Thanks for following along as we buckle up for another exciting home season of Appalachian State University Mountaineers football.This afternoon the Mountaineers unveil for the first time its new west side Press Box and stadium facility enhancements. I must give great kudos to the folks here in Boone...when they do something related to ASU football, they do it right. The press box is spacious, climate-controlled (something not taken for granted after braving the elements covering games the past couple seasons), and a crown jewel that the football program and university can be proud of. Appalachian Sports Information and the university's Athletics Department are first-class and see the labors of the past several seasons fulfilled today.
And now without further ado... on to the game preview.
#2 FCS ranked Appalachian lost a 29-24 heartbreaker to East Carolina in Greenville last Saturday. Sophomore quarterback Travaris Cadet engineered ASU’s rally from a 22-point fourth quarter deficit at ECU, leading the Mountaineers to three scoring drives in the final period and moving the ball to midfield before time ran out on the comeback and upset bid.
As good as Cadet was in the final 20 minutes of last Saturday’s nail-biter, All-America quarterback Armanti Edwards returns to the starting lineup. The 2008 Walter Payton Award winner missed all of fall camp and the season opener due to a foot injury sustained in a lawn-mowing accident on Aug. 5th.
No. 16 McNeese State (1-0) overcame an 18-point deficit in the second half to defeat Division II foe Henderson State, 27-24, last week in Lake Charles, LA. Appalachian and McNeese State have combined for 29 NCAA Division I FCS/I-AA postseason berths and five national championship game appearances. McNeese lost title games in 1997 and 2002, ASU won in 2005,
‘06 and ‘07.
The Mountaineers are 58-18-2 (.776) all time in home openers, including a sterling 18-2 mark under head coach Jerry Moore. The Apps have not lost a home opener since 2000, when it fell to Troy State by a final score of 34-28.
Appalachian is just 1-6 all-time versus current members of the Southland Conference, including a 1-2 mark at home. Saturday’s meeting is the first of three between the Mountaineers and Cowboys scheduled for the next seven seasons. The programs will square off again in 2014 in Lake Charles, La. and 2015 in Boone.
We'll be posting updates periodically during the game, in addition to any observations on other games going on today and interesting tidbits that we may see or hear this afternoon. Stay tuned!
Update #1: McNeese State wins the coin toss and will receive the opening kickoff. Welcome back to college football in the High Country!Update #2: McNeese State misses a 45 yd. field goal attempt with the game's opening drive. Armanti Edwards is in the starting lineup at QB for ASU and looks like he's 100 percent on offense. ASU moves the ball just past midfield, but a sack kills the drive and forces the Mountaineers to punt the ball away. Scoreless about 5 minutes in.
Update #3: McNeese State scores on its second possession of the game. An impressive 9-play, 65 yard drive that elapsed nearly four minutes off the game clock. MSU tailback Toddrick Pendland carried the ball in from 24 yards out to help the Cowboys draw first blood. MSU 7, ASU 0 in the first qtr.
Also, we'll be posting updates from Neyland Stadium in Knoxville as Matt reports on the UCLA-Tennessee game for the AJ-T throughout the afternoon.
Appalachian kicker Jason Vitaris misses a chip shot 22 yard field goal, hitting the upright. ASU still trails by a touchdown after a 10-play, 59-yard drive took the Apps inside the MSU 5 yard line. At the end of the first quarter, the Cowboys are in ASU territory again and leading it by a 7-0 score.
Update #4: The teams have traded punts as the second quarter has ensued. Appalachian is back inside the MSU 30-yard line after a long pass play from Edwards to Coco Hillary. Appalachian caps off the drive a couple plays later when Devon Moore rambles into the end zone from 12-yards out. The 7-play, 53-yard drive takes 2:45 off the clock and the game is tied 7-7 with just over five minutes left before intermission.
Update #5: McNeese State quickly moves downfield 6 plays and 56 yards over just 2:39. The Cowboys hit pay dirt with a nine-yard touchdown pass from QB Fouroux to Pendland. The PAT gives the Cowboys back the lead at 14-7 with 2:21 left to play before the half.
Update #6: with 32 seconds left, ASU completes a pass from Edwards to Quick. As Quick tried to stretch the ball across the goal line, McNeese's Darrell Jenkins swipes the football loose and Seth Thomas recovers for the Cowboys. MSU take a knee to close the half leading 14-7.
Update #7: Appalachian opens the second half with an eight play, 77 yard drive taking 3:01. Armanti Edwards capped the scoring drive with an 8-yard touchdown scurry. The PAT ties the score at 14-14 with around 11 minutes to play in the third qtr.
Update #8: Wow! The pesky Cowboys answer immediately to regain the lead with a 4 play, 46 yard drive taking 1:46. The connection to Fouroux to Pendland works again for a 31-yard scoring pass. McNeese now leads 21-14 at the 10:02 mark. Back and forth we go. Now we'll see if the Mountaineers can again answer to tie things up.Update #9: Back come the Mountaineers. Armanti Edwards leads the Apps on a drive and ends it himself with a 20-yard touchdown run. The drive took 8 plays and went over 76 yards. Edwards is responsible for his 111th touchdown as a Mountaineer (passing & rushing) to bring ASU back even 21-21 with six and a half minutes left in the third period.
Update #10: It's like a prize fight between these two teams! Every punch has a counter-punch, and the Cowboys come back downfield to score again. A 7 play, 80 yard drive was topped off by a six-yard TD pass from Fouroux to Corday Clark. The PAT was wide right, however, leaving McNeese St. leading by a 27-21 margin with 3:19 left in the third qtr.
Appalachian answers again for the Black and Gold, as the
Mountaineers march to the end zone. A 5 play, 78 yard drive ends with a TD pass from Edwards to Matt Cline, who did a good job following blockers the final five yards to the goal line. The PAT was good, and the Apps lead by a single point at 28-27 with 1:20 left in the third. Great home opener, great offense, and hopefully a great finish!Update #11: On the first play of the final period, Appalachian DB Ed Gainey picks up his first career interception. Unfortunately the Mountaineers were not able to move the ball and kicked back to MSU, pinning the Cowboys deep in their own territory.
A couple of quick player notes: Devon Moore has rushed for a career-high 121 yards through three periods, while Armanti Edwards has moved from 19th to 16th on the FCS career yardage list, topping the 11,000 yard mark.
Update #12: The Cowboys have taken the long field and driven from its own 5 yard line all the way to the Mountaineer 5-yard line. Facing a fourth and inches, McNeese head coach Matt Viator takes a timeout to think over strategy. The Cowboys chose to go for the first down and converted the old QB sneak to move the chains and set up first and goal.
Two plays laterDerrick Fourroux blasts across the goal line from a couple of yards out, capping a 95-yard drive. The Cowboys go for two points and get the conversion. 16 plays on the drive summary which took 7:55 of clock time. With 4:50 left in the ballgame, McNeese is back on top by the score 35-28. It was just announced that a crowd of 27,914 paid to watch today's game. Good crowd for a beautiful Saturday afternoon.
Update #13: Appalachian's next offensive series was bolstered by a long run by Devon Moore, who is having a career afternoon with close to 200 yards rushing. Appalachian is inside the MSU 30-yard line with 2:45 remaining. A pass interference penalty call against MSU moves the ball to the Cowboys 11-yard line. Edwards races to the two-yard line and the Mountaineers score on the next play when Cedric Baker bullies his way across the end zone from two yards out. The PAT ties it at 35-35 with 2:05 to play.
With 34 seconds left in the game the Cowboys have the football at the ASU 40-yard line, looking to drive for possible game winning points. On 4th and 6, MSU converts a screen pass for 11 yards and a first down to the ASU 29. From this spot, it would be a 46-yard FG attempt for kicker Josh Lewis. McNeese instead hits a HUGE pass play to WR Corday Clark to the ASU 2 yard line with 13 seconds left to play.
ASU snuffs out the next run play, keeping MSU out of the end zone and forcing the Cowboys to attempt the game-winning field goal from 18 yards out by Lewis with 8 seconds to play. Appalachian takes a time out to try to ice the kicker. High drama at Kidd-Brewer this afternoon!
Kicker Josh Lewis hits the field goal with four seconds to play. McNeese State leads 38-35! Can the Mountaineers now pull a rabbit out of the proverbial hat and tap into some more magic at the Rock? We'll see...
On the final kickoff, ASU tries to lateral its way upfield. The play ends with the ASU KO returner tackled in the end zone for a safety. McNeese State wins it in dramatic fashion by the final score of 40-35!
We'll try to get final stats and more when they become available. Great exciting game to open the ASU home season.
