It's football time in Boone! The Appalachian State Mountaineers return to the field at Kidd Brewer Stadium on this soggy Saturday afternoon to host conference rival Samford.The Bulldogs are 2-1 on the season and enter today's game on a two-game win streak, upending Jacksonville and Miles on the past two weeks. ASU is looking to rebound from an 0-2 start to this season. ASU fell 40-35 to McNeese State two Saturdays ago and hope to earn win number one of thie 2009 campaign at the expense of the Bulldogs.
Players to Watch:
Samford quarterback Dustin Taliaferro has completed 43 passes in 79 attempts for 451 yards on the season, with four touchdowns and 2 interceptions. Chris Evans, a 1,000 yard rusher a season ago for the Bulldogs, has rushed for 311 yards on 59 carries so far this season, including two touchdowns. Riley Hawkins and DeMarcus Covington lead the receiving corps with seven and nine receptions, respectively. Hawkins has four TD receptions thus far in 2009, with one TD by DeMarcus Covington.
For the Mountaineers, look no further than quarterback Armanti Edwards and running back Devon Moore to provide the offensive spark this afternoon. The running game will be a priority as the rain heavily falls here at Kidd Brewer Stadium. A good number of brave souls made it out to battle the elements and support the Black and Gold. The Apps are taking the field and we're ready to roll from THE ROCK!
Update #1- The Mountaineer defense forces a Samford punt to open the game. ASU runs the option on its first offensive play from scrimmage to move the ball into Samford territory. The drive stalls, however, and punter Sam Martin pins Samford back at the 3-yard line with a terrific punt. We're scoreless four minutes into the contest.Update #2- ASU is on the scoreboard following a drive of 7 plays, 73 yards, and 2:40 of clock time. Armanti Edwards races through the Samford defense for a 13 yard touchdown run. The PAT is good, and the Mountaineers lead it 7-0 midway through quarter #1.
Update #3- Appalachian forces another Samford punt, but turns the ball over on downs around the Samford 40 yard line. Rain beginning to fall steadily again after a brief hiatus. Three minutes left opening stanza with ASU leading by the 7-0 score.
Update #4- A fast first quarter wraps up here in Boone. ASU has possession following another Samford punt. 15 minutes in the books and ASU leads this one 7-0. On a side note, we may have some additional information from correspondent Matt Laws, who is at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville for the University of Tennessee/Ohio University football game. Hopefully his venue will be a little drier than this one.
Update #5- The Mountaineers are back on the offensive march toward the end zone. An acrobatic play by Edwards to escape a sack and convert a first down pass to Devon Moore kept the drive alive. Armanti Edwards scored his 50th rushing touchdown of his career for the Apps' first score, only the second player in Mountaineer history to achieve the feat. Appalachian could only get to the Samford 4-yard line before the Bulldog defense holds. ASU capped the 13 play, 76-yard drive that consumed over six minutes of clock time with a 21-yard field goal by Jason Vitaris to give the Mountaineers a 10-0 advantage.
Update #6 - Samford has pieced together its best offensive series of the game in the mid-second quarter. A roughing the punter penalty against ASU sustained the drive, as well as a personal foul face mask penalty. The Bulldogs are threatening in the red zone. ASU quells the drive when Ed Gainey intercepts a Taliaferro pass in the end zone and takes it 56 yards up to the Samford 44-yard line.
Appalachian uses the turnover to build momentum. The Mountaineers score on a 14-yard touchdown pass from Edwards to tight end Jordan Gary. The catch was Gary's first career reception for the Apps. The PAT is good and the Mountaineers lead 17-0 with 5:06 remaining before halftime.Update #7 - ASU holds possession in the final minute of the half, driving inside the Samford 20-yard line. A penalty pushes Appalachian back to the Samford 40. The Mountaineers convert a quick pass play to the Samford 26, where it appears the Black and Gold will attempt a Vitaris 44-yard field goal. Samford takes a time out to ice the kicker as there are only four seconds left before halftime. The 8 play, 42 yard drive took 2:42 off the clock as Vitaris splits the uprights on his season-long field goal. Mountaineers lead at intermission 20-0 at the break. ASU has been dominant in the first half, specifically on the defensive side of the football. We'll have some stats to pass along shortly. Thanks again for reading!
Update #8 - Back at The Rock for second half action. Appalachian held Samford to only 71 yards of total offense in the first half, while gaining 283 yards themselves. ASU hurt itself with seven penalties in the first two quarters, but have receive solid offensive production from Devon Moore (80 yards rushing) and Armanti Edwards (146 yards passing, 34 yards rushing).
Update #9 - Four and a half minutes remain in th
e third quarter and the teams have been playing the field position battle. ASU RB Devon Moore has eclipsed the 100-yard mark for the seoond straight game, but neither team has threatened the end zone thus far in the period. Still a 20-0 ASU edge.Update #10: End of the third quarter and ASU leads by a 20-0 score. Just a shade of 22,000 were in attendance for this afternoon's game, a credit to students and fans of the Mountaineers to withstand the rain and cheer on the Black and Gold.
Update #11: Three quarters in the books and the Samford Bulldogs have still yet to gain 100 total yards, while Appalachian State has 351 yards in total offense. Obviously the early season losses, particularly the loss in the game two weeks back to McNeese State, appeared to light a fire under the Mountaineer defense. They are looking as strong as seen in recent memory. Samford is averaging less than three yards per carry through three stanzas, while the Mountaineers are averaging close to five yards with each rush of the football. Just under 12 minutes to play from Boone and the Mountaineers are still pitching a shutout at 20-0.
Update #12: Samford has put together an impressive drive assisted by a couple of Mountaineer penalties. The Black and Gold defense was stingy at the goal line. Chris Evans barely gets the football across the goal line from one yard out to put the Bulldogs on the scoreboard with 6:16 remaining. It was a late call by the official on the field that received a hearty chorus of boos from the partisan crowd, but the drive of 10 plays and 80 yards allowed Samford to avert the shutout. The PAT was successful to cut the ASU lead to 20-7.
It's nearing the 5 minute mark in the fourth quarter, and that means traveling to the press conference room for postgame interviews. If there are any score changes we'll tweet the result on the home page. Thanks for reading the AJ-T Sports Blog!
