the ball bounced around and was eventually headed in by Anderson’s keeper Lukas Hesse, who had left his net with time running down, to tie the match at two and force overtime.

In overtime, it was the 2009 Southeast Regional Offensive MVP, Lee Squires, who ended the match 59-seconds into the extra period with his second goal of the day and third goal of the regional.

The goal was set up when, Southeast Regional Defensive MVP, Sean Paradise, took a free kick from just outside the Lees-McRae 18-yard box. Luke Perry brought the kick down at the top of the Anderson penalty area and played a through pass to Squires, who struck it near post for the game winner.

Lees-McRae outshot Anderson 16-12, but Anderson held a 6-3 corner kick advantage.

Joining Squires, the offensive MVP, and Paradise, the defensive MVP, on the 2009 Southeast Region All-Tournament Team is Carson-Newman’s Ben Backstrom, Wingate’s Luke Mulholland, Anderson’s Sohrweide, Adrien Moufflet, Hesse and Passini and Lees-McRae’s Guffens, Palmer and Jamie Price.

Mountaineers Clinch Fifth Straight SoCon Title, Playoff Berth

Courtesy of Appalachian Sports Information

ELON, N.C. – Appalachian State University took a 21-0 lead on the first play of the second quarter and cruised to a 27-10 win over No. 6 Elon on Saturday afternoon at Rhodes Stadium that clinch Appalachian's fifth-straight Southern Conference football championship.

In addition to becoming just the second program in SoCon history to win five conference titles in a row, No. 7/8 Appalachian (8-2, 7-0 SoCon) earned the league’s automatic berth in the 2009 NCAA Division I Football Championship. ASU will make its fifth-consecutive postseason appearance when the playoffs begin on Nov. 28.

ASU's 19th-consecutive SoCon win came in convincing fashion. Elon (8-2, 6-1 SoCon) came into the contest with the nation's No. 1-ranked defense and fifth-ranked offense, but the Mountaineers outplayed the Phoenix to the tune of a 486-270 advantage in total yardage. The yards were the most allowed and the second-fewest gained by Elon this season.

Appalachian all but put the game away in the first quarter, thanks in large part to intercepting Elon quarterback Scott Riddle three times in the game's first 14:50. ASU turned the three interceptions into touchdown drives of 50, 90 and 15 yards to take the commanding 21-0 lead on the opening play of the second period. Mark LeGree grabbed two of the three interceptions - giving him a SoCon-leading six on the season - and Armanti Edwards capped the three scoring drives with touchdown runs of 15, six and three yards.

From there, the Mountaineers put the 21-point advantage in the hands of their defense, which responded by forcing the Phoenix to punt on its final three possessions of the first half. In all, the ASU defense forced four punts and three turnovers while limiting Elon to just 110 yards before halftime.

The only bad news of the opening two periods came on ASU's final series of the half when Edwards, who had completed 12-of-14 passes to that point, was hit by Elon's Andre Campbell on an incomplete pass late in the second quarter and headed to the locker room early with an injury to his right knee.

With Edwards still out of action, Elon forced Appalachian's only three-and-out of the day on the first series of the second half. Buoyed by the stop, the Phoenix drove inside the ASU five yard line on its ensuing possession. However, the Mountaineer defense held its ground and the Phoenix had to settle for a 23-yard field goal that cut the Apps' advantage to 21-3.

Edwards returned to the game on the following series and led the Mountaineers on a nine-play, 50-yard drive that milked 4:53 off the clock and culminated with a 35-yard field goal by Jason Vitaris that extended the ASU lead back to 21 points at 24-3.

That would be more than enough for the Black-and-Gold defense, which forced two more three-and-outs before Elon finally found the end zone on a 12-yard touchdown pass from Riddle to Aaron Mellette with 4:48 left to play. With that score, the Phoenix avoided its lowest scoring output of the season and Riddle dodged being held without a touchdown pass for just the second time in his stellar three-year career.

Despite Elon's late score, the story of the day was the Mountaineer defense. ASU held the Phoenix to 25 points, 97 rushing yards, 88 passing yards and 185 total yards below its season averages while forcing six punts and three turnovers in 12 defensive series.

Linebacker D.J. Smith led the way with a game-high 15 tackles. Defensive linemen Anthony Williams, Jabari Fletcher and Lanston Tanyi combined to sack Riddle five times and cornerback Ed Gainey had the second of ASU's three first-quarter interceptions.

Offensively, Edwards rushed for 73 yards and all three Mountaineer touchdowns and completed 21-of-24 passes for 281 yards despite sustaining the knee injury near the end of the first half. He is listed as questionable by ASU's medical staff for next week's regular-season finale versus Western Carolina.

Matt Cline caught eight of Edwards' passes for 104 yards and Brian Quick fell just short of the century mark with 99 yards on six catches.

Appalachian looks to wrap up a third undefeated SoCon slate in four years and claim the outright conference crown next Saturday when it hosts archrival WCU in the annual Battle for the Old Mountain Jug at Kidd Brewer Stadium. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m.

NOTES: Appalachian joins Georgia Southern, which won six-straight titles from 1997-2002, as the only SoCon programs to ever win as many as five-consecutive league championships ... ASU's 19-straight SoCon wins are the fourth-most in the league's 88-year football history and the most since West Virginia's record 30 wins in a row from 1952-59... Edwards is the first starting quarterback to ever lead a squad to four-straight SoCon championships ... ASU's SoCon title is its 10th overall and its FCS postseason berth is its 17th ... the Mountaineers stretched their winning streak over Elon to 14, with Elon's last win in the series coming in 1964 ... with a season of eligibility still remaining, LeGree became the FCS active leader with 16 interceptions in his career ... Vitaris (2-for-4) missed two field goals in a game for the first time in his career ... Riddle's three interceptions matched a career high ... prior to Saturday, Elon's largest deficit in a SoCon game this season was three points.