Vikings Compete in Holiday Classic The Avery Vikings varsity basketball teams were in action on Friday at the Unimin Holiday Classic at Mitchell High School. On Friday both Vikings teams took on R-S Central. The Lady Vikings earned a hard fought one-point win over the Lady Hilltoppers to move to 1-1 on the young season, while the Avery boys fell to the R-S Central boys team to also fall to 1-1 overall.
On Saturday the Lady Vikings will be back in action, taking on the Lady Raiders of Sullivan North (TN) High School at noon. The Avery boys varsity team will play the Raiders following girls action.
Appalachian Begins Quest for Fourth Title in Five Seasons On Saturday at noon the Appalachian State Mountaineers look to advance in the NCAA FCS Playoffs when they meet a familiar foe in South Carolina State. The two teams met in Boone a year ago to open the playoffs, with ASU taking a 37-21 victory. Look for game updates throughout the afternoon here on the Blog.
Congratulations to Sam Burleson who won last week's online picks contest. This is the final week of the contest for this football season. This week's winner will be entered into our end-of-season prize drawings with the winners from the other contest weeks. Thank you to everyone who has participated in this season's contest!
This Week's Games:
1. Lincolnton @ Mountain Heritage 2. West Montgomery @ Hendersonville 3. Robbinsville @ Elkin 4. South Carolina State @ Appalachian State 5. FloridaState @ Florida 6. Miami (FL) @ South Florida 7. Georgia @ Georgia Tech 8. BostonCollege @ Maryland 9. WakeForest @ Duke 10. North Carolina @ N.C.State 11. Virginia Tech @ Virginia 12. Clemson @ South Carolina 13. Tennessee @ Kentucky 14. OklahomaState @ Oklahoma 15. Arkansas @ LSU
16. Notre Dame @ Stanford 17. NFL: TampaBay @ Atlanta 18. NFL: Arizona @ Tennessee 19. NFL: Carolina @ N.Y. Jets 20. NFL: Pittsburgh @ Baltimore Tie Breaker: Tennessee @ Kentucky Total # of points: ________________
With the opening dual meet at home against Freedom occurring this week, the AveryHigh School wrestling team looks to add to its impressive total through the years of conference champions as well as regional and state tournament appearances.
Avery wrestling has a rich and storied tradition. Former Avery standout Stacey Clark leads his troops into hand-to-hand combat again this season, and I had an opportunity this week to visit practice and discuss the upcoming season with the coach.
Question: Your team has been working hard for the past couple of weeks preparing for the upcoming season. How many returning wrestlers do you have coming back this season?
Coach Clark: We have seven or eight wrestlers returning this season. Some of the wrestlers who also play football have taken a little time off this week before transitioning into wrestling season, and a number of them are also helping families particularly in the Christmas tree industry. It puts us in a small bind for the first week of the season, but the subsequent matches should be fine and we’ll be better off.
Question: Brock Yackey was a state qualifier who has performed well and has continued to improve through his prep career. Will he be someone who look to in providing leadership for the team, and are there additional wrestlers who you see stepping up to provide leadership to the club?
Coach Clark: Brock is probably our most experienced wrestler, being the only wrestler to make it to the state tournament last season. He will definitely be one of our leaders this year. Nick Malgadey is back with us this year and seems to have stepped up his level of commitment both on and off of the mat.
Jacob McKinney has also looked good in practice so far. He’ll be wrestling at 112 pounds herein a week or two, and I believe he has opportunity for success in that weight class. He spent last year paying his dues behind Brock and Nick, and with those guys bumping up in weight class he will have a greater opportunity.
Lucas Lecka probably has the most experience of our upper weights. He’ll be joining us soon, and we look forward to him at least qualifying for regionals and possibly looking beyond that.
Question: Speaking of upper weights, In recent history the team has had difficulty fielding consistent wrestlers in the upper weight classes like the 189, 215, and heavyweight classes. Is that a recurring issue this season, and with that in mind, will your lighter classes again be an area of strength with your club this year?
Coach Clark: Our numbers are still higher in the lower weight classes. The majority of the kids in the high school are between 125 and 160 pounds. There are exceptions both ways and we’ve tried to get those kids out to tryout for the team. We look to be a little stronger in numbers this year in the upper weight classes as we have been. We have three of our football players out wrestling already and hope to have three or four more who we hope will come join us. Right now we’re looking to fill gaps in the 160-pound to heavyweight class range.
Question: What does it appear will be the character or personality of the team this year based on the short time the group has been together? What strengths do you anticipate this team displaying this season, and are there any areas which the group will need to improve upon?
Coach Clark: We’re still young as a team. The upperclassmen we do have do not have a lot of experience. I like the fact that the kids that we have are working hard and will do whatever you ask of them. The experience will come, and it may come at a hefty price in the early going.
We’re going to see plenty of matches and plenty of good competition this year. We’ll be at some matches where we’ll be quite honest with the team and explain to them that we’re “seeing the world” and what’s out there, but we’ve also scheduled matches that we feel our guys can compete in and have an opportunity to win. At that point it’s up to the kids to determine how hard they want it and how hard they want to work.
Question: Conference matches and postseason tournaments are always crucial, but are there any duals or tournaments during the season that you feel are important in shaping the team and gaining experience? Are there tournaments that you specifically schedule because of past experiences there or personal preference?
Coach Clark: AsheCounty is always a good early tournament. It’s a good measuring stick for some of our younger guys. We have scheduled a lot of individual tournaments this year rather than the dual team tournaments. We’re trying to promote the success of our individual wrestlers who are capable of doing a little better than we can as a team. We want to put kids like Brock, Nick, Lucas and others who have the opportunity to win some matches in positions where they can see some success, as well as get a good confidence boost through the month of December to hold our heads high going into the conference season.
Question: Coach Tom Puckett again brings his experience and leadership to help you on this year’s coaching staff. How do you work together to get the team ready from a practice-to-practice and a match-to-match basis?
Coach Clark: A lot of what we do depends on the individual wrestlers. We run a team practice, we try to base as much as we can on the individual. Coach Puckett and I will trade off, as one of us will run the practice while the other will walk around and grab individuals to work on their specific needs.
We have a huge difference in experience levels from our juniors to some of our guys who have never wrestled before, and you’re not teaching the same moves to the same kids. We go over the basics with everybody, but the more experienced wrestlers will work on the finer points of techniques than those who are new and don’t know a lot at this point.
This season we’re also thrilled to welcome Coach John Harkey to our coaching staff. Coach Harkey is a new biology teacher at the school and will serve as one of our assistant coaches. He weighs about what the kids weigh and can get in there and wrestle with them. He’s been really good in instructing the lighter weights. He was a state qualifier and state placer when he wrestled at WestLincolnHigh School. He wrestled at the high school national tournament and also wrestled at Appalachian StateUniversity for Coach John Mark Bentley, so he knows his wrestling.
Best of luck to the Avery wrestling team as it embarks on the 2009-10 high school wrestling season beginning this week’s dual match against Freedom as well as the Indian Duals on Wednesday, November 25th at Saint Stephen’s High School in Hickory.
As the fall seasons concluded last week, the Avery basketball teams have been hitting the hardwood in earnest the past couple of weeks in preparation for the 2009-10 high school basketball season.
Last week the Avery girls basketball teams engaged in a home scrimmage against a familiar foe in the Ashe County Lady Huskies. The teams took part in a two-hour long scrimmage in 20 minute intervals. Both the junior varsity and varsity girls squads took advantage of the scrimmage to work through its entire roster and focus on fundamentals against an opponent other than themselves.
“I was pleased and it gave me a chance to play everyone and see what we still needed to work on,” Avery ladies head coach Missy Lyons said of the scrimmage. “Ashe is going to be very good again this year so our competition was excellent.”
Last Saturday the Lady Vikings journeyed to McDowell for a scrimmage with perennial 4A power and current member of the new Mountain Athletic 4A/3A Conference, the McDowell Lady Titans, as well as the West Henderson Lady Falcons.
“We played much better Saturday. McDowell is exceptional as usual but we hung right with them,” Coach Lyons said. “We really played well against West. They had trouble getting the ball down against our press. I wanted the girls to know that these were some of the toughest teams on our schedule. Actually Ashe and McDowell are two of the best in their respective divisions.”
A number of Lady Vikings have been displaying great ability and leadership for the varsity in the preseason.
“I was pleased with the effort and how the girls are coming together. Lauren Avery, Hayley Pyatte, Elyse Perry and Katelynn Eudy are playing exceptionally well!” the coach added.
Over the weekend the Avery varsity boys traveled to Mountain City, Tennessee to participate in a preseason tip-off tournament at JohnsonCountyHigh School. Avery kicked off the two-day event with a close matchup against Daniel Boone (TN) High School, winning a thriller in overtime 77-76.
Avery was paced early by the scoring of junior Dustin Clarke, who poured in 15 first-half points to keep the Vikings close. The Trailblazers, despite missing four starters due to participation in the Tennessee high school football playoffs, were a stern test for the Avery team. The tandem of Jordan Gray and Gharian Carrol combined to score 50 of the team’s 76 total points in the contest.
The Vikings held a 16-11 edge after one quarter of play, and held on to a slim 28-27 edge at halftime. Avery saw a lead built to as many as seven points, but Boone managed to shave the margin with key baskets from Gray, Carrol, or by talented freshman Ryan Gaiter, who scored ten additional points for the Blazers.
Through three periods the Vikings held a 46-42 lead, but the teams would draw even in the final minutes of regulation. Avery found itself with possession trailing by a pair at 69-67 with only seconds left on the clock. Clarke drew a double-team from the DB defense and found an open teammate Joey Potter under the basket. Potter sunk the basket from inside the paint as the buzzer sounded to force a three-minute overtime session.
The teams traded shot-for-shot in the extra period as Clarke continued his hot shooting touch. Dustin finished the contest with a game-high 37 points, including seven of the Big Red’s eight points in overtime.
In the final seconds Avery led by a single point, and the defense forced a tough shot from Boone. The Trailblazers rebounded the miss and had one final tip in attempt to win the game, but the iron was unkind and the Vikings picked up the win.
“I really enjoyed the effort tonight. It was something you can’t always coach all the time. The boys never got down on themselves,” Avery head coach Bo Manis said after the game. “Even though we had some breakdowns we pulled off the win and that’s a sign of a good ball team that plays hard.”
The next evening the Vikings were not so fortunate. Avery met up with tournament host JohnsonCounty, whose height and inside play was too much as the Vikings fell by the final score of 77-57. Clarke again was the leading scorer for Avery with 26 points, with six points apiece from Joey Potter and Spencer Blackburn. Kody Hughes tallied five points, with four apiece from Thomas Dellinger and Alex Villanueva.
Jason Steele, a 6’5” center for the Longhorns, led JohnsonCounty with 25 points.
If the opening scrimmages of last week are any indication, the Avery teams will feature athleticism, hustle, and a great deal of heart.
“We haven’t seen the depth we have this season. Our football players aren’t accustomed yet to basketball condition, but they’ll get acclimated with our players who have been practicing the past three or four weeks and mix in really well,” Coach Manis said.
Avery opened regular season play this week at Cloudland (TN), and the varsity teams will compete in a tournament at MitchellCounty this weekend.
The county’s middle school squads were busy with several games over the past week to mark the beginning of the second half of the conference season.
On Monday, November 16th the Lady Panthers traveled to Bakersville to take on BowmanMiddle School. Playing with only six players, the Lady Bulldogs were no match for the Lady Panthers, as Avery defeated Bowman 30-12. Lauren Burleson, Haley Woody, and Breanna Heaton led a balanced scoring attack for the Lady Panthers with eight points apiece. In boys action, the Panthers blasted Bowman by a final score of 46-15.
Meanwhile the Lady Wildcats of Cranberry were in action the same night against East Yancey. In the girls contest, the Lady Wildcats returned to action at full strength and it showed in picking up the road upset by the final score of 38-36.
Cranberry trailed 12-7 after one quarter, but a 11-6 scoring margin in the second quarter tied the game at 18 apiece at the half.
East Yancey came out strong to start the second half and took a 29-25 edge through three periods. The Lady Wildcats stepped up in the final eight minutes, however. Teammates Amber Johnson and Katie Rigdon combined to score 11 of Cranberry’s 13 points in the final stanza which proved to be enough to pick up the narrow victory.
Rigdon led Cranberry scorers with 19 points, with seven each from Bethany Burleson and Amber Johnson.
In the nightcap, the Cranberry boys met a touch East Yancey Panthers boys team, falling by a final margin of 56-31. Chandler Austin was the only Cranberry player scoring in double figures with 11 points. Tyler Pittman added nine, with five from Stetson Stafford.
The following evening the Wildcats returned home for a non-conference matchup against West McDowell.
In ladies action, Cranberry fell to West by the final score of 43-26. West McDowell outscored Cranberry 15-3 in the first stanza and never looked back in picking up the victory. Rigdon again led the Lady Wildcats in a double-figure scoring effort with 13 points.
The boys game closed the night with a tight affair which West McDowell won by a 37-35 final score. Cranberry took an early 13-9 lead behind a pair of three-pointers from Zach Guy. The Wildcats rode the momentum through the second stanza to take an 18-14 halftime edge.
A basket and two free throws in the third period from Chandler Austin helped Cranberry maintain its slim margin at 30-27 through three quarters, but a fourth quarter rally pushed West McDowell over the top and get the two-point win. Tyler Pittman led Cranberry scorers with eight points.
On Thursday evening, both Avery and Cranberry hosted Toe River Conference contests, as the Lady Panthers hosted CaneRiver and Cranberry took on Bowman. It was a good evening for the AveryCounty squads, as both Avery and Cranberry swept their opponents in hoops action.
In Newland, AveryMiddle School’s girls team was dominant in routing the Lady Rebels from CaneRiver by a 49-31 final score. The Avery defense continued to display the lockdown ability it has possessed throughout the season, as the offense scored one of its highest outputs of the season to date. The win allowed the Lady Panthers to maintain their undefeated record in conference play and keep its vise grip on first place in the Toe River Conference.
The Avery boys team showed in the second half of the doubleheader that they will also be a team to contend with in the upcoming postseason conference tournament, remaining in the upper half of the conference standings with a 46-36 victory over the Rebels.
At the same time in Cranberry, the Lady Wildcats were extending its defensive claws against a severely undermanned Bowman girls team, upending the Lady Bulldogs in a 38-16 win.
Dressing only six players, the Lady Bulldogs were overwhelmed by the smothering press defense of the Cranberry club. Katie Rigdon paced Cranberry with nine points in the first quarter alone, while the Bowman offense was non-existent. Cranberry led 12-0 after one period and continued pitching the shutout for the remainder of the first half, leading 22-0 at the halftime break.
Much to Bowman’s credit, the Lady Bulldogs played hard despite the deficit and finally scored in the opening two minutes of the third quarter, but the Lady Wildcats led 30-7 after three quarters. Cranberry used a solid team effort to put Bowman away, however, to cruise to the win.
“Our girls have come a long way. I was really proud of them against East Yancey, and they have played hard every game,” Lady Wildcats head coach Amber Young said after the week of action. “We’ve had a couple of girls who have been out sick, but the other girls have stepped up and score some points and battle.”
Rigdon led all scorers in the win with 19 points, including a pair of three-pointers. “Katie means a lot to our team. She always scores points, but in her absence we had some players who took the challenge to score,” Coach Young added. “Our press was awesome tonight.”
In the final game of the evening, the Cranberry Wildcats boys team played a strong contest against the Bulldogs, beating Bowman by a final score of 47-25.
Cranberry raced out of the gates with a 17-2 scoring margin in the first six minutes of play, and the two teams played evenly to maintain its 15-point edge at 27-12 at halftime.
Defense was tight through the third period as both clubs could only manage to score five points in the frame. Cranberry finished strong as Zach Guy and Gabe Stanley combined to score nine points in the final quarter to pace the Wildcats to the victory.
Chandler Austin led Cranberry with 13 points and two steals, while Guy added ten points and six rebounds and Cody Clawson added six points and seven rebounds. Cranberry also received a balanced effort from guard Stetson Stafford, who pulled down five rebounds, dished out four assists, and had five steals in the Wildcats win.
“We had some turnovers, but we’re doing better at executing our plays and getting some of our younger players some playing time, so we try to improve each and every day,” Wildcats head coach Jeremiah Norman said after the week’s action. “
Tyler Pittman had one of the best games of any player in the Toe River Conference this season, as he scored 11 points, hauled down 17 rebounds, and added three assists and two steals. “Tyler is everything you can ask for on the boards. He and our big boys go hard at the boards, and we’ve been putting a lot of emphasis on boxing out,” Coach Norman said. “We’ve had some missed rebound opportunities in earlier games, but tonight it paid off.
Avery and Cranberry returned to the floor with games early this week. Recaps of this week’s action can be found in next week’s edition.
High Country Soccer Association continued its advancement into the elite levels of soccer in North Carolina over the November 20th weekend with its entry into the CASL College Showcase in Raleigh.
The CASL Showcase is one of the premier events in the country attracting top level teams from 32 states and 2 countries.The Showcase is an opportunity for players to show their skills to college coaches who attend the event looking for their next group of players.Nearly 500 college coaches were in attendance representing 326 different institutions from Division 1 to Division III and below.The event attracts college coaches from as far away as New Mexico and the Mountain West Conference and ranging in size from small private schools like AlvernoCollege (Milwaukee) to large Division 1 schools like Oklahoma or WakeForest.
The ’92 Lady Avalanche (U17) were definitely an unknown underdog in each game they played.However, under the leadership of head coach and Director of Coaching, Kiki Wallace, the players had done their work ahead of time, attracting a number of college coaches to the sideline to watch their play.
On Friday, November 20, the Avalanche opened play against the Ohio Metro Futbal Club Rapids from Dayton, OH.In just the third minute of their first game, Skylar Hicks (Watauga) got a pass through to Hallie Hilliard (Caldwell), who placed it in the back of the net for the Avalanche’s first score of the day. Mary Chesnut Smith (Avery) and Kebrina Keys (Ashe), were able to connect on two corner kicks for the 2nd and 4th goals of the half. The first took place in the 10th minute and the 2nd was late in the half, in the 35th minute. In between the two corner kicks, Smith gave the ball to Christina Call (Wilkes) who took the ball deep into the field and in the process of crossing the ball out, she put enough curve on it that the ball went in the net behind the keeper. As the half wound down, the Metro were called for a foul in the box and Smith took the penalty kick.Half-time score was 5-0.
The second half was pretty evenly played with the Metro able to get on the board on a penalty kick resulting from a defensive foul in the penalty box.Final score 5 – 1 and the Avalanche had served notice that they were there to play.
On Saturday, the Avalanche knew they were in for a tough game, facing one of the top clubs in Michigan and a powerhouse in the Mid-West region – Michigan Vardar.The Avalanche played a tough game and gave Vardar quite a run but was down 3-0 by half.The second half play was much closer but the Avalanche was unable to get on the board despite some play deep into Vardar territory.The Avalanche conceded one additional goal in the half for a final score of 0-4.
On Sunday, the Avalanche went up against the Virginia Rush from Virginia Beach, VA.Again attracting a number of college coaches, the Avalanche showed up ready to play and controlled the run of play early putting some good sequences together.However, neither team was able to convert on chances and the first half finished in a scoreless draw.Ten minutes into the second half the Avalanche was able to get on the board off of a goal by Hallie Hilliard, assisted by Kebrina Keys.However, just three minutes later, the Rush were able equalize on a defensive breakdown by the Avalanche.The final score was 1-1.
Playing in the CASL Showcase were: Ashe County – sophomore Kebrina Keys; Avery County – Emily Banner and co-captain Mary Chesnut Smith, both juniors; Caldwell County – juniors Lauren Crouse, Hallie Hilliard and Miranda McCrary; Watauga County juniors Sam Byrd, Ashlyn Henson, Mary Kate Huffman, and co-captain Bethany Miller and sophomores Kendyl Baird, Skylar Hicks, Katelyn Mullenix and Jeanette Vines; and from Wilkes County, junior Christina Call and sophomore Caitlin Curley.
The Avalanche will continue to play together throughout the spring in a few select tournaments including events in Virginia and Indiana.
(courtesy Lenoir Rhyne University Sports Information) EVANSVILLE, INDIANA – Lenoir-RhyneUniversity’s Kate Griewisch earned All-American honors Saturday at the NCAA Division II Cross Country National Championships in Evansville, Ind. Griewisch finished 19th out of 184 runners in the women’s race and ran a 21:30 on the 6K course hosted by the University of Southern Indiana.
AdamsState won the 2009 NCAA Division II Women’s Cross Country National Championship while Seattle Pacific's Jessica Pixler was the top individual with a time of 20:22.
Griewisch becomes the first-ever Lenoir-Rhyne runner to earn NCAA Division II All-American honors in cross country.
The Banner Elk, N.C., native and Avery High School alumnus finished first at both the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional race two weeks ago and the 2009 South Atlantic Conference Championship in October in Newton, N.C. Griewisch also led L-R to back-to-back league titles.
For her efforts, Griewisch was named the USTFCCCA (United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association) NCAA Division II Southeast Region Women’s Athlete Of The Year and the 2009 SAC Runner Of The Year.
An outstanding student as well, Griewisch was selected as the 2009 South Atlantic Conference Women’s Cross Country Scholar-Athlete Of The Year.
Teddy Jablonski (Cross Country/ Soccer) and Jessica Waycaster ( Cross Country/Golf) are the Edward Jones Scholar Athletes of the Week. Each student currently participates in a varsity sport at AveryHigh 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!
BANNER ELK, N.C. -- The Lees-McRae College men's soccer team advanced to the NCAA Tournament's Final Four after Jamie Bladen's goal in the second minute lifted the Bobcats past the University of Tampa Spartans, 1-0, on a frigid Saturday night at Tate Field.
Bladen's game winner came on an assist from Jamie Price. Price beat a defender and laid the pass off the Bladen in the center of the field. Bladen was unchallenged and launched a 30-yard shot that hit the crossbar and bounced in.
"I don't look for it, but if it is a chance to shoot I am confident I can hit the target and test the keeper," Bladen said. "It is a team game. I might have scored the goal, but it is a team game. We are glad we made it to the Final Four, but our goal is to win it (the NCAA Tournament)."
"When I signed Bladen, I knew he was a special talent and he has been proving me right all season and for that I am proud of him," Lees-McRae head coach Chris Whalley said. "Playing in the NCAA Tou rnament is something I speak to recruits about, and so I am very happy that Jamie, as a freshman, could step up in such in a big game."
Tampa outshot Lees-McRae 10-9, but the Bobcats had four shots on target compare to Tampa's two. Tampa held a slight corner kick advantage, 5-4.
Sean Paradise made two saves in the match, but came off his line to knock away Spartan opportunities to earn the shutout. Ryan Thompson made three saves for the Spartans.
"It is an extremely disappointed and heart broken locker room," Tampa head coach Adrian Bush said. "I am extremely proud of our team, and to see our seniors and what they have become in four years is what all college sports is all about. Those are five great individuals that are going to leave your program."
"I give Lees-McRae a lot of credit, and I think they are a fantastic team and very well coached. I think it was a game played in the middle third and outside of Bladen's shot for the goal, I think bot h teams defended very well. I think they (Lees-McRae) will represent the South very well in the Final Four, and we have nothing to be ashamed of our side. Hopefully they will come back with a championship."
"I think it was overall our best team performance and our goal keeper was rarely tested today," Whalley said. "To get to the Final Four with this team is an indication of how hard we have worked throughout the campaign. Now we need to continue to work hard in order to achieve our team goals."
Lees-McRae improves to 18-2-1 overall and will make the school's first ever Final Four appearance in any sport when they face Lewis, Thursday, December 3rd in Tampa at Pepin Stadium, the site of the Final Four. Tampa's season ends at 17-3-1 overall.
BOONE, N.C. — For the second year in a row, Appalachian State University will open the NCAA Division I Football Championship at home versus South Carolina State. This year’s first-round matchup between Appalachian (9-2, 8-0 SoCon) and S.C. State (10-1, 8-0 MEAC) is set for Saturday, Nov. 28 at noon at ASU’s Kidd Brewer Stadium. The game will be televised nationally on ESPNU.
Last year, Appalachian defeated S.C. State, 37-21, in an opening-round matchup at Kidd Brewer Stadium. ASU was paced by Armanti Edwards' school-record 433 passing yards in the win while SCSU’s William Ford ran for 117 yards in the loss. The contest was close throughout but the Mountaineers pulled away by scoring 13 unanswered points in the final 7:21 of the ballgame.
This year, the Mountaineers enter the postseason with nine-straight victories that followed back-to-back five-point losses to East Carolina and McNeese State to open the campaign. The Bulldogs’ only loss of the season was a 38-14 setback at the hands of South Carolina on Oct. 3 in Columbia, S.C.The winner of the ASU-SCSU rematch will square off against the winner of the first-round game between No. 4-seeded Richmond and Elon in the national quarterfinals on Dec. 5. The NCAA Division I national championship game is set for Friday, Dec. 18 in Chattanooga, Tenn.
Tickets for Appalachian’s opening-round matchup cost $25 for adults, $15 for youth (ages 3-12) and ASU student guests (limit two) and $5 for ASU students. Tickets can be purchased online by clicking HERE, by phone at (828) 262-2079 or in person at the ASU athletics ticket office, located in the Holmes Center. Online sales are available 24 hours a day while phone and in-person sales are available from 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Monday-Wednesday and Friday of this week.
NOTE: Saturday’s men’s basketball contest versus Morgan State will tip off at 7 p.m. at the Holmes Center. Fans can receive free admission with a ticket stub from the football game.
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.
Last Thursday evening the intra-county rivalry between the Avery Middle School Panthers and the Cranberry Middle School Wildcats was renewed at AveryHigh 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.
For two quarters of Friday night’s NCHSAA 1AA football playoff opening round contest in BessemerCity, 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 BessemerCity quickly adjusted, forcing an Avery punt. BessemerCity’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 BessemerCity 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.
BessemerCity 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 BessemerCity 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 BessemerCity 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 BessemerCity 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.
BessemerCity 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. BessemerCity 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 BessemerCity 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.
BessemerCity added a final score to provide for the final margin of victory when Logan found open space for a 20-yard touchdown run.
BessemerCity 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.
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 BostonCollege 8. Virginia at Clemson 9. N.C.State at Virginia Tech 10. Duke at Miami (FL) 11. California at Stanford 12. OhioState 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: ____________
(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.
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.
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.
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.
Vikings Compete in Holiday Classic
