Georgia Southern takes control of SoCon title chase

Eagles start second half fast, survive late ASU rally

Chris Boyce Varsity Sports

Twenty-five yards was the distance between bitter defeat and Southern Conference (SoCon) supremacy Saturday afternoon in Statesboro, Ga., and Appalachian State University ended up on the short end of the stick.

In front of a hostile crowd of 21,899 Eagle fans, top-ranked Georgia Southern University paid back the Mountaineers for handing the Eagles their only loss of the season last year by defeating fifth-ranked Appalachian 34-28 at Paulson Stadium.

The outcome clearly puts the Georgia Southern Eagles (6-1, 5-0) in the driverÕs seat for the SoCon title and perhaps another national championship.

The Eagles used their vaunted-option offense to punish the Mountaineer defense with 398 rushing yards, including 186 rushing yards on 31 carries by Walter Payton Award-winner Adrian Peterson, and 147 rushing yards on 24 carries by GSU quarterback J.R. Revere.

Revere dominated the afternoon, running for two touchdowns and passing for another, all against an Appalachian defense that had entered the contest second in the conference in rushing defense, allowing only 123.4 yards per game on the ground.

"We didn't have much trouble moving the ball. Our problem was making mistakes and then not wrapping up the quarterback [Revere]. There were seven, eight times when I thought throughout the course of the ball game we had him for no gain but still he made big plays from them," said Appalachian State Head Coach Jerry Moore.

Appalachian State (4-2, 3-1) kept close with Georgia Southern throughout the afternoon, however, with a quick-scoring passing attack led by senior wide receivers Joey Gibson and Troy Albea, and nearly pulled the upset with just seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. Gibson finished the game with eight receptions for 115 yards while Albea ended the contest with five receptions for 55 yards and two touchdowns.

After a Georgia Southern field goal put the Eagles up by six with only 1:01 remaining in the game, Appalachian State engineered a thrilling last-minute drive that put the Mountaineers on the brink of a miraculous upset.

Mountaineer quarterback David Reaves, filling in for injured starter Joe Burchette, connected with Joey Gibson for 20 yards, setting up a first-and-ten from AppalachianÕs own 40-yard line with under a minute to play. A Georgia Southern pass interference penalty against Troy Albea on a second and five moved the ball to the EagleÕs 40-yard line with only 36 seconds on the clock.

With a third-and-three at Georgia Southern's 33-yard line, Reaves found a double-covered Gibson again for an 8-yard first-down reception. But on the very next play, Reaves, who lost the starting quarterback job to Joe Burchette two weeks ago, was hammered by the Eagles rush and sustained an injury to his throwing arm. Reaves remained in the game but the injury showed painfully as his underthrown pass intended for Gibson on the next play was picked off by the Eagles' Nate Gates, putting damper on the Mountaineers' SoCon championship hopes.

"Things finished like we needed them to finish to give us a chance to win, we just came up a little short," said Moore. "If you don't get that ball intercepted, you got one more shot at it. Who knows, stranger things have happened." Containing the option was the critical factor for the Appalachian defense, a task they performed well early in the game, holding the Eagles to only 46-yards rushing in the first quarter.

The Mountaineers hurt themselves in the first half with turnovers, including two fumbles and one interception. Georgia Southern benefited on a Burchette fumble on Appalachian's own 17-yard line to take a 10-7 lead going into the half. It was the second-half rushing attack for the Eagles that may have taken the greatest toll on Appalachian's defense. Revere broke open a 40-yard touchdown run with 12:33 left in the third quarter.

Fullback Adrian Peterson scored on a 24-yard run on the Eagles' next possession, giving GSU a commanding 24-7 lead. After two quick scores by the Mountaineers, highlighted by a 13-yard touchdown run by Burchette and a 25-yard touchdown pass to Troy Albea, which made the score 21-24, the Eagles' Revere responded with another long run.

The juniorÕs 43-yard scamper through a worn-down Appalachian defense gave the Eagles a 31-21 advantage with 11 minutes left to play and seemed to expose just how much damage the Eagles' pounding ground game had done to the ASU defense. ÒI really wouldn't say we were tired, it was just assignment football,Ó said senior linebacker Joe Best.

"They were consistent with the way they ran it and we werenÕt consistent with the way we tried to defend it." "They changed some things up," said senior defensive lineman Jimmy Freeman about GSU's second half rushing.

"They started a blocking scheme that made a difference. It was basically just missed tackles. People were there, they just weren't making the plays. "People were either over running the quarterback or not wrapping up the dive. Sometimes they'll bust you for five and sometimes they'll bust you for forty."

The Mountaineers refused to back down, however, and scored again with six minutes remaining on a 10-yard touchdown pass from David Reaves to Troy Albea, making the Georgia Southern lead shrink to six. It was after a Rob Bironas field goal with one minute remaining made the score 34-28 that the heart-breaking last-minute Mountaineer drive failed. Moore hopes Appalachian will benefit from the loss going into the ASU homecoming matchup with Wofford College on Saturday at 2 p.m. in Kidd Brewer Stadium.

ÒHopefully we've learned a little bit about what it's gonna take to do what we need to get done," said Moore. ÒThe thing about today is we made so many mistakes that it kept us from winning even though we played hard." "Our plans haven't changed," said Freeman. "

The Southern Conference Championship is a small goal. Our big goal is a national championship. All we have to do is win nine in a row. Hopefully we'll meet these guys again because I'd like to play them again. It was a war that went down to the last seconds and it was a good game."

After the game, junior tailback Karim Razaak put the MountaineersÕ inability to score on the last drive in perspective. "It's tough. That's the difference between a championship team and a team that goes home in the playoffs. Hopefully next week we can go back, cut back on our turnovers, work on our fundamentals and go out there and get a victory on our homecoming.Ó

Radford University ousts Appalachian AHO Rugby for championship

Kevin Burnette

For those students who did not notice, approximately 450 rugby players descended on Boone the weekend before Fall Break for Appalachian State University AHO Rugby's first tournament, Rucktoberfest! 2000. ASU Rugby hosted 21 rugby teams from all over North Carolina and the Southeast at State Farm Intramural Fields, Oct. 7-8.

Major sponsors included the Mountain Times, North Carolina Army National Guard and Batchelor Chiropractic. Radford University overtook the tournament when the ruggers from Virginia defeated host ASU AHO Rugby, 31-17.

In the women's division, Appalachian capped its first tournament championship by defeating the University of Tennessee in the second five-minute overtime 5-0. Saturday's round-robin play divided the 12 collegiate men's clubs into three pools and the women into their own division with five teams.

Two exhibition matches featured two sides of the Marine Corps' All-Stars pitted against Johnson City's MenÕs Club and Charlotte's Olde Originals. The MarinesÕ B-side defeated Johnson City 17-15 on Saturday afternoon. Later that evening the Olde Originals pillaged the MarinesÕ A-side 83-7.

During the menÕs round robin, Radford and ASU muscled through the competition with relative ease. In the Red Pool, Radford surpassed North Carolina State University 31-5, and ran over ASU II (ASUÕs B-side) 65-0. Radford won its ticket to the semifinals with the defeat of UNC-Wilmington, 24-5.

Meanwhile, ASU decimated Wake Forest University 31-7, as it introduced itself to the Gold Pool. Then long-time rival Western Carolina University toppled to the tournament hosts 19-10. This was the first time in four years that ASU had bested WCU.

Later, the University of Alabama was put to sleep 25-0 by ASU to secure its spot in the semifinals. Sunday decided the championship contenders in semifinal action. ASU AHO Rugby narrowly defeated Georgia Southern University 15-12.

Radford was then to meet UNC-Charlotte but was awarded the forfeit when UNCC failed to field enough players. David Rogers, Rucktoberfest! 2000 director and ASU men's head coach, was clearly upset by UNCCÕs no-show for the semifinal. "Not only is it embarassing for UNC-Charlotte, it is an insult to the UNCC players who did show up," Rogers said. UNC-Charlotte's forfeit gave Radford a bye to the finals when runner-up N.C. State could have stepped in for the semifinal, but due to the timetable, that was never to be. ASU womenÕs team began SaturdayÕs action by defeating the University of Tennessee 10-5, then going on to cancel out N.C. State 20-5, and newly formed Western Carolina 5-0. Meanwhile, Tennessee beat WCU and Middle Tennessee State University by identical scores, 15-0. The rest of the tournament was awash for womenÕs teams Middle Tennessee State and WCU who had to forfeit their remaining matches due to injuries.

The women's championship match between ASU and Tennessee was characterized by continued penalties on each side. Tries were called back and scrumdowns were being set up at the try-line, which kept the crowd in suspense. It took two five-minute overtimes to get a score. In the end, the ASU women captured their first tournament championship.

Ken Muir, ASU women's head coach, said, ÒMy women were a little overwhelmed at the position they were in. All of a sudden they were more than just a weekend rugby team with a few wins. Now they were in the championship round of a big tournament. I think they were simply nervous and that was the reason behind the mistakes in Sunday's final."

The men's final between Radford and ASU was a fast-paced and vicious match. Radford dominated the match by beating ASU to the breakdown tackles and winning the ball back in the rucks and mauls.

"We simply didn't get there as fast as our opponents," Coach Rogers said. Radford fullback and spokesman Adam Shears said, "We finally came out today and played our A-game. It started with the pack [scrum], resulting in a lot of overloads for our back line." The final score was 31-17 and Radford went home to Virginia with the championship cup.

Individual awards were presented to Steve Myers for Best and Fairest Referee, Bevin Oouna of ASU AHO Women's Rugby as Best and Fairest in the women's division, and Radford University Rugby's scrumhalf Sean Millars as Best and Fairest in the men's division.

During the awards ceremony, Rucktoberfest! 2000 organizers such as ASU AHO Men's Rugby President Jason Kovalcin, Vice President Clay Elkins, Field Planner and Engineer Anthony Kearey, Treasurer Stuart Smith, Social Coordinators Tim Driscoll and Jeff McMillan, and ASU Club Sports Coordinator David Hutchison were recognized, along with the Mountain Times and volunteers from the Hunger Coalition, the non-profit beneficiary of Rucktoberfest! 2000.

Men's soccer holds College of Charleston

Andrea Barrows

Going into Tuesday's game against the College of Charleston, the Appalachian State University menÕs soccer team was still full of energy after their overtime win over the Citadel. This enthusiastic energy helped them clinch another Southern Conference (SoCon) win over the C of C Cougars 2-0.

The Cougars came into the game with 3-3 SoCon record and a 5-7-2 overall record. Coach Aidan Heaney knew that his team would have to play a strong, aggressive game to come away with the win. Heaney said, "It was a huge win. The College of Charleston is a good team and this was an important victory for Southern Conference ranking."

The first half was well played with defensive stops on both ends that left the game scoreless at the half. The momentum was in Appalachian's favor throughout the game though, and in the second half the Mountaineers came out determined to win.

It was Zell Jones who put the Mountaineers on the scoreboard first with a goal at 31:59 in the second half. With a 1-0 advantage, Appalachian knew that they had to continue to put pressure on the Cougars because it was still anybody's game. Jordy Broder once again rose to the occasion and off a steal from C of C's goalkeeper, scored ASU's second goal with 15 minutes remaining in the game from around the 45-yard line to give the Mountaineers a 2-0 lead. Out of frustration after this play, the CougarsÕ goalkeeper received a yellow card.

Broder has been named the SoCon player of the week twice this season and is ranked second in goals scored in the conference with 11 goals. After the game, Broder said that he felt that "everybody played a solid game and and finished things well."

The win makes Appalachian 3-2 in the conference and 8-5 overall. Chris Robinson, ASU goalkeeper, said that "coming back after the OT win at the Citadel, this was a big win for the team to continue building confidence as we go into our final two conference games."

Robinson had an outstanding game, making 14 saves to hold the Cougars scoreless. The Mountaineers play against the University of North Carolina at Greensboro on Saturday night and return home for their final home game against Campbell University next Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in Kidd Brewer Stadium.

Peterson, Revere pummel Mountaineer defense

John T. Bennett Associate Editor

In victories over East Tennessee State and Furman universities, the Appalachian State University defensive unit resembled a flimsyÑyet resilientÑwooden board.

During the decisive stages of both contests, the unit bent, allowing the opposing offenses to threaten. But it refused to break, stiffening up just enough to allow the Mountaineers to pick up a pair of Southern Conference (SoCon) wins.

Saturday afternoon in Statesboro, Ga., the board finally broke.

After holding Furman's Louis Ivory, the nationÕs leading rusher prior to the Oct. 7 ASU victory, to 63 yards, the Mountaineer defense was pummeled by a relentless Georgia Southern University (GSU) offense that rolled up 398 total rushing yards in the Eagles' 34-28 SoCon victory.

Leading the full-scale rushing assault were GSU junior fullback Adrian Peterson (31 carries, 187 yds., 1 TD) and junior quarterback J.R. Revere (24 carries, 147 yds., 2 TDs). The duo punished the Appalachian defense throughout the game, putting a severe dent in the Mountaineers' hopes for a SoCon title in the process.

The main cog of the Georgia Southern triple-threat option machine is Peterson, a fact not lost on the Mountaineer defense, according to Revere.

"They were keying on [Peterson] hard. The linebackers were staying in there. É They were going to let number nine [Revere] run the ball, and I hurt them a few times," Revere said.

None of Revere's 24 carries hurt the Mountaineers more than his 43-yard touchdown scamper that lifted the Eagles' to a 31-21 advantage after Appalachian had closed to within three on receiver Troy Albea's acrobatic touchdown catch early in the fourth quarter. The Eagles ran 68 offensive plays, keeping the ball on the ground 61 times in an attempt to physically pound the ASU defense into submission.

"I think the running game wore [the ASU defense] down pretty good, and that was really effective in those last drives," Revere said. Appalachian State head coach Jerry Moore offered a different view, saying it was missed tackles and poor execution on the MountaineersÕ behalf that allowed Peterson and Revere to post such big rushing numbers.

"I was disappointed that we didn't do a better job tackling Revere,Ó said Moore. "I thought there were seven or eight times where I thought we had him where we needed to tackle him but he eluded us."

The Mountaineer coach pointed to the play of the often-overlooked Eagle quarterback as being the key to the Georgia Southern victory. "He's the one that kept drives alive for them today," said Moore, Òmore so than Peterson. The difference in the ballgame was the quarterback [Revere]."

Appalachian defensive end Jimmy Freeman echoed Moore's statement, saying the mistakes made by the ASU defense opened the door for Peterson and Revere to post the hefty rushing numbers. ÒWe had some missed assignments and busts," Freeman said.

The senior defensive lineman also discounted Revere's statement that the ASU defense was preoccupied with Peterson. "We weren't keying on any one person. It wasnÕt that we were keying on any one person, we just had some breakdowns," Freeman said.

Saturday's contest evolved into a gridiron war of differing battle tactics, with the Eagles' punishing ground-oriented assault winning out over ASUÕs aerial attack.

Injuries put Jeremiah back in line-up versus Wofford

Chris Boyce Varsity Sports

With last week's loss to Georgia Southern University, Appalachian State University football hopes to avoid any letdown against the Wofford College Terriers, a dangerous upstart team. Wofford enters the contest 4-2 overall, and more importantly, 3-1 in the Southern Conference.

The Terriers' most recent win came last Saturday with a 40-31 victory over Western Carolina University. The game was highlighted by performances from Wofford's running back, Jesse McCoy, who became the first Terrier in history to run for over 100 yards while compiling over 100-yards receiving.

The most pressing issue for eighth-ranked Appalachian State going into the game will be turnovers and a healthy quarterback. As of Monday, the extent of sophomore Joe Burchette's injured ankle couldn't be determined and senior quarterback David Reaves's injured shoulder was still uncertain.

Burchette's ankle, fortunately, is not broken and Reaves's shoulder appears to be either a cartilage or rotator-cuff injury. Starting for the Mountaineers Saturday will be Daniel Jeremiah, the senior who started the season for Appalachian against Wake Forest University before going down with an ankle sprain.

Jerry Moore, ASU head football coach, doesn't expect much to change in terms of offensive strategy come Saturday. "Daniel can do all the things that these other guys can do," said Moore.

"I think it's probably been good underneath all this because he's had plenty of time to really heal and get well." After playing national powerhouses Troy State University, Furman University and Georgia Southern in the first six games of the Mountaineers' 2000 season, it will be essential for Appalachian to not overlook any upcoming opponent.

"Wofford is one of the teams in our league thatÕs a bit unheralded and doesn't get the credit that they deserve," said Moore.

"The first year we played them, I didn't know that much about them but after we played them, I just had the upmost respect for Mike Ayers, their staff and their players. As far as us overlooking anybody in this league, I don't see how you can." In fact, the Terriers' share an identical conference record with the Mountaineers at 3-1, with both teams' losses coming at the hands of the Georgia Southern Eagles.

At this point in the season, the Mountaineers have developed a "nine-straight" mentality, meaning that Appalachian State's goal is to win nine games in a row, which would make them national champions. Moore says that Saturday's loss to GSU showed him exactly what this team could do.

"They showed me Saturday what they were really capable of doing," said Moore. "A lot of football teams could've quit in that third quarter. They fought back under some kind of tough deals, came back and played hard. I think these next four or five weeks are really important."

Knicks overlook Patrick Ewing's fifteen years of dedication

Tyler Brueilly - Sports Beat

When it comes to the National Basketball Association (NBA), there are certain things that complement each other as well as peanut butter and jelly.

The examples of these complements come naturally: when anybody thinks of Michael Jordan they think of the Chicago Bulls; when they think of Hakeem Olajuwon, they think of the Houston Rockets; when they think of Reggie Miller, they think of the Indiana Pacers; and when they think of Patrick Ewing, they think of the New York Knicks.

Until now. After dedicating 15 of his 38 years to the New York Knicks, Ewing has recently been traded to a mediocre Seattle Supersonics team. Ewing has worked his whole career for the greatest prize a basketball player could receive, an NBA championship ring.

Ewing came close to his goal two seasons ago when he led his eighth-seeded team to the NBA Finals only to be let down by a series loss to the San Antonio Spurs, keyed by an injury that disabled him. Ewing also led his team to the Eastern Conference finals last year, only to get beaten by a stronger Indiana Pacers team.

The fact is, for the past few seasons, he has stepped up his play even though he is one of the oldest players in the league. He has played for a championship ring through thick and thin, and not just for himself but for the team as well.

The recent thick times were due to the deteriorating status of his knees, and the recent thin times were due to his dominating force in the paint. Ewing broke nearly all of the franchise's records, such as games played, minutes played, points, rebounds, steals and blocked shots.

Ewing was also an 11-time all-star and Rookie of the Year in 1985, beating players such as Karl Malone and Joe Dumars. His resume also includes two Olympic gold medals.

The point is, for 15 long seasons, Ewing has put his heart and soul into this Knicks team. Despite coming so close to a championship, making 11 all-star appearances, winning two gold medals and achieving numerous records, the Knicks organization has taken away his dream of a championship by deporting him from the city that never sleeps to the city where the sun never shines, Seattle.

The Seattle Supersonics are in a transitory years and will take a few more years to become strong contenders. It will take even longer for them to become a NBA-title contender. This is not where Ewing wants to be, especially after being a part of the Knicks team since he was drafted in 1985. And could they possibly put him any farther away from a place that has to be dear to his heart after 15 years, New York City?

This trade also proves that the NBA is almost in its last days of glory. The profession revolves around money. It's not about the love of the game. Why can't players who feel comfortable and are doing well on one certain team stay with that team?

My answer is that itÕs all about the dollar bills. Nobody cares about feelings anymore and that sending Ewing across the nation after 15 years of playing where he wanted to be could do nothing but devastate him. Age is a big factor in any profession.

It's even a bigger factor in sports since older players tend to follow their old styles of play. They are also more prone to injury. But it sickens me to see players being traded three times in three years, and sometimes even more, just because of the money. Rarely when anybody gets traded do they want to be at their new place of work.

The least the organization could do is show remorse about Ewing's departure from New York, but instead, Head Coach Van Gundy said, "The Knicks aren't about Patrick Ewing any more. He is behind us and if we look behind us it will only hurt our play, and we need to have good play.Ó

That's his thanks to Ewing for 15 years of hard labor. Will there ever be another Jordan/Bulls-, Miller/Pacers-, Olajuwon/Rockets, Ewing/Knicks-type situation, or will players all be traded a few years before they plan to retire, as Ewing has been?

Women's soccer sets new record in game against South Carolina State

Andrea Barrows

The Appalachian State University women's soccer team came out strong Tuesday afternoon against South Carolina State University.

While adding another win to their record, they also set a new Appalachian record for the number of goals scored. The Mountaineers had nine players score in the match, totaling 11 goals.

The previous record for the most goals scored was eight, against Middle Tennessee State University in 1998. Keisha Prescott and Kristen Mehl led the Mountaineers to the huge win, each scoring twice in the game.

The women were off to a quick start with Carmen Huneycutt scoring the first Mountaineer goal at 6:48 off a corner kick by Mehl. At 10:48, Prescott found Kelly Lloyd on a cross and Lloyd was able to connect to give Appalachian an early 2-0 lead.

Mehl added her first goal less than a minute later on a straight shot past South Carolina State's goalkeeper off an assist by Natalie King. As the first half continued, Prescott scored her first goal of the game at 15:50 off a cross by Mehl.

The Mountaineers added one more goal at 39:41, just before halftime, on a corner kick by Christine Monica. Appalachian went into halftime with a 5-0 lead. The second half was a lot like the first, with the ASU women dominating the game. Mehl scored her second goal of the game off of an assist from Renee Stetkevich.

Following her assist, Stetkevich scored a goal of her own and was assisted by Kristen Costello. At 63:26, Jenesa Kety scored her first goal of the season to make the score 8-0. About a minute later, Costello added yet another goal off a deflection.

Prescott scored her second goal of the match off an unassisted shot. Alana Parrett was the final Mountaineer to score in the game, making her first goal of the season, assisted by Kristen Goldsmith at 81:58.

The Mountaineers' big win should build up confidence for their next game against the Wildcats of Davidson College. The game will be tomorrow at 8 p.m. in Kidd Brewer Stadium.