Saturday, November 05, 2011
Appalachian State’s 20-10 loss to Furman today didn’t end its chances of an unprecedented seventh straight Southern Conference championship, but it significantly damaged them.
Georgia Southern, which barely survived The Citadel’s upset bid today, can wrap up a SoCon title with a victory at Wofford on Saturday.
There is still a possibility of a multiple-team tie for first place, however, which would give ASU a share of the title.
Wofford (5-1) would need to beat Georgia Southern (6-1) and lose its final regular-season game at Chattanooga. In that situation, ASU (4-2) could tie if it closes with wins over Western Carolina and Elon. Furman (5-2) could also tie if it beats Elon.
Coach Jerry Moore of ASU said that his team, which was hindered by turnovers in the early stages against Furman and fell behind 20-0, was “down and hurting” after its comeback bid fell short.
“They’ve got a lot invested,” Moore said. “I told them, I was pretty blunt about it, that our chances of tying for a conference championship are probably not very realistic. But we’ll find out how resilient we are and I think we’ve got a good football team.”
ASU ran 83 plays – 32 more than Furman – and led in total yardage 399-365. The Mountaineers also led in possession time by 12:30, moved the ball relatively well and wound up 12 of 18 on third-down conversions.
But the Mountaineers hurt themselves with four turnovers, and seldom cashed in when they were in scoring position. They scored just once in their first five trips inside Furman’s 25-yard line.
The Paladins, who were penalty free, limited the Mountaineers in terms of big plays but came up with a few timely big gainers of their own.
Although big-play receiver Brian Quick was limited, two ASU receivers had career days. Andrew Peacock caught eight passes for 79 yards. Tony Washington caught seven for 59 yards.
Quick did move within eight yards of ASU’s all-time receiving yards record of 3,124 held by Rick Beasley, who played from 1978 through ’80.
Former quarterback DeAndre Presley saw time at both wide receiver and on kick and punt returns. Presley had two receptions, and returned a kickoff 40 yards.
Travaris Cadet was a workhorse for the Mountaineers. He had 24 carries for 63 rushing yards, caught six passes for 60 yards and returned a kickoff for 28 yards.
Thursday, November 03, 2011
Darcie Vincent hasn’t yet had the chance to see “The Mighty Macs,” a movie released in theatres two weeks ago that tells the story of the Immaculata College team that won the first women’s national basketball championship, but she’s looking forward to it.
Vincent, Appalachian State’s women’s basketball coach who has Pennsylvania roots, knows some of the real-life principals of the movie, including Cathy Rush, who coached the Macs to three straight titles from 1972 through 1974 despite limited resources. Immaculata is a private Catholic school located 20 miles from Philadelphia.
Vincent, who played basketball at Duquesne and coached college basketball at Pennsylvania schools Slippery Rock and California – and won a national championship of her own with a Division II title in 2004 at California – was just 2 years old when the Macs won their first title, but the program is a pioneer of woman’s basketball.
“And the thing is they did it at such a small school,” Vincent said. “Imacculata was out there at that time. They were still playing in skirts. It was an interesting time to do all that they were able to do.”
Vincent knows Rush as well as a couple of members from the Macs’ title teams, and worked at Rush’s basketball camp in the summers.
The movie, which stars Carla Gugino and Elley Burstyn, made a brief run in Winston-Salem and is showing in Greensboro.
Wednesday, November 02, 2011
Running back Travaris Cadet (head injury) and guard Sherman Holt (ankle) have returned to practice, and both have been upgraded to probable for Saturday’s game at Furman. Offensive tackle Kendall Lamm (ankle) has not practiced and is listed as questionable.
Tuesday, November 01, 2011
Running back Travaris Cadet, who sustained a head injury against Georgia Southern, is considered day-to-day. Offensive linemen Kendall Lamm and Sherman Holt, both of whom sat out the Georgia Southern game with ankle injuries, are questionable for Saturday’s game against Furman. Safety Patrick Blalock,who has been out with a thigh injury, is probable.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Appalachian State’s 24-17 victory over Georgia Southern today marked its first win against a team ranked No. 1 in FCS polls since a 17-16 victory over a top-ranked Georgia Southern team in 1999.
Now that the Eagles have been toppled, unbeaten North Dakota State will likely go to No. 1 in the polls. The No. 3 Bison beat No. 2 Northern Iowa 27-19 today.
No. 4 Montana State, 8-1 and with its only loss coming 27-10 at Utah, could move to No. 2 and No. 5 ASU perhaps to No. 3, although unbeaten Sam Houston State or 7-1 Maine might merit a top 3 spot.
ASU’s defense turned in probably its best defensive performance of the season, holding Georgia Southern’s heralded running game to 135 yards, and the Mountaineers’ passing game was effective. The only thing Coach Jerry Moore was disappointed in was the fact that the Eagles return a kickoff 78 yards and also scored on a 46-yard punt return.
Ten of the Eagles’ 17 points were as result of returns.
“We didn’t tackle well on special teams, but other than that it was a great day,” Moore said.
The Mountaineers were missing two starters on the offensive line today.
Left tackle Kendall Lamm sprained an ankle during Friday’s walkthrough and didn’t play. Neither did left guard Sherman Holt, who sprained an ankle last Wednesday in practice.
Sophomore Ian Barnard started at left tackle, and freshman Graham Fisher started at left guard. It was the first career start for both.
Drew Stewart’s 24-yard field goal in the second quarter was the first for ASU this season inside of 40 yards. The Mountaineers were 0 for 4, even though they were 3 for 4 outside 40.
Brooks Keel, Georgia Southern University’s president, will be on the Eagles’ injury report this week. He was watching from the sideline when he was clipped by a Georgia Southern player and broke an ankle.
Running back Travaris Cadet of ASU sustained a head injury on a run in the fourth quarter and will be evaluated Sunday.
Today’s game figured to be close, if results against common opponents held up. ASU won home games against Samford (35-17) and Chattanooga (14-12). Georgia Southern won at Samford (31-17) and at home against Chattanooga (28-27).
Furman, which has been on quite a roll of its own recently, is up next for ASU. The Mountaineers will face the Paladins next Saturday in Greenville, S.C. The Paladins handed Wofford its only SoCon loss two weeks ago and won at Chattanooga today.
By Tommy Bowman at 09:18 PM
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Thursday, October 27, 2011
Have you noticed the brightly-colored, cardboard-type signs that are held high on Appalachian State’s sideline when the defense is on the field?
It’s new this season, and it’s a form of communication that seems to work well. It doesn’t have to do with signaling plays, but keywords and symbols such as “1,” “star,” and “4-man” let players know what’s up.
“What it tells the kids is who should be on the field so we don’t have a foul up of people running on and off, and it tells the personnel that’s out there what to prepare for,” Dale Jones, ASU’s defensive coordinator, said. “It’s just about the personnel that the other team has in, and the personnel that we should have in. Our guys will know if there’s going to be four d-lineman or three, or if there is supposed to be five defensive backs.”
Linebacker Jeremy Kimbrough said: “The signs are for personnel and telling us what package we’re in. They tell what type of front we’re to be in, and things like that. They work pretty well. It’s basically so we can communicate things better. It just takes the place of hand signals and there shouldn’t be any confusion.”
It’s hard to miss the fluorescent signs, but, without a code as an indicator, the meaning is not easily discernable.
“We try to disguise as much as we can,” Kimbrough said.
“Maybe the first quarter it’s top left, and in the second quarter maybe bottom right,” Coach Jerry Moore of the Mountaineers said. “The players know which one they’re looking for.”
A few programs use physical signs, but it’s the first try for ASU, which has changed defensive personnel during games a bit more than in the past.
“It’s a smoother way to make sure everybody knows who is supposed to be on the field and who shouldn’t be,” Jones said.
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Coach Jerry Moore often points out how young his teams are.
He might be on to something this time considering last week’s movie fare. The Appalachian State football team gathered and watched a Disney movie the night before the Samford game.
“That’s how young we are,” Moore said.
The Mountaineers do have four freshmen on the offensive and defensive lines, and now a sophomore quarterback to go along with three sophomore receivers.
And a lot of them know the tunes from The Lion King, last week’s movie choice. “They started singing those Friday night about 9 o’clock,” Moore said.
This week’s movie choice heading into the game against No. 1 Georgia Southern?
“I don’t know, we might have to find Miracle or something,” Moore said.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Appalachian State, which toppled Samford 35-17 today, once again controls its destiny in its quest for an unprecedented seventh straight Southern Conference championship.
Wofford’s 26-21 loss to Furman today played into that. That loss by the Terriers, who beat ASU earlier this season, dropped them to 3-1 in the SoCon.
ASU (3-1) will play Georgia Southern (5-0) next Saturday. If the Mountaineers win their remaining SoCon games, they will be assured of at least a tie for the SoCon title.
Cornerback Ed Gainey and outside linebacker/defensive end Lanston Tanyi were absent from ASU’s lineup today against Samford.
Gainey and Tanyi had been out two games earlier this season due to a suspension, but played in the Mountaineers’ most recent two games against Wofford and The Citadel and participated in practice in the early stages of this past week.
Mike Flynn, ASU’s sports information director, said that Gainey and Tanyi are not currently participating with the team because of a “university disciplinary issue.”
Coach Jerry Moore of ASU said that he didn’t know if or when Gainey and Tanyi would return. “I just really don’t know,” he said.
Both Gainey and Tanyi had been suspended earlier this season for “violation of team rules,” and they sat out games against Savannah State and Chattanooga as a result.
DeAndre Presley, replaced by Jamal Jackson as ASU’s starting quarterback, was back in the starting lineup today – at cornerback.
ASU coaches were considering trying Presley at another position, although there was some reluctance to risk the backup quarterback elsewhere in the lineup. But the absence of Gainey prompted the move to the defensive backfield. Presley had just two practices at corner – Wednesday and Thursday – and Friday’s walkthrough.
Presley began the game in the starting lineup as part of a five-defensive back set, and wound up playing regularly. On ASU’s second defensive series, Presley forced a fumble that was recovered by the Mountaineers at Samford’s 10-yard line.
He wound up with six tackles.
“We were short on DBs and I said I’d love to do it,” Presley said. “It felt great. I just played and had fun.”
Jackson said: “He did a heck of a job. I guess we’ve got a new corner, watch out in the SoCon.”
Interestingly, Samford didn’t try to isolate and challenge Presley when he was in the game.
“We were going to go out and do our game plan and we know what kind of outstanding athlete DeAndre Presley is,” Coach Pat Sullivan of Samford said. “We weren’t going to go and pick on one guy. I think as good as Appalachian State is across the board with all their players that would make it a tough situation.”
The Mountaineers’ secondary had two interceptions, both by sophomore cornerback Rodger Walker
Cedric Baker Boney, a senior running back who was the Mountaineers’ second-leading rusher, missed today’s game as expected with a shoulder injury and he could miss the rest of the season. The recovery time for Baker Boney is expected to be six to eight weeks.
Junior Terrence McLean made his first start at running back. He opened in a two-back set with Travaris Cadet, but didn’t get a carry
Moore has talked about getting Cadet involved often on offense and getting him as many touches as possible, and he played an elevated rule as running back today. Cadet had 22 carries for 139 yards and two touchdowns.
“I’m used on offense a million different ways, so defenses never know,” Cadet said.
“Jamal is doing a fine job, he’s making great throws, and that makes my job much easier.”
Sophomore Drew Stewart kicked all five of ASU’s extra points after regular placekicker Sam Martin missed a 28-yard field goal and was hampered by a groin injury.
It sounds as if Stewart will assume kicking duties from Martin, who will continue to be the punter.
“We can’t just keep missing field goals,” Moore said. “And Drew has kicked very, very well. He’s been very consistent in practice.”
Brian Quick set an ASU record with the 26th touchdown reception of his career. He topped the mark previously held by Bob Agle, who played in the late 1960s.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Trey Elder can relate to DeAndre Presley’s disappointment of no longer being Appalachian State’s starting quarterback.
In 2006, Elder, who had taken the reigns from graduated Richie Williams, was replaced three games into the season by rookie Armanti Edwards. Everybody knows how that turned out.
Now Presley, who won the starting job last season, will give way this Saturday to sophomore Jamal Jackson.
Elder, receivers coach for the Mountaineers, recalls the feeling.
“When you’ve been the starting quarterback, you always want to be that guy,” Elder said. “You want the team on your shoulders. But sometimes when another guy steps in and does a good job it’s tough to fight those feelings of being bitter.
“But DeAndre isn’t that way at all. He and Jamal have a great relationship – a lot like me and Armanti had – but you go from being the guy that’s calling the shots to being more in the background. It’s an adjustment.”
Elder said that he told Presley to “keep his head up,” and that he will continue to be a contributor.
“It’s life,” Elder said. “Sometimes you get thrown a curveball, things that play into your goals and your personal opinion on things, but you have to shift, you have to adjust and be able to roll with it and make the most of it.
“It would be more difficult if he wasn’t being replaced by a guy like Jamal who is a class act and a great quarterback in his own right.
“DeAndre has a lot of character. He’s mature. For him, it’s always about winning. He’s a competitor and he told me he wants to win, and however we need to do it that’s what he wants to do. He’s doing a great job of being a leader, he’s still a captain on our football team, and I haven’t seen him pout for one second.”
Jackson is the latest in a line of quarterbacks that has run ASU’s Spread offense since its installation in 2004, following the likes of big-number performers Williams, Edwards and Presley.
Coach Jerry Moore was asked this week how the Mountaineers keep finding impressive quarterbacks. He chuckled and said, “We’re lucky.”
Then, he added, “We look for particular type of kids. No. 1 for us is that they have to be able to run. Obviously, we want a guy that can throw well but we want a guy that can run.
“I like to think that we train quarterbacks pretty well, too,” Moore said.
The Mountaineers have recruited players that were quarterbacks in high school but are talented enough to play another position. Examples are former receiver CoCo Hillary and current receivers Jamill Lott and Andrew Peacock.
Read more about Jackson and Presley in Friday’s Winston-Salem Journal
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Demery Brewer, who made his third start of the season at outside linebacker for Appalachian State last Saturday against The Citadel, is out for the season as result of a knee injury sustained in that game.
Brewer, a senior who has five career starts, including two at defensive end in 2009, ranked fifth in tackles for ASU this season with 28. He has 100 tackles and four sacks in his career with the Mountaineers.
Cedric Baker Boney, a senior running back, injured a shoulder against The Citadel and will undergo further evaluation to determine his status for the rest of the season. Baker Boney, who has rushed for 244 yards and two touchdowns this season, will miss Saturday’s game against Samford.
By Tommy Bowman at 07:13 PM
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